No. 12 Lions Drop 4-1 Decision at No. 10 TCU

Wednesday, March 20

Fort Worth, TX

7:30 PM

Columbia University

TCU

Photo by: Columbia University Athletics/Mike McLaughlin

3/20/2019 11:12:00 PM | Men's Tennis

Box Score (PDF)

Sophomore Austen Huang improved to 8-0 in singles play in dual matches this season

FORT WORTH, Texas — The No. 10 Columbia men's tennis team continued its three-match road trip on Wednesday evening, falling to the 10th-ranked TCU Horned Frogs, 4-1, at the Bayard H. Friedman Tennis Center in Fort Worth, Texas.

The Lions fall to 9-2 on the season, with their only previous loss coming to top-ranked Wake Forest. TCU improves to 13-3 overall.

From the get-go, it was a tightly-contested match with the doubles point going all the way to tiebreak to decide. The two teams would split the bottom courts, with Victor Pham and Rian Pandole claiming a 7-5 triumph at No. 3 doubles to get Columbia halfway there. Columbia's 11th-ranked tandem of Jack Lin and William Matheson went down to the wire on the top court, but ultimately fell 7-6 (5) to give TCU the early lead.

The Horned Frogs continued the momentum into singles competition, claiming all six first sets, but Columbia would turn the tables around to win five-of-six second sets and keep the match alive. Despite some gritty performances, the Lions dropped courts one, two and three to give TCU the win.

Sophmore Austen Huang earned the Lions' lone point of the match, a 4-6, 6-3, 6-3 victory at No. 6 singles which brought the team tally to 2-1. Huang improves to an unblemished 8-0 record in dual matches in 2019.

Senior Timothy Wang was within striking distance, leading 3-6, 6-4, 5-1 as play was called off.

Columbia will wrap up its Texas road trip on Friday, traveling to Austin, Texas, to take on the third-ranked Texas Longhorns. First serve is set for 7 p.m. ET.

Agate
#12 Columbia 1, #10 TCU 4
Bayard H. Friedman Tennis Center – Fort Worth, Texas
March 20, 2019

Singles (Order of Finish: 1-6-3-2)
1. #7 Alex Rybakov (TCU) def. #16 Jack Lin (CU) 6-1, 6-2
2. #25 Alastair Gray (TCU) def. #41 Victor Pham (CU) 6-4, 3-6, 6-3
3. Reese Stalder (TCU) def. #91 Adam Ambrozy (CU) 6-4, 2-6, 6-4
4. #115 Bertus Kruger (TCU) vs. Rian Pandole (CU) 6-2, 5-7, 5-0, unfinished
5. Luc Fomba (TCU) vs. Timothy Wang (CU) 6-3, 4-6, 1-5, unfinished
6. Austen Huang (CU) def. Sander Jong (TCU) 4-6, 6-3, 6-3

Doubles (Order of Finish: 2-3-1)
1. Alastair Gray/Alex Rybakov (TCU) def. #12 Jack Lin/William Matheson (CU) 7-6 (7-5)
2. #6 Reese Stalder/Bertus Kruger (TCU) def. Adam Ambrozy/Austen Huang (CU) 6-3
3. Victor Pham/Rian Pandole (CU) def. Luc Fomba/Sander Jong (TCU) 7-5

For the latest on the Columbia men's tennis, follow @ColumbiaMTennis on Twitter and on the web at GoColumbiaLions.com.