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Men’s
tennis falls short against SMU The third time was not the charm for the No. 2 men’s tennis team Wednesday against No. 8 Southern Methodist.
As they have done in the previous two meetings against the Frogs, SMU won two of the three doubles matches and held on for a 4-3 victory at the Bayard H. Friedman Tennis Center. Though the Frogs rallied the past two contests after losing the doubles point, they could not overcome it this time. Needing to win four of the six singles matches, the Frogs fell just short. “I thought we came back well,” head coach Joey Rive said. “We had a chance to win it there at the end. The guys fought hard after falling behind 3-0. That’s all you can ask for.” When senior Trace Fielding tied the match at three by closing out Jon Wallmark 6-4, 4-6, 6-4, the focus shifted to the final singles match. Fielding hit a long forehand winner to break Wallmark and take a 5-4 lead in the third set. Senior Scott Eddins and SMU’s Krystian Pfeiffer were tied at five in the third set in their match after Eddins had taken the first set 6-3, then lost a second-set tiebreak, 7-6. Both players held serve to tie the third set at 5-5. Pfeiffer then battled to break Eddins’ serve. Eddins battled back to duece four times before eventually hitting just long. Pfeiffer then served out for a 3-6, 7-6, 7-5 win that gave SMU the victory. Eddins challenged several points Pfeiffer called out that appeared to land within the court. Both players questioned the officiating. “It wasn’t the difference in the match,” Rive said. SMU coach Carl Neufeld said the doubles were key. “I knew it. I knew it. I knew if we could win the doubles point, we’d be in good shape,” Neufeld said. “It doesn’t get much closer than that, though.” Junior Jimmy Haney scored TCU’s first point, defeating Ryan Mauck at No. 6 singles. Haney, who won the first set 7-6 in a tiebreaker, stormed out in the second. Haney took a quick 5-0 lead and held to take the set, and match, 6-4. “I saw he let his intensity down a little,” Haney said. “I realized we needed the point, so I stepped up my intensity.” Senior Esteban Carril, ranked No. 4, dropped his second match in a row, losing a straight set decision to No. 6 Genius Chidzikwe. “I thought (Chidzikwe) just played a great match,” Rive said. “He’s got great speed, and he kept the pressure on. Esteban was maybe not quite as patient as he could have been, but (Chidzikwe) played well.” Rive said Carril was not injured during the match. Sophomore Daniel Wajnberg held his serve and then broke for the match to take a 7-5, 6-4 victory. The Frogs’ will close the regular season at 1:30 p.m. Saturday at the tennis center against Kansas. The team will then head to the WAC Championships April 27. Matt
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