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Thursday,
March 25, 2004 |
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Men’s
tennis team prepares for biggest challenge of the season
thus far
The
team’s recent loss to Tulsa has them refocused and
regrouped heading into a contest against nationally-ranked
Rice.
By
Mary
Hollis
Skiff Staff
The TCU men’s tennis team will take their No. 11
ranking into a battle against No. 6 Rice today, in a match
that has become the season’s biggest following last
week’s loss to Tulsa.
This will be the team’s second match of the season
against an opponent ranked higher than Frogs and in the
nation’s top 10. A victory against the Owls wouldn’t
just help the Frogs avenge their only loss of the season,
but it should also help them regain their position in
the national rankings.
Over Spring Break, the team began the process of rebounding
from the Tulsa loss with victories over Miami and Boise
State.
Assistant coach Cory Hubbard said he is pleased with how
well the team has bounced back from its only loss of the
season and that they seem to have their confidence back.
“After the Tulsa match the team rededicated themselves
and has really been working hard,” Hubbard said.
“We had a good match against Miami, we beat them
7-0, and a good Boise State team, 4-3. So we are feeling
confident again and really looking forward to this match.”
Head coach Joey Rive attributed the Tulsa loss to the
team not being as fired up as usual. He said the team
felt out of their element against the Golden Hurricanes,
as it was the team’s first away match.
“It basically served as a reminder to us that we
are a good team when we’re hungry for a win and that
we’re okay when we’re not,” Rive said.
“Since that time we’ve been able to really use
it to get fired up for these matches and now we are getting
to the end of the season so it’s a good time for
us.”
Junior Jacob Martin said the team has been playing much
better and is feeling better physically.
“The team really regrouped and came together to get
two more victories against pretty good teams,” he
said. “We are really looking forward to playing Rice;
it is a really good chance for us to get back where we
belong.”
The Frogs will have that chance to get back to where they
belong at 2 p.m. today at Bayard H. Friedman Tennis Center.
Fans are urged to come out and support the Frogs as they
take on one of their toughest opponents of the season.
Any TCU supporter who attends the match will receive free
pizza on a first come basis. There will also be a sorority/fraternity
competition, where the most supportive fraternity will
receive free pizza and the most supportive sorority will
earn a free tennis clinic mixer. |
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