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The Comeback Kid: Chan Rallies to Send TCU to NCAA Semifinals - TCU Athletics
WACO, Texas – Once more, Duncan Chan played hero for the Horned Frogs.
The Comeback Kid: Chan Rallies to Send TCU to NCAA Semifinals
Horned Frogs outlast Virginia in 4-3 thriller
WACO, Texas – Once more, Duncan Chan played hero for the Horned Frogs.
The sophomore stared down a 2-4 third set deficit in No. 2 TCU's quarterfinal bout vs. No. 7 seed Virginia with the match level at three courts apiece. Chan, though, rallied to win four straight games vs. Jangjun Kim and send TCU to the NCAA semifinals via a 4-3 triumph over the Cavaliers on Friday at the Hurd Tennis Center
He broke back on a deuce point to level the match, which was contested on court six, at four games all. Chan seized the momentum shift, claiming 12 of the final completed points to polish off a 7-6 (1), 1-6, 6-4 victory.
The comeback was as improbable as it was invaluable. Chan battled cramps throughout a sweltering evening and was forced to call two medical timeouts in set two. He immediately fell behind 1-3 in the third frame. TCU led 3-2 but was down breaks on both unfinished courts. Cooper Woestendick trailed James Hopper five games to love on court four before losing out on a 3-6, 6-3, 1-6 decision as Chan leveled his match.
Neither team led by more than one point. TCU (26-3) took the doubles point via a 7-6 (4) tiebreaker victory on court two from Jack Pinnington and Woestendick over No. 32 Mans Dahlberg and Dylan Dietrich. The Cavaliers (23-8) claimed courts one and two in singles to assume a 2-1 lead. Lui Maxted and Albert Pedrico then swept the third and fifth flights to commence the finishing sequence.
TCU reached the NCAA semifinals for the third consecutive season and notched its seventh all-time Final Four berth with the win. Head coach David Roditi has now guided his alma matter to the semifinals five times. He achieved the feat as a player in 1996 and led the Horned Frogs to the penultimate day of the NCAA Tournament in 2015 in his fifth season as head coach.
The Frogs face either No. 3 Texas or No. 16 UCLA at 7 p.m. on Saturday for the chance to play for a second NCAA Championship. Saturday's first semifinal is set for a 4 p.m. first serve and pits top-seeded Wake Forest opposite No. 4 Stanford. Matches will move to the Hawkins Indoor Tennis Center in the event of inclement weather.
TCU notched its 60th all-time NCAA Tournament victory on Friday. Roditi boosted his career postseason record to 34-9.
Doubles Rundown
TCU seized the 1-0 head start via victories at one and two, but the margins were razor thin.
Maxted and Pedro Vives battled No. 23 Keegan Rice and James Hopper on the 1-line. Both courts worked their way to 4-4 gridlocks, with teams alternating breaks.
Virginia put the first court on the board, as Rafael Jodar and Roy Horovitzz squeaked past Chan and Pedrico, 6-4. The TCU tandem missed out on two break point opportunities leading 3-2 and trailing 3-4.
Maxted and Vives, the defending NCAA Doubles Champions, evened the affair seconds later, serving out a 6-4 decision over Rice and Hopper.
Pinnington and Woestendick claimed four consecutive points to secure the tiebreaker and doubles point.
The victory at two extended Pinnington and Woestendick's shared winning streak to 11 matches. The ITA No. 32 doubles pair, Pinnington and Woestendick have clinched three consecutive doubles points. They are unbeaten on the outdoor courts and 15-4 and overall.
The Cavaliers' top tandem represented the latest casualty in Maxted and Vives' ransacking of college ranks. They are now 16-1 vs. ranked pairs and have lost just once in duals.
The Horned Frogs claimed their 11th consecutive doubles point and are now 25-4 in doubles play.
Doubles Results
- #2 Lui Maxted / Pedro Vives (TCU) def. #23 Keegan Rice / James Hopper (UVA): 6-4
- #32 Jack Pinnington / Cooper Woestendick (TCU) def. #31 Mans Dahlberg / Dylan Dietrich (UVA): 7-6 (4)
- Rafael Jodar / Roy Horovitz (UVA) def. Duncan Chan / Albert Pedrico (TCU): 6-4
Singles Rundown
Maxted, Pedrico and Chan put a trio of first sets on the board to create the pathway.
Maxted, ranked 37th nationally, bolted out a 4-1 head start vs. Rice on court three before polishing off a 6-4 set win.
Pedrico battled Dahlberg in the fifth flight. Two breaks paced the freshman to a 6-3 decision.
Chan served for the set on a deuce point leading 5-3 but was unable to capitalize. He refused to allow the setback to linger as the outcome was rendered to a tiebreaker. Chan rolled to a 5-0 lead and took three of his points in the tiebreaker on receive.
Vives, playing just his second singles match in as many months, came up short vs. No. 32 Dietrich on court two, falling 3-6, 3-6
Pinnington had the daunting task of facing Jodar, ranked fourth nationally, at one. Two break points proved decisive in a 4-6, 3-6 defeat for the eighth-ranked Pinnington.
Virginia briefly regained the initiative. Maxted and Pedrico each trailed in set two with TCU behind 2-1 on the scoreboard. Maxted dropped four straight games to Rice, who led 5-3. Pedrico simultaneously found himself behind 2-3 and love-40 on serve.
Pedrico held, though, and used a double break to down Dahlberg 6-3, 6-4.
Maxted followed suit, using two breaks to fend off Rice, 6-4, 7-5.
TCU has pocketed singles wins on courts three, five and six in each of its last two wins.
Maxted and Pedrico have tallied a team-leading three singles wins apiece in NCAA Tournament play.
Maxted continues to lead TCU in singles victories with 29.
Pedrico improved his season record to 13-4.
For Chan, the heroics marked the third time in his career that he has clinched a match on court six with TCU tied 3-3. He picked up match-clinchers in identical situations twice in 2024 at USC and vs. UCF.
Singles Results
- #4 Rafael Jodar (UVA) def. #8 Jack Pinnington (TCU): 6-4, 6-3
- #32 Dylan Dietrich (UVA) def. #10 Pedro Vives (TCU): 6-3, 6-3
- #37 Lui Maxted (TCU) def. Keegan Rice (UVA): 6-4, 7-5
- James Hopper (UVA) def. #95 Cooper Woestendick (TCU): 6-3, 3-6, 6-1
- Albert Pedrico (TCU) def. Mans Dahlberg (UVA): 6-3, 6-4
- Duncan Chan (TCU) def. Jangjun Kim (UVA): 7-6 (1), 1-6, 6-4
