No. 8 Texas Tech Men's Tennis Handed 4-2 Defeat by No. 5 TCU in Big 12 Tournament Finals

The No. 8 Texas Tech men’s tennis team secured the doubles point, but No. 5 TCU rallied with four straight-set singles wins to claim a 4-2 victory during Sunday’s Big 12 Tournament Championship Match at the Greenwood Tennis Center on the Oklahoma State campus.

The Red Raiders (27-5) were making the program’s first appearance in the Big 12 Tournament final. Texas Tech will await selection to the 64-team NCAA Tournament field announced Tuesday at 4:30 p.m. CT online at www.NCAA.com. The NCAA First and Second Rounds will be played at 16 campus sites across the country from May 12-14.

“Our guys have had a great year to this point,” Texas Tech head coach Brett Masi said. “I don’t think we played at our best today. I do see a lot of great things for this team to come. We’ll have to be ready the next time we get an opportunity like this. I think we need to be a little more aggressive. Today, they were the ones that inserted themselves against us. The next time we get an opportunity like this we have to do a better job across the board.”

Texas Tech won the doubles point for the fifth time in the last six matches. All three decisions were decided late in sets. Connor Curry and Felipe Soares dialed up a 6-4 victory over Trevor Johnson and Guillermo Nuñez on the No. 2 line. Soares clinched the win a service ace up the T at deuce.

The Horned Frogs (24-3) answered with a 6-4 win of their own courtesy of Cameron Norrie and Alex Rybakov against Carlos DiLaura and Hugo Dojas on court three.

Just like the regular season meeting a week earlier, the doubles point would be decided by the No. 1 pairs. Alex Sendegeya and Bjorn Thomson captured a late service break as Sendegeya ripped a crosscourt forehand winner en route to the 7-5 triumph versus Hudson Blake and Reese Stalder.

TCU regrouped and drew even at 1-1 when Johnson dispatched of Curry with a 6-2, 6-2 win at the No. 5 positon. The Horned Frogs surged ahead 3-1 after Norrie and Rybakov notched straight-set victories over Soares and Dojas in the top two spots of the lineup.

Sendegeya pulled the Red Raiders back within 3-2 after he grinded out a 6-2, 7-5 triumph over Nuñez on court three.

TCU’s Jerry Lopez provided the clinching point and came away with a tightly-contested 6-4, 7-5 decision versus Jolan Cailleau on the No. 4 line.

When play was stopped, Thomson was locked in a three-set battle and was all square at 4-4 with Stalder at the No. 6 slot.

“We have a lot of big matches still to play,” Masi said. “We’re going to get the opportunity to host an NCAA Regional in a couple of weeks. We’ll begin to prepare for the teams that will come to Lubbock once the field is announced on Tuesday. Right now, it’s about getting bodies healthy and getting bodies stronger. This team will be fine and has already had a very successful year. Again, we’re going to find ourselves in another moment like this and be able to rebound.”

Visit www.TexasTech.com for the latest news and information on the Texas Tech men’s tennis program. Fans can also follow the program on its social media outlets at www.facebook.com/Techmenstennis and @TexasTechTennis on Twitter.

No. 5 TCU 4, No. 8 Texas Tech 2

05/01/16 at Stillwater, Okla. (Greenwood Tennis Center)

Big 12 Tournament Championship Match

Doubles

1. Alex Sendegeya/Bjorn Thomson (TTU) defeats No. 60 Hudson Blake/Reese Stalder (TCU): 7-5

2. Connor Curry/Felipe Soares (TTU) defeats Trevor Johnson/Guillermo Nuñez (TCU): 6-4

3. Cameron Norrie/Alex Rybakov (TCU) defeats Carlos DiLaura/Hugo Dojas (TTU): 6-4

Singles

1. No. 6 Cameron Norrie (TCU) defeats No. 18 Felipe Soares (TTU): 6-2, 6-4

2. No. 24 Alex Rybakov (TCU) defeats No. 110 Hugo Dojas (TTU): 6-2, 6-3

3. Alex Sendegeya (TTU) defeats No. 87 Guillermo Nuñez (TCU): 6-2, 7-5

4. Jerry Lopez (TCU) defeats Jolan Cailleau (TTU): 6-4, 7-5