Nov. 2, 2005

SANTA FE, N.M. - TCU juniors Craig Stopa and Andrew Ulrich competed at the Bose International Indoor Tennis Championships this past weekend in Santa Fe, N.M. Both players made second-round appearances.

"This was a good event for the players to experience tennis at a high elevation (Santa Fe is over 6,500 feet)," states TCU coach Joey Rive. "They can share their experience with the rest of the team as we move into spring Mountain West competition where conference matches are generally at high elevation sites."

Stopa defeated Marcus Fonseca, who competed as an unattached player, in the first round (6-1, 6-2). The New Orleans, La., product suffered a heart breaking 7-6, 7-5 defeat to Cal State-Fullerton's Daniel Schoiten in the second round.

Ulrich faced New Mexico Military Institute's Drew Gaffney in the first round and took the match in convincing fashion (6-2, 6-1). The junior then lost to CSF's Ricardo Omano.

The TCU players then paired up to compete in doubles play and advanced to the semifinals. Along their way, the duo knocked off Jason Bisanti and Marc Knutila (8-2) and Josh Johnson and Sean Voorhies (8-6), both teams from Colorado-Colorado Springs.

The TCU men's tennis team has concluded play for the fall season. Spring play will begin on Jan. 20, when they head to Houston, Texas, to compete in the Rice Invitational.