• The KillerFrogs

2019 TCU Tennis Thread

Longfrog

Active Member
Awesome weekend for the Frogs. Two wins against top opponents in #3 Mississippi State and #7 UCLA. And two convincing wins at that. Teams like UCLA don't get blanked very often. Those were sandwiched around a gutting 4-3 loss to #8 UNC. I wasn't able to watch but apparently there was a controversial call at #3 singles which did not go our way. Those interested can read the account here. Roditi was very emotional afterward, and in his comments it seemed like he partly blamed his own handling of the situation. I love the guy but he isn't exactly known for keeping his cool in those moments.
 

Longfrog

Active Member
Here are the individual records on the season, with records from this weekend in ()...

#1D - Rybakov/Gray: 5-4 (0-2)
#2D - Stalder/Kruger: 8-3 (2-1)
#3D - Fomba/Jong: 3-6 (1-1)

#1S - Rybakov: 7-1 (1-0)
#2S - Gray: 8-1 (1-1)
#3S - Stalder: 6-4 (1-1)
#4S - Kruger: 9-2 (3-0, all straight sets)
#5S - Fomba: 9-1 (2-1)
#6S - Jong: 2-3 (2-0)

We've really struggled in doubles. We were blown off the court by UNC, which ended up costing us the match. I wouldn't be surprised if #1 and #2 get switched. Fomba and Jong are both freshmen and should improve as we go.

In singles, Rybo is a rock at #1. He came back to beat Will Blumberg from UNC after dropping the first set on Saturday. Blumberg finished as the national runner-up as a freshman two years ago and is certainly on the short list of favorites for this year. The real surprises have been Kruger, who did show signs toward the end of last season before getting hurt, and Fomba, who's been a revelation. A lot of freshmen struggle to get used to the college game, so we should cut Jong some slack for his slow start. But he had a great tournament in Chicago, so maybe he is rounding the corner.

Overall, we looked as good as anyone outside of Ohio State or Wake Forest this weekend (they will play tomorrow in the final). OSU looks like an absolute machine, and they have to be the early favorite to finally go all the way this year. But there's certainly nobody in the Big 12 we can't beat. To me, we're co-favorites with UT, and we get them in FW this year.
 

ftwfrog

Active Member
Here are the individual records on the season, with records from this weekend in ()...

#1D - Rybakov/Gray: 5-4 (0-2)
#2D - Stalder/Kruger: 8-3 (2-1)
#3D - Fomba/Jong: 3-6 (1-1)

#1S - Rybakov: 7-1 (1-0)
#2S - Gray: 8-1 (1-1)
#3S - Stalder: 6-4 (1-1)
#4S - Kruger: 9-2 (3-0, all straight sets)
#5S - Fomba: 9-1 (2-1)
#6S - Jong: 2-3 (2-0)

We've really struggled in doubles. We were blown off the court by UNC, which ended up costing us the match. I wouldn't be surprised if #1 and #2 get switched. Fomba and Jong are both freshmen and should improve as we go.

In singles, Rybo is a rock at #1. He came back to beat Will Blumberg from UNC after dropping the first set on Saturday. Blumberg finished as the national runner-up as a freshman two years ago and is certainly on the short list of favorites for this year. The real surprises have been Kruger, who did show signs toward the end of last season before getting hurt, and Fomba, who's been a revelation. A lot of freshmen struggle to get used to the college game, so we should cut Jong some slack for his slow start. But he had a great tournament in Chicago, so maybe he is rounding the corner.

Overall, we looked as good as anyone outside of Ohio State or Wake Forest this weekend (they will play tomorrow in the final). OSU looks like an absolute machine, and they have to be the early favorite to finally go all the way this year. But there's certainly nobody in the Big 12 we can't beat. To me, we're co-favorites with UT, and we get them in FW this year.
I was worried about this year but our guys are playing great. Thanks for the updates. Unfortunately we won’t be back at home for a few weeks but we need folks out there. Good times.
 

Longfrog

Active Member
With the season winding down, it seems like it's high time to revisit the tennis thread. Recent results have been uneven at best.

- Two weeks ago the team opened conference play in Waco. Baylor's been playing very well since Indoors in February, losing only to #1 UT in Austin by a 4-3 score. TCU really needed to win doubles to have a chance in this one and couldn't get it done. Rybakov and Stalder - the two seniors - won their matches but the team dropped a 5-2 decision.
- Last Friday was the matchup with UT in FW. The fact that it was at home gave me some hope, and after winning the doubles point things looked very promising. From there it was a disaster as UT won all the singles matches to take it 6-1. Four of those went to 3 sets, but we really didn't look like we belonged.
- After that disappointment we faced #8 A&M at home. We have now faced them 6 times in the past 5 years and we've won all of them. The last four have been by 4-3 scores, including this one. Rybakov was the deciding match, which gave me a bit of deja vu. Check the video below from two years ago to see an epic racket smash from the Ags after Rybakov clinched. This year the opposition was more subdued, but it's always satisfying to beat the Aggies.

That sets up the final two matches in Oklahoma against OU today and OSU on Sunday, then it's the conference tourney next week and then on to nationals. The team has had a decent season. I would say they raised my hopes after their performance at the Indoor Championships in February, but they've come back to earth a bit in the outdoor season. They have enough to scare any team in the country, but I just don't think they can beat them consistently. And I honestly don't think anyone can beat Ohio State when they're at full strength. Their #1 player has been just as dominant as Norrie was in his final year. The only times they've lost have been when he's off playing pro tournaments.

 

Moose Stuff

Active Member
With the season winding down, it seems like it's high time to revisit the tennis thread. Recent results have been uneven at best.

- Two weeks ago the team opened conference play in Waco. Baylor's been playing very well since Indoors in February, losing only to #1 UT in Austin by a 4-3 score. TCU really needed to win doubles to have a chance in this one and couldn't get it done. Rybakov and Stalder - the two seniors - won their matches but the team dropped a 5-2 decision.
- Last Friday was the matchup with UT in FW. The fact that it was at home gave me some hope, and after winning the doubles point things looked very promising. From there it was a disaster as UT won all the singles matches to take it 6-1. Four of those went to 3 sets, but we really didn't look like we belonged.
- After that disappointment we faced #8 A&M at home. We have now faced them 6 times in the past 5 years and we've won all of them. The last four have been by 4-3 scores, including this one. Rybakov was the deciding match, which gave me a bit of deja vu. Check the video below from two years ago to see an epic racket smash from the Ags after Rybakov clinched. This year the opposition was more subdued, but it's always satisfying to beat the Aggies.

That sets up the final two matches in Oklahoma against OU today and OSU on Sunday, then it's the conference tourney next week and then on to nationals. The team has had a decent season. I would say they raised my hopes after their performance at the Indoor Championships in February, but they've come back to earth a bit in the outdoor season. They have enough to scare any team in the country, but I just don't think they can beat them consistently. And I honestly don't think anyone can beat Ohio State when they're at full strength. Their #1 player has been just as dominant as Norrie was in his final year. The only times they've lost have been when he's off playing pro tournaments.



LMAO at that video. What an assclown. I wonder if he can kick FG’s?
 

Longfrog

Active Member
Tomorrow the #10 Frogs will face #7 Mississippi State for the right to advance to the national quarterfinals. TCU has played the Bulldogs twice this year and won both contests, although they were both early in the season at neutral sites and one was an exhibition. The feature match will be at #1 singles, where national #4 Alex Rybakov will face #1 Nuno Borges. In their previous two matchups, Rybakov won the first and was points away from winning the second when the dual match was halted due to the Frogs winning the deciding point on another court.

Despite those two wins, I would think TCU is a pretty clear underdog. They haven't been trending well lately, and this time the match is at Starkville. But if we can pull the doubles point, we'll have a great shot.

Singles stats are below, showing records over the entire season, and over the last 10 matches (they don't add up to 10 since matches don't always finish). Some pretty clear trends have emerged for both teams. For TCU, Stalder (#3) and Kruger (#4) were both having really nice seasons up until a few weeks ago, but they have struggled mightily since then. Fortunately, that's around the time when Jong (#6) started to figure things out. For MSU, Foshey (#5) has been great for them all year long, and especially recently. Rakic at #3 was terrible early on but has been great recently.

Match starts at 1. Winner would probably face #2 UT.

TCU_MSU.png
 

Pharm Frog

Full Member
There's a weather delay in Starkville and it probably happened at a good time for the Frogs:

Behind on Ct 1
Behind on Ct 2
Either on serve or behind a break on Ct 3 (can't tell for sure)
Even on Ct 4
On serve on Ct 5
Behind a break on Ct 6
 

Longfrog

Active Member
MSU twitter saying they are up a break on 3. If we'd lost the doubles this would be looking pretty dire. Still concerning though. Need to somehow win at least 2 of these first sets.
 

Pharm Frog

Full Member
Fomba wins (5-3). Jong down a set and in a 7-7 tiebreaker trying to get to a third set. Overall it's 2-2 MSU with two matches in progress. Gray headed to a third set. Kruger headed to a third set.
 
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