CHICAGO, IL. – TCU became the seventh team in the 50-year history of the ITA Division I Men’s National Team Indoor Championship to repeat as National Champions after an impressive 4-0 victory over first-time finalist Texas at the XS Tennis Village in Chicago on Monday.
Head Coach David Roditi’s Horned Frogs (2022-23) now joins Georgia (2006-07), Illinois (2003-04), Stanford (1973-76, 1994-95), UCLA (1997-97), USC (1987-88), and Virginia (2008-11) in the elite group of back-to-back National Team Indoor Champions.
Today’s victory marked the third shutout in its four matches for TCU, defeating Baylor, Georgia, and Texas all by 4-0 scores. Kentucky was the only team to take a point(s) off TCU this weekend as the Horned Frogs beat second-seeded Kentucky 4-2 in the Semifinals.
In doubles, TCU stayed undefeated in doubles on the season, to take the early advantage heading into singles. The Horned Frogs No. 2 duo of Sander Jong and Jack Pennington were able to break the Texas serve at 2-2 and maintained that edge en route to a 6-4 victory over Pierre-Yves Bailly and Siem Woldeab.
From the No. 1 doubles position, the Frogs’ ITA preseason top-ranked pair of Jake Fearnley and Luc Fomba earned a break at 5-5 before Fearnley fended off three break points to secure a 7-5 win against Cleeve Harper and Eliot Spizzirri of Texas.
In singles, TCU continued its momentum claiming first sets in five of the six matches to move them even closer to victory.
Freshman Jack Pinnington Jones was the first Frog to finish, giving TCU a 2-0 match lead after a dominant 6-4, 6-0 triumph over Micah Braswell at the No. 3 spot.
TCU senior Sander Jong was the next to get off the courts as he increased the Horned Frogs lead to 3-0 with a 6-2, 6-3 victory against Woldeab at the No. 4 position.
Setting the stage for freshman Sebastian Gorzny, the clinch came from the No. 4 position as Gorzny improved his season record to 9-0 with a 6-4, 6-1 win over Cleeve Harper.
In addition to the National Championship, the Horned Frogs now return to Fort Worth with an 11-0 record with seven of those wins coming against Top 15 ranked opponents.
For Coach Bruce Berque’s Longhorns, they conclude their first ITA Men’s Indoor Final with a 10-2 record and two marquee resume wins after earning 4-3 comeback victories over previously-undefeated Ohio State and Michigan this past weekend.
Finals
- Courts 3-8 TCU (3) Def. Texas (8) 4-0 | Box Score
