Men’s tennis team defeats California

By Ram Luthra
Staff Reporter

After the men’s tennis team dropped all three doubles matches Tuesday, head coach Joey Rive urged his players to have fun and to not worry about their slow start.

The No. 2-ranked Frogs answered Rive’s request by capturing five straight singles victories en route to a 5-1 win against No. 30-ranked California at the indoor courts at the Bayard H. Friedman Tennis Center.

Photo by David Dunai - Senior Photographer Sophomore Antonio Gordon makes a backhand return Tuesday in his straight-set victory against California’s Scott Kintz. TCU won the match 5-1 and moved to 12-2 on the season. The Frogs are currently ranked No. 2 in the nation, and they play seven of their last eight matches at home.

With the win, the Frogs improved to 12-2 and have won seven of their past eight matches. The Golden Bears fell to 7-4, snapping their five-match winning streak.

Despite the Frogs being swept in doubles play, Rive said he was happy to put a win in the bank to start the Frogs’ four-match homestand.

“I thought we were playing not to lose, instead of having fun out there,” Rive said. “I was very disappointed with our doubles play, but we reacted very well under adversity and captured some huge points to win our matches.”

After dropping the doubles point, the Frogs evened the score with junior Petr Koula’s straight-set victory over Robert Kowalczyk at the No. 6 singles spot.

Rive said Koula’s win was huge for the Horned Frogs.

“After picking up that first point, the doubles point we lost became null and void,” he said. “After (Koula’s) win, the momentum changed and carried over to the rest of the players. He played great for us at the right time. I think that win set the tone for the rest of the match.”

All-American senior Esteban Carril jumped to a fast start in his match at the No. 1 singles spot but ran into trouble in the second set before capturing a three-set victory, 6-4, 3-6, 7-5, over 25th-ranked John Paul Fruttero. Carril, ranked No. 8 in the nation, improved to 17-5 on the season and extended his winning streak to eight matches.

Rive said Carril’s strong play was crucial.

“Esteban was a true leader for us,” Rive said. “He has been playing great as of late, and I hope that he continues to play that way throughout this week against Santa Clara and Pepperdine.”

Senior Trace Fielding clinched the winning match point with a three-set victory, 2-6, 6-3, 7-5, over No. 85-ranked Balazs Veress. Fielding fought back after he lost the first set and rallied from a 3-0 deficit in the third set tie-breaker.

Senior Scott Eddins and sophomore Antonio Gordon recorded the other two points in straight-set matches at the Nos. 3 and 4 spots.

California head coach Peter Wright said the Frogs defended their No. 2 national ranking well.

“They have solid depth and are one of the nation’s premier teams as their No. 2 ranking indicates."