The No. 9 Texas Tech men’s tennis team made history and clinched a share of the program’s first Big 12 regular season title with a 4-2 victory over No. 4 TCU Sunday on Senior Day at the McLeod Tennis Center.
The Red Raiders (26-4, 4-1 Big 12) honored their senior class of Hugo Dojas, Evan Nix, and Felipe Soares during a prematch ceremony. Tech won its 26th match, which set a record for most wins in a season in program history. The Red Raiders also clinched a share of the Big 12 regular season title and snapped a 17-match winning streak for the Horned Frogs (22-3, 4-1 Big 12).
“It’s hard to put into words,” Texas Tech head coach Brett Masi said. “We started here in September, and the guys put in a lot of work and it paid off. These guys earned this, the right way. I’m really proud of them. Last Friday, we had a tough loss (at Oklahoma State). We were talking about what we need to get better. Then, we came back and played like this for three straight matches. The team we beat today is a national title contender. Our guys deserve all the credit in the world.”
Ahead 3-2, Texas Tech secured the victory behind a 4-6, 6-4, 6-4 comeback victory for Alex Sendegeya against No. 88 Guillermo Nuñez at the No. 3 spot. Sendegeya dropped the first set but was able to rally for the fourth time this season from a one-set deficit.
The final set was a back-and-forth affair as Sendegeya built 3-0 and 4-2 leads only to see Nuñez knot the tally at 4-4. However, Sendegeya dug deep and got a service break back to go back up 5-4. He consolidated the break and painted the service lines to surge ahead 40-0. At 40-30, Sendegeya dialed up another strong serve deep in the box, which forced Nuñez’s backhand return to sail long to seal the match for the Red Raiders.
“I can’t describe the feeling,” Sendegeya said. “To win the Big 12, that was one of our goals that we set out for at the beginning of the season. It means so much to do it for these seniors. We wanted it so bad for them. I had to fight as hard as I could. All the teammates, everyone just did a great job today. Everyone fought as hard as they could. For our seniors during their last home match and to just get it done for them, that was the motivating factor for me.”
“Alex did a great job today,” Masi said. “He’s a tough kid and a tough competitor. Whenever he got an opening, he surged ahead and gave himself some room. We knew his opponent was going to fight back so it came down to whether or not Alex could build a big enough lead to sustain it. He served out a great last game. He stayed calm and cool and was clutch for us down the stretch.”
The Red Raiders began the day with competitive doubles play in all three matchups. TCU struck first with a 6-4 victory for No. 73 Hudson Blake and Reese Stalder against No. 85 Sendegeya and Bjorn Thomson on the No. 1 line.
Tech would have an answer courtesy of a 7-5 victory for Carlos DiLaura and Hugo Dojas over Cameron Norrie and Alex Rybakov on court three. Shortly after, Tech’s Connor Curry and Felipe Soares clinched the doubles point with an impressive 7-6 (3) triumph over Trevor Johnson and Nuñez at the No. 2 slot.
TCU knotted the score at 1-1 behind No. 24 Rybakov’s 6-3, 6-2 win over No. 110 Dojas at the No. 2 position. Tech jumped back in front 2-1 behind an impressive performance and upset for No. 20 Soares, who relied on aggressive play during a 6-3, 6-4 triumph against No. 5 Norrie on court one during his final regular season match as a Red Raider.
Texas Tech increased its lead to 3-1 when No. 119 Jolan Cailleau defeated Eduardo Nava 7-6 (5), 6-2 at the No. 4 spot. Again, TCU would answer and made the score 3-2 courtesy of a 3-6, 6-4, 6-4 win for Johnson over Thomson on court six.
When play was halted, Curry was locked in a tight 6-4, 2-6, 2-5 battle with Jerry Lopez at the No. 5 position.
With the victory, Tech will enter the Big 12 Tournament as the No. 1 seed for the first time in program history. The Red Raiders have earned a first round bye and will meet either Oklahoma State or Baylor during Saturday’s semifinals from the OSU campus next weekend.
“We’ve got a mark on our back now,” Masi said. “Everybody will be gunning for us, and we’ll have to work just as hard or even harder to back up our number one seed. I’ll worry about that later this week. Right now, I want these guys to celebrate and enjoy this moment. This gives us so much confidence. These guys can now see what they’ve achieved and what they’re capable of. We’ve just got to keep playing hard.”
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. 9 Texas Tech 4, No. 4 TCU 2
04/24/16 at Lubbock, Texas (McLeod Tennis Center)
Doubles
1. No. 73 Hudson Blake/Reese Stalder (TCU) defeats No. 85 Alex Sendegeya/Bjorn Thomson (TTU): 6-4
2. Connor Curry/Felipe Soares (TTU) defeats Trevor Johnson/Guillermo Nuñez (TCU): 7-6 (3)
3. Carlos DiLaura/Hugo Dojas (TTU) defeats. Cameron Norrie/Alex Rybakov (TCU): 7-5
Singles
1. No. 20 Felipe Soares (TTU) defeats No. 5 Cameron Norrie (TCU): 6-3, 6-4
2. No. 24 Alex Rybakov (TCU) defeats No. 110 Hugo Dojas (TTU) 6-3, 6-2
3. Alex Sendegeya (TTU) defeats No. 88 Guillermo Nuñez (TCU) 4-6, 6-4, 6-4
4. No. 119 Jolan Cailleau (TTU) defeats Eduardo Nava (TCU): 7-6 (5), 6-2
5. Connor Curry (TTU) vs. Jerry Lopez (TCU): 6-4, 2-6, 2-5, unfinished
6. Trevor Johnson (TCU) defeats Bjorn Thomson (TTU) 3-6, 6-4, 6-4
Match Notes
Texas Tech (26-4, 4-1 Big 12); National ranking No. 9
TCU (22-3, 4-1 Big 12); National ranking No. 4
Order of finish: Doubles (1,3,2); Singles (2,1,4,6,3)