Rice University
TCU
Rice Upsets TCU at Fort Worth 4-3
4/1/2006 12:00:00 AM | Men's Tennis
April 1, 2006
FORT WORTH, Texas -- The 34th-ranked Rice men made their bid to move into the ITA top 30 with their 4-3 upset of 23rd-ranked TCU Saturday afternoon in Fort Worth.
After long dominance in the series by the Horned Frogs, leading 25-1 from 1980 to 2003, the Owls have gained the upper hand in recent years, recording three straight 4-3 victories, twice at TCU. The win also brings the Owls' win streak to eight and improve's their record to 13-5 on the year.
Rice grabbed the early lead, winning at one and two doubles to take the first point. The sophomore tandem of Ralph Knupfer and Filip Zivojinovic downed Cosmin Cotet and Andrei Mlendea 8-3 at two, then Owl seniors Tony Haerle and Robert Searle, ranked 50th, upended 33rd-ranked Rafael Abreu and Jordan Freitas 8-5 in the clincher.
Haerle put Rice up 2-0 with a quick 6-0, 6-4 victory against Radu Bardu at four singles. TCU then climbed on top with straight-set wins at two, three and five singles, taking a 3-2 lead with the final two matches heading into third sets.
Searle knotted the team score with his 6-3, 5-7, 6-4 decision against Abreu at the top spot. At the opposite end of the ladder, Rice freshman Christoph Müller secured the team victory with a tightly contested 7-6, 6-7, 6-3 victory against Cosmin Cotet.
Rice returns home April 8 to host Tulsa and Lamar at the Jake Hess Tennis Stadium. The Owls face the Golden Hurricane at 12 noon then the Cardinals at 5 pm.
Results
No. 34 Rice 4, No. 23 TCU 3
Doubles
1. No. 50 Searle/Haerle (RU) def. No. 33 Abreu/Freitas (TCU), 8-5
2. Knupfer/Zivojinovic (RU) def. Cotet/Mlendea (TCU), 8-3
3. Brink/Tezza (TCU) def. Harknett/Müller (RU)
Singles
1. No. 35 Robert Searle (RU) def. No. 70 Rafael Abreu (TCU), 6-3, 5-7, 6-4
2. No. 64 Andrei Mlendea (TCU) def. Ben Harknett (RU), 6-4, 6-1
3. Jacopo Tezza (TCU) def. Ralph Knupfer (RU), 6-3, 6-2
4. Tony Haerle (RU) def. Radu Bardu (TCU), 6-0, 6-4
5. Jordan Freitas (TCU) def. Filip Zivojinovic (RU), 6-4, 6-4
* 6. Christoph Müller (RU) def. Cosmin Cotet (TCU), 7-6, 6-7, 6-3
Players Mentioned
