Feb. 14, 2004
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HORNED FROGS' MATCH #3:
#13 TCU (2-0) vs. Colorado (4-1)
Feb. 15, 2004 * Fort Worth, Texas * Noon CST
Bayard H. Friedman Tennis Center * Tut Bartzen Varsity Tennis Courts
NEXT UP FOR THE HORNED FROGS
The No. 13 TCU Horned Frogs host Colorado Sunday, Feb. 15, at noon. The match will be played on the Tut Bartzen Varsity Tennis Courts at the Bayard H. Friedman Tennis Center. The event begins with three doubles matches followed by Nos. 1-6 singles after a 10-minute intermission.
ABOUT THE BUFFALOES
The Colorado Buffaloes enter Sunday's match coming off a 7-0 loss to fifth-ranked Baylor Friday in Waco. CU was 4-0 heading into the contest with wins over Colorado-Colorado Springs, Colorado State-Pueblo, Northern Colorado and Metro State. All of Colorado's wins came by 7-0 counts except for Metro State, which it defeated 6-1.
THE SERIES
TCU and Colorado have only faced each other two times prior to Sunday's match. The first meeting occurred March 6, 1993, at the H.E.B. Invitational in Corpus Christi, Texas. The Horned Frogs won the match by a 5-2 score. The two squads last butted heads March 18, 2002, in Fort Worth and the Purple and White was victorious by the same tally.
THE RANKINGS
TCU is ranked 13th as a team and Colorado is currently unranked. A pair of Horned Frogs are currently ranked in the top-100 in singles in the Intercollegiate Tennis Association's poll. Senior Alex Menichini is No. 44 in singles and junior Fabrizio Sestini is 75th. Sestini is also rated No. 19 in doubles with sophomore Rafael Abreu. Colorado does not have any ranked players in singles or doubles.
TCU'S LAST TIME OUT
TCU notched a 7-0 win over Texas-Arlington Wednesday on the indoor courts at the Friedman Tennis Center. The Horned Frogs won the doubles point handily, sweeping all three positions. Fabrizio Sestini and Rafael Abreu were taken to the limit at one, but were able to escape with a 7-2 win in the tiebreaker. In singles, Sestini recorded the first conquest at two in straight sets against Nathan McGregor, 6-4, 6-3. Alex Menichini was the next Frog to snag a victory, as the senior upset No. 21-ranked David Corrie at one, 6-2, 6-2. The clinching point came courtesy of Hector Almada at three singles, where he downed Sandy Farquharson, 7-6, 6-4. Rookie Robert Gallman played in his collegiate match at six and posted a 6-1, 6-1 triumph.
SMU MATCH PUSHED BACK UNTIL MARCH
Because of predicted bad weather Feb. 4, round one of TCU-SMU was pushed back until March 4 in Fort Worth. The two teams will play at 2 p.m.
SOME NEW FACES
The Horned Frogs snagged a couple of new faces for the spring with the additions of Hector Almada and Tobias Virdhage. Almada played two seasons at Fresno State and one at Fresno City College prior to coming to Cowtown. He entered last fall ranked No. 6 in doubles and was 76th in singles. Virdhage, a native of Sweden, is a three-time Swedish national champion and boasts victories over some of the top players in the world, such as Daniel Klemetz, formerly of Middle Tennessee State. Klemetz won the 2002 ITA All-American Championships.
REPRESENTING THE WORLD
TCU's roster this season has six different countries represented. Besides the United States, the Horned Frogs have players from Italy, Mexico, Spain, Sweden and Venezuela. The Frogs' Americans are senior Alex Menichini and freshmen Robert Gallman, Collin Hart, Craig Stopa, and Andrew Ulrich. Two Italians don the purple and white with juniors Fabrizio Sestini and Jacopo Tezza. The lone Mexican is senior Hector Almada and junior Jacob Martin hails from Spain. Freshman Tobias Virdhage is TCU's Swedish player.
A RICH NCAA HISTORY
The Horned Frogs have a rich tradition of excellence in the NCAA Tournament. TCU has made 18 appearances in the event since the current team format was adopted in 1977. TCU has been in every tourney since 1991 and made 16 of the past 17 NCAAs. The Purple and White owns a record of 23-18 in the tournament and has made three appearances (1989, 1996, 2001) in the national semifinals. TCU has also reached at least the NCAA quarterfinals on seven occasions (1982, 1989, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001). In the individual championships, TCU had a string of 26 consecutive appearances from 1976 to 2001. During that span, TCU won one doubles title, coming in 1981 with Karl Richter and David Pate. In 1996, Ashley Fisher and Jason Weir-Smith finished as the runner-ups. Several Horned Frogs reached the round of 16 in singles, but Esteban Carril is the only one to advance to the quarterfinals. Carril made his run his sophomore year in 1999.
NEW TEAM BUILDING DEDICATED
The new TCU Tennis Team Building was dedicated Jan. 30, 2004. The latest addition to TCU's assortment of facilities houses the men's and women's coaching staffs and provides locker rooms for the men and women. Other amenities in the complex include a spacious lounge area with a big screen television, a laundry and equipment room, a computer workstation for student-athletes and a racket stringing area. The building cost about $700,000 to construct and was finished last December after breaking ground in June.
TCU ADDS LIVE MATCH SCORING
TCU men's tennis will offer fans something this season with the addition of live match scoring via the Internet. It is featured on the official Web site of TCU athletics, www.GoFrogs.com. Updates from the match are given periodically as the players progress and the order of finish, along with match notes, are also available on the page.
