The packed crowd inside Goodfriend Tennis Center had little to cheer about Monday.
Tennessee men’s tennis was swept 4-0 by third-ranked TCU, their second consecutive defeat in as many days to a top team in the nation.
“They have world-class players,” head coach Chris Woodruff said. “They have a guy at line one who’s made finals of a challenger, their guy playing down there at line four is a world-class junior, and line five was a world-class junior.”
Doubles started fast as Piotr Siekanowicz and Dragos Cazacu delivered a 6-3 win on Court 1, putting a lot of pressure on TCU on Courts 2 and 3. But the Horned Frogs held their nerve, with Duncan Chan and Cosme Rolland de Ravel, the 23rd-ranked NCAA doubles team, breaking to love to close out their match 6-4.
With all eyes on court three, the Vols’ pairing of Ethan Muza and Alejandro Moreno pressured Filip Apltauer and Maximus Dussault late, yet the Horned Frogs came up large in the big moments and took the match 6-4, giving the visitors the doubles point.
Much like their match against Wake Forest, the Big Orange came out slowly and dropped the opening set in four of the six singles matches. Moreno held his nerve and claimed the opening set on Court 1 versus Chan, who entered the match ranked sixth overall in the collegiate men’s singles rankings. Jose Garcia overcame an early break deficit on court three and stormed back to win his opening set versus Oliver Bonding.
Elsewhere, Tennessee was overpowered. Cazacu started fast before Rolland De Ravel asserted control of the match, while Jan Kobierski was frustrated and flustered by the level of Roger Pascual. Both Vols, facing Horned Frogs ranked in the top 80 in college singles, fell 2-6, 2-6, putting the visitors ahead 3-0.
As Boruch Skierkier, Moreno and Garcia all battled in their respective matches, Muza was dispatched on court four, 3-6, 1-6, giving the third-ranked team in the country a 4-0 win.
“We were competitive at doubles, we were competitive at six, we were competitive at one, we were competitive at three,” Woodward said.
Moreno hangs tough
Little went right for Tennessee during the singles session, but Moreno again rose to the occasion against one of the best players in the country. The Knoxville-native played about as well as he could and pressured Chan repeatedly, and he dictated play quite effectively with his forehand.
What allowed him to be so successful against Chan, however, was the quality of his backhand. His forehand is certainly better, but the backhand was more than rock solid — it was a weapon. Many times Chan tested Moreno’s backhand corner to approach the net, and Moreno answered with a passing shot. His baseline play elevated, allowing him to control the match early and seize the opening set 6-4.
Moreno then stormed to a double break lead in the second set before his level dropped, allowing Chan to get back on serve before the match was abandoned after TCU won the team match.
Still, the senior played his best against one of the best for the second consecutive day, a highly encouraging sign for the Big Orange.
Road warriors
Certainly, TCU was the more talented team, as illustrated by the fact that four of the six players they started in singles were ranked in the top 80 in college singles. But to their credit, they outplayed the Vols on the big points and held their nerve, which served to keep the crowd quiet.
Each time the Horned Frogs broke or escaped with a deuce point, a loud roar followed, keeping the Knoxville faithful out of the match and preventing the Vols from swinging the momentum. Even as Moreno and Garcia fought valiantly on Courts 1 and 3, the writing was on the wall as TCU relentlessly pressured Tennessee on the outer courts until they succumbed.
While the crowd energized the Vols deep into the singles session against Wake Forest, they were suffocated all afternoon, and TCU deserves a lot of credit for silencing the packed-out stands.
