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GoFrogs: Third-Ranked Horned Frogs Rally for 4-3 Road Win Over No. 14 North Carolina
CHAPEL HILL – The third-ranked TCU Horned Frogs found themselves in uncharted waters on Tobacco Road on Sunday.
Down on the scoreboard for the first time all spring against a top-15 foe in a venue the program was last victorious inside nearly two-and-a-half decades ago.
Yet in the end, the long odds proved moot.
TCU rallied from a 3-2 hole to defeat No. 14 North Carolina 4-3 on Sunday at the Cone-Kenfield Tennis Center.
Sophomore Lui Maxted clinched the match on court five. Maxted dropped the first set of his tilt opposite the Tar Heels' Anuj Watane 5-7. He then found himself gridlocked at three games apiece in the second frame with TCU trailing the Tar Heels. Shortly thereafter, Sebastian Gorzny polished off a straight set triumph on court six to force a 3-3 tie. Maxted turned the match on its ear from there, claiming nine of his final 11 games to polish off a 5-7, 6-4, 6-1 win and complete the comeback.
"Great road win for the guys," head coach David Roditi said. "We are really proud of them. They fought all the way through. UNC did a great job of coming back from being down a lot of [singles] sets. At the beginning – we win the doubles point, then we win four first sets, up a break – we won four first sets and were up a break in the other two, and we're looking really good. Then the momentum switched, and UNC did a great job at the top to overturn a few matches. And then Lui has to come from behind. I'm just so proud of how Lui did there at the end. He played a great third set. He was cramping, his legs were already tightening up, and it was just a matter of time before he went into a full cramp. Gutsy performance by 'Lui the Cat."
The result marked TCU's first win over the Tar Heels in Chapel Hill since 1998 and second all-time. TCU (7-0) also extended a program-record indoor winning streak to 19 and notched its 10th consecutive road victory. The Horned Frogs are now the only team in the country with consecutive wins over teams featured in the top-15 of the ITA team rankings. TCU arrived in North Carolina on the heels of a 4-1 takedown of No. 10 Tennessee on Thursday.
"Credit to UNC for the way they fought back," Roditi said. "They have three great coaches. Reese Stalder, one of our alumni, is one of their coaches. And then Devin [Bowen] and Tripp Phillips, one of their coaches, played together on the tour. There are a lot of ties. We've played each other a million times. It's great to win here for the first time since 1998. It's not an easy place to win at. I had never even experienced it."
The dual was a meeting of the two most recent ITA Indoor National Champions. UNC claimed the crown in 2021 while TCU stood atop the college tennis world the following year.
It's conceivable that the two programs will square off again in just two weeks. TCU and UNC (5-2) claimed two of 15 berths to the 2023 ITA Indoor National Championships, held from Feb. 17-20 in Chicago.
The Horned Frogs eased to their seventh doubles point in as many outings this spring. Sebastian Gorzny and Pedro Vives took down Will Jansen and Karl Poling, 6-3, in the No. 3 flight. The All-American duo of Jake Fearnley and Luc Fomba notched their third consecutive doubles point clincher on court two via a 6-4 defeat of Brian Cernoch and Benjamin Kittay.
In singles, UNC won three of the first four completed matches on courts one, two and four. Fomba swept Jansen 6-4, 7-5 to keep TCU afloat. Gorzny then skunked Chris Li 7-5, 6-4 to set up Maxted's decisive rally.
"Great job in doubles at No. 2 and No. 3," Roditi said. "Luc Fomba, to get off the court in straight sets, to come back from being down 4-1 in the second set, was huge momentum-wise. For Sebastian, to be able to win that first set tiebreaker and then close out the second set was also huge. In a 4-3 win, every point is huge. Proud of the guys. Now we've got a quick turnaround and have to go on the road to Baylor on Wednesday. I'm sure our guys will be fired up for that one. Go Frogs."
Doubles Rundown
Gorzny and Vives never trailed in route to their second straight wire-to-wire win and fifth of the spring. Vives strung three straight aces together to give the tandem its largest lead of the set at 5-2. They are 8-2 all-time alongside one another.
Fearnley and Fomba, the preseason ITA No. 1 doubles team, stretched their undefeated record in 2023 to 5-0. The pair has clinched the doubles point in four of TCU's last five outings.
Jong and Maxted, No. 4 in the ITA doubles rankings, fell victim to an upset for the second consecutive match. They fell 4-6 to Casey Kania and Ryan Seggerman
Doubles Results
Singles Rundown
Fearnley, Jong, Fomba and Gorzny all won their opening sets. Tomas Jirousek, who occupied the No. 4 post, and Maxted were each tied 4-4 and up a break before succumbing by two-game margins.
Fomba, No. 28 in the ITA singles rankings, commanded court three for the third straight contest. He twice clawed his way out of early deficits to keep his shutout streak intact. The fifth year senior trailed Jansen 4-3 in the opening frame before closing the show with wins in three straight games. After trailing 4-1 to begin set two, Fomba forced a 4-4 tie, inched his way ahead 6-5 and claimed the tiebreaker to exit the court in straight sets.
Fomba owns an 11-0 overall record and has yet to surrender a set this season.
Both Fearnley and Jong enjoyed emphatic starts to their respective matches.
Fearnley, the No. 8 ITA singles player, got the nod on court one for the fourth straight match, where he met Cernoch. The Edinburgh, Scotland native blitzed Cernoch 6-2 in set one.
Jong drew the toughest assignment of the afternoon in the ninth-ranked Seggerman in the No. 2 flight. He jumped to a 5-0 lead in set one, which he claimed 6-1.
Neither Fearnley nor Jong, though, were able to sustain the momentum. They each dropped the second and third sets of their respective duals by scores of 6-3, 6-4. Both Fearnley and Jong got within a point of their opponents at 5-4 in set three but could not force a tiebreaker.
Gorzny never led by more than two games over Li at any juncture in his dual, but he also never trailed. The reigning Wimbledon junior doubles champion raced out to 3-1 head starts in both frames. The win over Li pushed his 2022-2023 singles record to 8-1.
Maxted, 6-0 in singles action this spring, has now notched victories in flights three through five.
Jirousek dopped his first match in 2023. He was defeated by Poling 6-4, 6-1.
Singles Results
Up Next
Two-thirds of TCU's three-match ranked road trip are complete. The final leg comes in the form of a bus ride to Waco to face No. 11 Baylor at 6 p.m. on Wednesday inside the Hurd Tennis Center. The match will count as a nonconference affair.
GoFrogs: Third-Ranked Horned Frogs Rally for 4-3 Road Win Over No. 14 North Carolina
CHAPEL HILL – The third-ranked TCU Horned Frogs found themselves in uncharted waters on Tobacco Road on Sunday.
Down on the scoreboard for the first time all spring against a top-15 foe in a venue the program was last victorious inside nearly two-and-a-half decades ago.
Yet in the end, the long odds proved moot.
TCU rallied from a 3-2 hole to defeat No. 14 North Carolina 4-3 on Sunday at the Cone-Kenfield Tennis Center.
Sophomore Lui Maxted clinched the match on court five. Maxted dropped the first set of his tilt opposite the Tar Heels' Anuj Watane 5-7. He then found himself gridlocked at three games apiece in the second frame with TCU trailing the Tar Heels. Shortly thereafter, Sebastian Gorzny polished off a straight set triumph on court six to force a 3-3 tie. Maxted turned the match on its ear from there, claiming nine of his final 11 games to polish off a 5-7, 6-4, 6-1 win and complete the comeback.
"Great road win for the guys," head coach David Roditi said. "We are really proud of them. They fought all the way through. UNC did a great job of coming back from being down a lot of [singles] sets. At the beginning – we win the doubles point, then we win four first sets, up a break – we won four first sets and were up a break in the other two, and we're looking really good. Then the momentum switched, and UNC did a great job at the top to overturn a few matches. And then Lui has to come from behind. I'm just so proud of how Lui did there at the end. He played a great third set. He was cramping, his legs were already tightening up, and it was just a matter of time before he went into a full cramp. Gutsy performance by 'Lui the Cat."
The result marked TCU's first win over the Tar Heels in Chapel Hill since 1998 and second all-time. TCU (7-0) also extended a program-record indoor winning streak to 19 and notched its 10th consecutive road victory. The Horned Frogs are now the only team in the country with consecutive wins over teams featured in the top-15 of the ITA team rankings. TCU arrived in North Carolina on the heels of a 4-1 takedown of No. 10 Tennessee on Thursday.
"Credit to UNC for the way they fought back," Roditi said. "They have three great coaches. Reese Stalder, one of our alumni, is one of their coaches. And then Devin [Bowen] and Tripp Phillips, one of their coaches, played together on the tour. There are a lot of ties. We've played each other a million times. It's great to win here for the first time since 1998. It's not an easy place to win at. I had never even experienced it."
The dual was a meeting of the two most recent ITA Indoor National Champions. UNC claimed the crown in 2021 while TCU stood atop the college tennis world the following year.
It's conceivable that the two programs will square off again in just two weeks. TCU and UNC (5-2) claimed two of 15 berths to the 2023 ITA Indoor National Championships, held from Feb. 17-20 in Chicago.
The Horned Frogs eased to their seventh doubles point in as many outings this spring. Sebastian Gorzny and Pedro Vives took down Will Jansen and Karl Poling, 6-3, in the No. 3 flight. The All-American duo of Jake Fearnley and Luc Fomba notched their third consecutive doubles point clincher on court two via a 6-4 defeat of Brian Cernoch and Benjamin Kittay.
In singles, UNC won three of the first four completed matches on courts one, two and four. Fomba swept Jansen 6-4, 7-5 to keep TCU afloat. Gorzny then skunked Chris Li 7-5, 6-4 to set up Maxted's decisive rally.
"Great job in doubles at No. 2 and No. 3," Roditi said. "Luc Fomba, to get off the court in straight sets, to come back from being down 4-1 in the second set, was huge momentum-wise. For Sebastian, to be able to win that first set tiebreaker and then close out the second set was also huge. In a 4-3 win, every point is huge. Proud of the guys. Now we've got a quick turnaround and have to go on the road to Baylor on Wednesday. I'm sure our guys will be fired up for that one. Go Frogs."
Doubles Rundown
Gorzny and Vives never trailed in route to their second straight wire-to-wire win and fifth of the spring. Vives strung three straight aces together to give the tandem its largest lead of the set at 5-2. They are 8-2 all-time alongside one another.
Fearnley and Fomba, the preseason ITA No. 1 doubles team, stretched their undefeated record in 2023 to 5-0. The pair has clinched the doubles point in four of TCU's last five outings.
Jong and Maxted, No. 4 in the ITA doubles rankings, fell victim to an upset for the second consecutive match. They fell 4-6 to Casey Kania and Ryan Seggerman
Doubles Results
- Casey Kania / Ryan Seggerman (UNC) def. #4 Sander Jong / Lui Maxted (TCU): 6-4
- Jake Fearnley / Luc Fomba (TCU) def. Brian Cernoch / Benjamin Kittay (UNC): 6-4
- Sebastian Gorzny / Pedro Vives (TCU) def. Will Jansen / Karl Poling (UNC): 6-3
Singles Rundown
Fearnley, Jong, Fomba and Gorzny all won their opening sets. Tomas Jirousek, who occupied the No. 4 post, and Maxted were each tied 4-4 and up a break before succumbing by two-game margins.
Fomba, No. 28 in the ITA singles rankings, commanded court three for the third straight contest. He twice clawed his way out of early deficits to keep his shutout streak intact. The fifth year senior trailed Jansen 4-3 in the opening frame before closing the show with wins in three straight games. After trailing 4-1 to begin set two, Fomba forced a 4-4 tie, inched his way ahead 6-5 and claimed the tiebreaker to exit the court in straight sets.
Fomba owns an 11-0 overall record and has yet to surrender a set this season.
Both Fearnley and Jong enjoyed emphatic starts to their respective matches.
Fearnley, the No. 8 ITA singles player, got the nod on court one for the fourth straight match, where he met Cernoch. The Edinburgh, Scotland native blitzed Cernoch 6-2 in set one.
Jong drew the toughest assignment of the afternoon in the ninth-ranked Seggerman in the No. 2 flight. He jumped to a 5-0 lead in set one, which he claimed 6-1.
Neither Fearnley nor Jong, though, were able to sustain the momentum. They each dropped the second and third sets of their respective duals by scores of 6-3, 6-4. Both Fearnley and Jong got within a point of their opponents at 5-4 in set three but could not force a tiebreaker.
Gorzny never led by more than two games over Li at any juncture in his dual, but he also never trailed. The reigning Wimbledon junior doubles champion raced out to 3-1 head starts in both frames. The win over Li pushed his 2022-2023 singles record to 8-1.
Maxted, 6-0 in singles action this spring, has now notched victories in flights three through five.
Jirousek dopped his first match in 2023. He was defeated by Poling 6-4, 6-1.
Singles Results
- Brian Cernoch (UNC) def. #8 Jake Fearnley (TCU): 2-6, 6-3, 6-4
- #9 Ryan Seggerman (UNC) def. Sander Jong (TCU): 1-6, 6-3, 6-4
- #28 Luc Fomba (TCU) def. Will Jansen (UNC): 6-4, 7-5
- Karl Poling (UNC) def. Tomas Jirousek (TCU): 6-4, 6-1
- Lui Maxted (TCU) def. Anuj Watane (UNC): 5-7, 6-4, 6-1
- Sebastian Gorzny (TCU) def. Chris Li (UNC): 7-5, 6-4
Up Next
Two-thirds of TCU's three-match ranked road trip are complete. The final leg comes in the form of a bus ride to Waco to face No. 11 Baylor at 6 p.m. on Wednesday inside the Hurd Tennis Center. The match will count as a nonconference affair.
