2018 TCU Tennis Thread

[Longfrog]

To put some numbers to this, here are the season records in singles by position, along with last season's records in () for comparison:

#1 7-2 (25-1)
#2 8-0 (21-2)
#3 7-2 (11-7)
#4 6-3 (13-3)
#5 6-2 (11-8)
#6 2-5 (6-15)

So even though Norrie is gone and it's a bummer that you can't always count on a win at #1, the team dynamics are pretty much the same. We're still really good 1 through 5 and terrible at #6. The difference between last year and this, for me, is the doubles. We actually struggled at the outset last year too, but we really got in a groove around this time. We won the doubles point in 14 of the last 16 matches in 2017, and that's facing the meaty part of the schedule. This year we're 7-for-10, but most of the wins are against weak competition, and we lost both the points against top-tier teams (UNC & ILL).

 

[jake102]

Worth noting that our record in 2017 at #6 singles was heavily impacted by a huge amount of injuries early in the season. Once we got the team back we were really good at #6 (Johnson and Stalder). This year we have nobody at #6 regardless of injuries. And the really bad part is that it's making us weak at #3 doubles also.

 

[Longfrog]

Worth noting that our record in 2017 at #6 singles was heavily impacted by a huge amount of injuries early in the season. Once we got the team back we were really good at #6 (Johnson and Stalder). This year we have nobody at #6 regardless of injuries. And the really bad part is that it's making us weak at #3 doubles also.

True. Johnson never really seemed completely right last year, but we were still decent once he returned. And even when he was out, we could at least look forward to getting him back. This year?

Even Roditi seemed frustrated in his comments after the Illinois match. I think it was something about guys getting tougher. I did notice Gray played doubles but was held out of singles vs Penn. Don't know if they're being cautious with the injury or if he's in the doghouse.

 

[cdsfrog]

Reason number 5000 that I like Roger Federer the GOAT

 

[Longfrog]

TCU tops A&M 4-2. Heck of a turnaround to the season over the past week and a half.

 

[Longfrog]

They're going to play it out on court 1 where Trevor is in a 3rd set against Rinderknech, who's currently ranked #6 in the nation. TJ has been so close to some big wins this year... hope he can finish it off.

Meanwhile, the Frogs both the doubles point and #6 singles, which seemed impossible a couple weeks ago. They're really on a roll at the moment. And Rybo and Guille are animals.

 

[Jared7]

YESSSS!!!! It's our 5th straight over the Ags and this one is SO sweet!! (Sorry bout the other thread - maybe Wes can merge them). How bout them Frogs!!!!

 

[Longfrog]

Our team still seems top heavy, but it's pretty tough to keep us from winning 3 singles matches. If the recent improvement in doubles holds, I like our chances to win the big 12 again. But we can't afford any injuries, and we do have to play in Austin this year.

 

[Longfrog]

Final is 4-3. Bummer for Johnson, but youve gotta feel good for Bertus Kruger. He's struggled this year but what a huge win today against a veteran guy who has played in a lot of tough matches. Same guy who last year executed the racket spike-boot combo after losing to Rybakov in 3 sets.

 

[Wexahu]

Our team still seems top heavy, but it's pretty tough to keep us from winning 3 singles matches. If the recent improvement in doubles holds, I like our chances to win the big 12 again. But we can't afford any injuries, and we do have to play in Austin this year.

Admittedly I don’t follow tennis very closely, but is home court advantage significant in that sport? I wouldn’t think so, but maybe because the courts might have different backgrounds, lighting, etc?

 

[Jared7]

Admittedly I don’t follow tennis very closely, but is home court advantage significant in that sport? I wouldn’t think so, but maybe because the courts might have different backgrounds, lighting, etc?

Sure, wind conditions, sleeping at "home," home fans, knowledge of any unusual bounces and lighting all make a difference. For TCU, it's the Ft. Worth winds, which can vary and blow strong at times. Also, some teams (like Columbia) are far better indoors than outdoors - they only played their first outdoor match against Baylor a few days before they played us. Beating the Aggies in College Station is huge - they used to be undefeated at home; albeit not anymore. Florida was similarly unbeaten at home, but not anymore. We've only lost once at home this season and do so rarely.

 

[Longfrog]

Admittedly I don’t follow tennis very closely, but is home court advantage significant in that sport? I wouldn’t think so, but maybe because the courts might have different backgrounds, lighting, etc?

As far as the courts themselves, if you play at home I think you have some discretion as to whether you play indoors or outdoors. That can make a big difference... indoor courts are faster and favor big servers.

But mostly it's the crowd. I don't live locally and can't make it out to matches, but the crowd can make a big difference. I know there's always debate about whether momentum exists in sports but I'm convinced it does in team tennis, and the crowd is a big reason why. You wouldn't think a few dozen fans could make such an impact, but when you're alone on the court and they're all yelling for or against you, it makes a difference. FWIW, you get a 10 percent bonus in rankings points for winning on the road.

 

[tcumaniac]

HUGE WIN!!!

I LOVE BEATING AGGY

 

[Jared7]

Next up for the Frogs is a home doubleheader against UTA and Tulane (ranked in the 30's) on Sunday, with the opener at 11:00 a.m. and the nightcap at 5:00 p.m. We'll need a good crowd to get the W's. The W over A&M didn't count for this week's ITA rankings, so that W and a sweep should propel TCU back into the Top 10 for the first time since the preseason poll.

Next up for Cam Norrie is a match in about two hours against Chilean Nicolas Jarry (he's a compradre of Guillermo) in the first round of the main draw at the Miami Masters. The Camster is now ATP #105 and needs to go as deep as possible to get into the coveted Top 100.

 

[Jared7]

Cam falls 6-7, 2-6 in the Round of 128 at Miami to Nicolas Jarry. Those Chileans can be tough! At least he beat Kypson and made his 2nd straight ATP main draw. On to the next tourney!

 

[Jared7]

Tomorrow's scheduled doubleheader has been changed. TCU will host only Tulane tomorrow at 4:00 p.m. and has re-scheduled UTA for Tuesday night. The Green Wave is #32 in the ITA rankings and is also on a 5-match winning streak. Their #1 is Constantin Schmitz, who is 19th in the singles rankings and has 22 W's on the year. Their #2 is Ewan Moore, who is from England and has been Alastair's Gray's usual doubles partner for several years in Futures tourneys. They're 11-5 on the year, including a 7-0 sweep of Tech. Two weeks ago, this would have been considered an even match, but we've been hot, so we're the fave. All-time, TCU leads 5-2 - the last time we played though, we lost 4-1 in 2004.

 

[Jared7]

The Frogs beat #32 Tulane tonight 6-1, with W's at all positions except #1 singles (Rybo lost to Constantin Schmitz). Our 6th straight and 5 have been over ranked opponents. With W's over #6 A&M and Tulane, we should move into the Top 10 in Tuesday's rankings. Up next is UTA on Tuesday and then the #12 Longhorns in Austin.

 

[Jared7]

The Frogs have jumped up to #8 in the country in today's ITA rankings!

 

[Jared7]

With Alex Rybakov resting, the Frogs opened up a can of whupass on the UTA Mavericks tonight; bringing out the brooms for a 7-0 sweep. Rybo, according to the Universal Tennis Ratings, is the #1 college player in the nation, and he'll be ready to face the Longhorns this weekend. Texas just got swept by Tulane 4-0 and TCU beat them 6-1 last week. But the match will be in Austin at their new facility. It could be a pivotal Big12 opener as TCU is now ranked 10th and the Longhorns are now 20th and both teams were pre-season co-favorites. Tonight's W was notable because everyone won their matches, Johnson, Stalder, Gray and Nunez all won quickly and they finished it our for freshmen Roldan and Kruger to win as well. We're hot, 13-3, and we've won 7 straight.

 

[TCUdirtbag]

Glad something is going well in one spring sport that we’re supposed to be good at.