For seniors Emanuel Brighiu, Cameron Nash, Zach Nichols and Christopher Price, it would have been a day to remember regardless of the outcome. The four seniors will now look back on their last match at the Bayard H. Friedman Tennis Center Sunday as their fourth win in a row – a 6-1 route over No. 53 UNLV with over 1,000 fans on hand.
TCU (11-12, 5-1 MWC) picked up early victories over UNLV (13-10, 2-3 MWC) at the No. 1 and No. 2 courts for the doubles point after Brighiu and Price, ranked the No. 79 doubles pair in the nation, defeated UNLV’s Mehdi Bouras and Johannes Markell, 8-2, at the No. 1 position.
TCU junior Paul Chappell and Nash took care of UNLV’s Rene Ruegamer and Bernard Schoeman at the No. 2 court, 8-4. The Rebels picked up their lone doubles victory at the No. 3 position, as UNLV’s Alex Bull and Kasper Konyves upended Nichols and junior Daniel Sanches, 8-5.
“It was a great day,” said head coach David Roditi. “We had an unbelievable crowd and I don’t think the fans could go home any happier… I thought we finished the season well to get us ready for the postseason and that is all because of the guys that we have on this team and the leadership of the senior class.”
In singles play junior Slah Mbarek was the first to victory, defeating Markel 6-1, 6-4 at the No. 4 court. Brighiu, the 79th-ranked player in the nation, outdueled his No. 62-ranked opponent, Bouras, 6-3, 6-2 at the No. 1 position.
Sanchez took care of UNLV’s Charlie Alvarado, 6-4, 6-3 at the No. 6 court, while sophomore Soren Goritzka defeated Bull 3-6, 6-3, 1-0.
UNLV’s Tamas Batyi edged Nichols 7-5, 3-6, 1-0 , in Nichols’ final singles match on campus at the No. 2 slot. Price would defeat Ruegamer 7-5, 3-6, 1-0 to finish competition at the No. 3 court.
“This senior class is a great group. You couldn’t ask for anything better,” Roditi said. “First of all, they are unbelievable students. They are a great representation of what TCU is all about and the kind of graduates that come out of this institution.
” We are going to miss their character and leadership, but they will be around the TCU tennis program for a long time.”
Up next
The Frogs will next compete at the MWC Chapionships Apri l27-30 in Fort Collins, Colo.
