(5/26) Ashley Fisher & Jason Weir-Smith were
defeated by #1 seed Justin Gimelstob and Srdjan Muskatirovic of UCLA 6-7 (3-7), 6-4, 6-4 in the
NCAA championship doubles finals.
Fisher & Weir-Smith were up a service break in the third set, but Weir-Smith lost serve
in the 9th game, and TCU fell behind 5-4. Weir-Smith was charged with a point penalty in his service
game when his hat blew off and a let was called.
"Our argument was that the point was already over when my hat blew off," said Weir-Smith. "Basically it was just a bad call. But, we had a great tournament, and we played great tennis."
(5/25) Unseeded Ashley Fisher & Jason Weir-Smith defeated #5 Chris Mahony & Pablo Montana of Tennessee, 6-4, 6-2, to
advance to the championship finals. They will play #1 seed Justin Gimelstob
and Srdjan Muskatirovic of UCLA on Sunday afternoon. They are the second TCU
doubles team to reach the finals. David Pate and Karl Richter, now an assistant coach,
won TCU's first NCAA tennis title in 1981.
"We've said all along that the way you play solid doubles is to stay tough on your serve and then pressure your opponent on their serve," said Fisher. "We've been fortunate to practice with one of the best doubles team in the nation in Paul Robinson and David Roditi," Fisher said. "They've demonstrated to us over the last three years how you become a champion, and now we've finally made it."
"These guys have just gradually gotten better," said TCU head coach Tut Bartzen. "Ashley has improved his serves and Jason has helped him a lot with his serve and return game."
(5/25) Earlier in the day, Fisher & Weir-Smith defeated #4 seed Troy Budgen & Brad Sceney of Pepperdine, 6-4, 6-4.
(5/25) Paul Robinson & David Roditi were defeated by #1 seed Justin Gimelstob and Srdjan Muskatirovic of UCLA, 6-2, 7-5 in the quarterfinals.
(5/24) Ashley Fisher & Jason Weir-Smith defeated Chris James and Derek Myers of Purdue, 6-4, 6-3.
(5/24) Paul Robinson & David Roditi defeated Jeff Salzenstein and Ryan Wolters of Stanford, 6-3, 4-6, 6-3. This victory avenges an early season
loss to the Stanford tandem.
"After the day I was having, I wasn't too confident
about finishing them off in the third set," said Robinson.
They will now face #1 seed Justin Gimelstob
and Srdjan Muskatirovic of UCLA in the quarterfinals.
(5/24) Paul Robinson was defeated by Manuel Rameriz of USC in the third round of singles, 2-6, 6-2, 7-6 (7-5). Robinson was the last top seed remaining in the tournament.
(5/23) Ashley Fisher & Jason Weir-Smith defeated Nic Chosim & Jan Hermansson of South Alabama, 6-3, 6-1.
(5/23) Paul Robinson & David Roditi defeated David Caldwell and Brint Morrow of North Carolina, 6-3, 6-1. They will now play Jeff Salzenstein and Ryan Wolters of national champion Stanford.
(5/23) #2 seed Paul Robinson defeated Reed Cordish 6-2, 7-5; "The fresher you stay in early rounds, the better off you are," said Robinson. "Anytime I finish in straight sets, I consider it a bonus."
(5/23) Paul Robinson and David Roditi open doubles competition today against David Caldwell and Brint Morrow of North Carolina. Robinson will also play Reed Cordish of Princeton today in singles.
(5/22) TCU's Paul Robinson, seeded #2 in singles, advanced by defeating #37 Jason White of Florida State, 6-7 (7-5), 6-3, 6-1. #35 David Roditi lost to #3 Cecil Mamit of Southern Cal, 6-4, 6-1.
TCU 2, UCLA 4
(5/20) #4 TCU fell in its upset attempt of #1 ranked UCLA, losing 4-2 in the semifinals of the NCAA Championships. The semifinal appearance matched TCU's best finish in school's history, as the Horned Frogs also reached the Final 4 in 1989.
TCU (23-3) lost for the third time in four years at the NCAA's. The Horned Frogs finished the 1996 dual match season with the highest winning percentage in school history, posting a 88.5% while losing two matches to #1 ranked teams.
TCU fell behind 0-1, after losing the doubles point and were unable to recover. The Frogs lost the doubles point for only the 5th time in 26 dual matches. The Bruins won 4 of the first 6 sets in singles, and closed out three singles wins for the semifinal victory.
"The main thing is to try and win the entire match," said TCU head coach Tut Bartzen. "We needed momentum and we didn't get it. I figured sooner or later that we would cash something in and we didn't. When you get opportunities to make some moves against a team that good and you don't make them, you aren't going to turn out too well."
"They are definitely the best team we have played. When you go 27-0 in this league and playing the competition they have played, you have to be pretty outstanding. This would have been an upset, definitely. We've said all along that we have a good team, but they may be a great team."
#4 Ashley Fisher pulled the Frogs even at 1-1, but Vincent Allegre beat #6 Andres Urencio, and Justin Gimbelstob defeated #1 Paul Robinson. Robinson was serving for the first set at 5-4, but was broken and then lost 9 consecutive games to drop the match.
"I had the opportunity to take control of the match and I didn't take it," said Robinson. "I think I played a little too conservative and allowed him to take it at me."
#2 David Roditi upset Srdjan Muskatirovic (#17 nationally), but Eric Taino clinched the match with a victory over Gonzalo Corrales.
Singles
#1 Justin Gimelstob d Paul Robinson, 7-5, 6-0;
#2 David Roditi d Srdjan Muskatirovic, 6-2, 7-6 (7-3);
#3 Eric Taino d Gonzalo Corrales, 6-3, 6-2;
#4 Ashley Fisher d Heath Montgomery, 6-4, 6-3;
#5 Jason Weir-Smith vs Matt Breen, 4-6, 3-2, suspended
#6 Vicent Allegre d Andres Urencio, 7-5, 6-0;
Doubles
#1 Robinson & Roditi vs Gimelstob & Muskatirovic, 5-6, suspended
#2 Lin & Thompson d Fisher & Weir-Smith 8-4;
#3 Breen & Taino d Corrales & Urencio, 8-6;
TCU 4, Mississippi 1
(5/19) TCU defeated Mississippi 4-1 to advance to the semifinals of the NCAAs.
David Roditi upset #10 ranked Johan Hede to lead the Frogs. Hede was on a 16 game winning streak. "I would have bet a $1000 that I would have lost that
match," Roditi said. "Hede had not lost at #2 all year, and they were really counting on him
to win. I told coach that if I win at #2 singles, we would probably win the entire dual match.
I'm pretty happy with myself right now."
"This equals the best performance we have ever had here," said coach Tut Bartzen. "I have said all year that this is the best team I have ever had. I told the guys yesterday that we would play better and we did."
TCU won the doubles point.
#4 Ashley Fisher and #6 Andres Urencio also won their matches.
This is only the second time in school history that the Frogs have advanced to the semifinals.
TCU also received the Blue-Grey Trophy under a gentlemen's agreement with Mississippi that if the two teams met again, the winning team gets the trophy. Their scheduled match was rained out earlier this season.
(5/19) TCU will now play #1 ranked and undefeated UCLA today at 11am.
The feature match will be #2 ranked Paul Robinson vs #1 Justin Gimelstob. Robinson was only one of two players that
have defeated Gimbelstob earlier this season.
UCLA advanced by defeating Fresno State 4-0; Georgia defeated Mississippi State, 4-0, and will play Stanford, a 4-1 winner over USC.
Singles
#1 Paul Robinson v Ali Harnadeh, 1-6, 6-2, 5-5 suspended
#2 David Roditi d Johan Hede 6-4, 7-5;
#3 Gonzalo Corrales vs Johan Landsberg, 6-2, 5-7, 0-1 suspended
#4 Ashley Fisher d Remi Feneon, 6-3, 6-2;
#5 Sebastien DeChaunac d Jason Weir-Smith, 7-6 (7-5), 6-4;
#6 Andres Urencio d Michael Pritchard 0-6, 7-6 (7-3), 6-1;
Doubles
#1 Robinson & Roditi d Ali Hamadeh & Johan Landsberg, 8-3;
#2Fisher & Weir-Smith d DeChaunac & Feneon, 8-4;
#3 Corrales & Urencio vs Wassell & Hede, 5-6 suspended;
TCU 4, LSU 3
(5/18) TCU defeated LSU 4-3 to advance in the NCAA tournament. LSU won the doubles point, as Paul Robinson and David Roditi, the nation's #3 ranked doubles team, were
defeated 9-8,(7-5).
TCU's overall depth paid off in singles, as #1 Robinson, #5 Jason Weir-Smith, and #6 Andres Urencio won their matches.
In the deciding match, #4 Ashley Fisher rallied to win the second (6-4) and third (6-4) sets.
Singles
#1 Paul Robinson d Gus Fernandes, 6-2, 6-2;
#2 Zak Blanchard d David Roditi, 6-1, 6-4;
#3 Eduardo Villagomez d Gonzalo Corrales, 6-4, 6-4;
#4 Ashley Fisher d Ryan Ideta, 4-6, 6-4, 6-4;
#5 Jason Weir-Smith d Jose Leon, 6-4, 7-6 (7-4)
#6 Andres Urencio d Chad Dudley, 0-6, 7-5, 6-3
Doubles
Dudley & Ideta d Robinson & Roditi, 9-8 (7-5)
Fisher & Weir-Smith d Blanchard & Villagomez, 8-6
Fernandes & Leon d Corrales & Urencio, 8-5