FORT WORTH, Texas, FEB. 23, 2020 – USF handed TCU its first doubles loss in four matches Sunday. The Bulls earned two ranked upsets in doubles despite ultimately dropping the match, 6-1, at the Bayard H. Friedman Tennis Center.
 
No. 40 South Florida (5-4, 0-1 AAC) started Sunday's matchup with a doubles set success thanks to wins against two ranked duos. Chase Ferguson (Melbourne, Australia) and Pierre Luquet (Draguignan, France) defeated the No. 57 duo Tadeas Paroulek and Sander Jong on court two, 7-5, bringing their record to 6-1. 
 
Jakub Wojcik (Delray Beach, Fla.) and Rithvik Bollipalli (Hyderabad, India) captured the doubles point for the Bulls with a hard-fought win on court one against No. 19 Alastair Gray and Jacob Fearnley, 7-6 (7). The former ITA Southeast Regional doubles finalists left the match with their first ranked win and the first top 20 doubles victory for USF this season.
 
No. 12 TCU (7-4) quickly answered in singles with two wins before rainy weather pushed action to the indoor facilities. No. 50 Alastair Gray continued the Horned Frogs' stride with a court one win against Ferguson, 5-7, 6-3, 6-4. Bertus Kruger clinched for TCU with a court-six triumph over Bollipalli, 7-6, 3-6, 6-2.
 
TCU closed the match, 6-1, with wins over Wojcik and Luquet on courts two and three, respectively. Despite a second-set comeback by Wojcik, No. 79 Luc Fomba defeated him, 7-6, 4-6, 6-4, while Paroulek bested Luquet, 6-7, 6-4, 6-1.
 
 
 Quotable
Head coach Ashley Fisher on the Bulls' performance today…
 "These sorts of matches are the ones you want to play and are what makes college tennis so special. It was a dog fight all afternoon and the growth the guys showed from Friday was amazing. We got knocked down on Friday but the way we bounced back today says a lot about the character of this team. I was proud to be on the same team as the boys today and if we use today as a baseline level for grit and commitment this season will be a huge success."
 
 
Match Results
 
Doubles
1. Jakub Wojcik/Rithvik Bollipalli (USF) def. #19 Alastair Gray/Jacob Fearnley (TCU) 7-6 (9-7)
2. Chase Ferguson/Pierre Luquet (USF) def. #57 Tadeas Paroulek/Sander Jong (TCU) 7-5
3. Luc Fomba/Bertus Kruger (TCU) def. Sergio Gomez Montesa/Ivan Yatsuk (USF) 7-6 (7-2)
 
Singles
1. Alastair Gray (TCU) def. Chase Ferguson (USF) 5-7, 6-3, 6-4
2. Luc Fomba (TCU) def. Jakub Wojcik (USF) 7-6 (7-1), 4-6, 6-4
3. Tadeas Paroulek (TCU) def. Pierre Luquet (USF) 6-7 (5-7), 6-4, 6-1
4. Jacob Fearnley (TCU) def. Ivan Yatsuk (USF) 6-3, 6-3
5. Sander Jong (TCU) def. Antonio Muniz-Hidalgo (USF) 6-1, 6-4
6. Bertus Kruger (TCU) def. Rithvik Bollipalli (USF) 7-6 (7-2), 3-6, 6-2
 
Order of finish: Doubles (3,2,1); Singles (4,5,1,6,2,3)
 
Up Next
 
USF stays on the road for a trip to Georgia to challenge Georgia State in Atlanta on Feb. 28 and Georgia Southern in Statesboro, Feb. 29.
 

 About Men's Tennis