Men's Tennis: #4 TCU Sweeps Rice, 4-0
4/28/2001 12:00:00 AM | Men's Tennis
April 28, 2001
FRESNO, Calif. - The 36th-ranked Rice men were eliminated from the 2001 Western Athletic Conference tournament Saturday with a 4-0 loss in the semifinals to top-seeded, and fourth-ranked, TCU in Fresno, Calif.
The Horned Frogs won the doubles point to open the match, winning at numbers one and three doubles. Rice's tandem of junior Alexis Pourchet and sophomore Matthias Mathaes were handed an 8-5 loss in the top spot by the 22nd-ranked duo of Jimmy Haney and Trace Fielding.
TCU dominated Rice in singles, winning at the one, three and six positions. Mathaes, playing at number one, lost to eighth-ranked Esteban Carrill 6-1, 6-2. The Owls were without freshman Richard Barker, ranked 82nd nationally and their regular player in the top singles and doubles positions, who was ill Saturday.
The loss drops Rice's record to 21-8 on the year. The Owls must now wait until Thursday to find out if they have earned an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament. The selection show begins at 3 pm and can be viewed on the internet only at the men's tennis page at www.ncaachampionships.com.
Results TCU 4, Rice 0 Singles 1) Esteban Carril (TCU) def. Mattias Mathaes (RU), 6-1, 6-2 2) William Barker (RU) vs. Trace Fielding (TCU), suspended 3) Scot Eddins (TCU) def. Alexis Pourchet (RU), 6-1, 6-2 4) Cody Jackson (RU) vs. Toni Gordon (TCU), suspended 5) Fabien Giraud (RU) vs. Daniel Wajnberg (TCU), suspended 6) Jimmy Haney (TCU) def. Ramez Qamer (RU), 6-0, 6-2
Doubles 1) Haney/Fielding (TCU) def. Mathaes/Pourchet (RU), 8-5 2) Jackson/Vuk Rajevac (RU) vs. Carril/Gagnon (TCU, suspended 3) Koula/Eddins (TCU) def. Barker/Giraud (RU), 8-4