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Frogs
will avenge their second loss of season
The
Frogs try to put their second loss of the season behind
them and focus on their grueling upcoming schedule.
By
Mary Hollis
The
TCU men’s tennis team suffered its second loss of
the season Thursday to No. 6 Rice in a close match, which
saw the Owls come into town and take a 4-3 victory.
Assistant coach Cory Hubbard said the team came out a
little flat at the beginning of the match in doubles play
and he attributed that slow start to the Frogs losing
for only the second time this season. He said no team
can start off like that against a good team like Rice
if it hope to come out on top.
“Rice is a very good team,” Hubbard said. “They
haven’t lost yet this year, and are a top five team
and we lost 4-3 to them. It came down to a couple of points
in the end that really made a difference.”
TCU lost two doubles matches and the final outcome came
down to a few points fought over in the singles.
Hubbard said although the Frogs felt they could complete
the upset attempt of Rice, the team can still learn a
lot from such a defeat.
“We had our chance to upset them and hopefully we
can take from this that we can play with any team in the
country and that we are a top 10 team when we play like
it,” he said.
Hubbard said the team can use this match for its tough
stretch of games ahead of the them. The Frogs’ schedule
gets no easier after playing Rice, with No. 2 Baylor,
No. 6 Duke and No. 14 Virginia looming.
“Our next few matches are really tough so we have
to regroup and hopefully take a little bit of confidence,”
Hubbard said. “Since we were close to Rice, we know
that we can play with anybody in the country, and we just
have to come out a little better in the beginning and
win some of the key points.”
Sophomore Jacopo Tezza said Rice was the best team the
Frogs have faced this year. He said their combination
of great doubles teams and individual players makes them
a tough opponent.
Tezza said he still has great expectations for the team
and what the rest of the season will hold.
“We want to finish the season great; we don’t
want to lose anymore,” Tezza said. “We want
to win conference and we have great expectations for the
NCAA’s, so lets start from zero right now and try
harder than before and see what happens.”
The Frogs will try to avenge their second loss of the
season Tuesday when they travel to Waco to face No. 2
Baylor. |
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Stephen
Spillman/Staff Photographer
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| Junior
Fabrizio Sestini serves in a doubles game against
Rice as teammate sophomore Rafael Abreu awaits play
at the Friedman Tennis Center Thursday afternoon.
The No. 19-ranked team won over the Tony Haerle/Vuk
Rajevac team 8-6. |
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