March 24, 2006

FORT WORTH, Texas - The No. 32 TCU men's tennis team hosts No. 2 Pepperdine on Saturday in a non-conference clash. TCU (7-4) is in search of its sixth win over a higher-ranked opponent this season.

The Frogs are coming off a 4-3 victory over No. 22 Texas A&M on Wednesday. Sophomore Andrei Mlendea defeated his second-straight Top 10 ranked opponent in eighth-ranked Jerry Makowski. Mlendea, ranked No. 64 in singles, downed No. 4 Lars Poerschke of Baylor on March 7.

Currently TCU's lineup boast two players ranked in the ITA polls as both Mlendea and senior Rafael Abreu (No. 70) appear in the Top 75. Abreu also pairs with senior Jordan Freitas to make up the No. 33 doubles team.

Pepperdine blanked No. 28 Washington 7-0 on Wednesday to improve to 19-1 on the season. The Waves' roster has three players ranked in the Top 75 with Scott Doerner (No. 4) headlining the group followed by Pedro Rico (No. 19) and Ivor Lovrak (No. 66). Doerner pairs with Andre Degemann to make up the No. 1 doubles team and Rico and Lovrak hold the No. 27 spot.

TCU is 4-13 all-time versus Pepperdine. In the last matchup, the Waves prevailed 4-0 in Berkeley, Calif., on March 12, 2005. The Frogs have a knack for knocking off higher-ranked opponents this season as they are 5-1 as the lower-ranked team.

Match time for Saturday's contest is set for 6 p.m.