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No. 24 Rice outlasts TCU in opening round
May 9, 2008 AUSTIN, Texas - The 34th-ranked TCU men's tennis team dropped a 4-3 decision to No. 24 Rice in a match that took nearly five hours to complete on Friday at the Penick-Allison Tennis Center in Austin, Texas. The loss ended the Horned Frogs' season, finishing with a 20-8 overall record.
"We played really well today," said TCU head coach Dave Borelli. "We had our chances in doubles and couldn't take advantage of them. We played really well in singles, and I think Rice was just the better team. The guys left it all out on the court today and I'm really proud of them."
Rice began play with victories at the No. 1 and No. 3 doubles positions to take the 1-0 lead. The TCU duo of Cosmin Cotet and Adrian Simon posted the only win for the Frogs, defeating Chong Wang and Tobias Scheil at the No. 2 spot by a score of 8-3.
The Owls took a 2-0 lead in the match after a retirement at the No. 3 singles position. The Frogs answered back, as Simon posted a 6-2, 6-2 victory at the No. 5 slot over Filip Zivojinovic.
Cotet, ranked No. 39 nationally, evened the match with a 7-6(5), 6-0 victory over No. 14 Bruno Rosa at the top spot. The win was Cotet's 13th in the 2007-08 season over a ranked opponent, and the third against a player ranked in the top 20.
Freshman Zach Nichols put TCU ahead 3-2 with a 6-4, 7-6(3) win over Wong at the No. 4 slot. The victory pushed Nichols' record to 22-5 in his first collegiate season.
After a TCU loss at the No. 2 position, the match came down to the No. 6 singles contest, where freshman Casey Powers dropped a hard-fought battle to Scheil by a score of 6-7(6), 6-4, 7-5.
Two Frogs will represent TCU at the NCAA Championships in Tulsa, Okla., as Cotet will compete in the singles portion, while Cotet and Brink will pair up in doubles play.
No. 24 Rice (17-8) def. No. 34 TCU (20-8), 4-3
SINGLES Order of Finish: 3, 5, 1, 4, 2, 6*
DOUBLES
Order of Finish: 2, 3, 1*
*Clinching point
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