Last year, Cracked Racquets introduced a series called College Tennis Contenders. This 10 week series will highlight the Oracle/ITA preseason top 10 men’s tennis teams, focusing on one team a week.

This week, we take an extensive look at the #9 ranked TCU Horned Frogs.

After a disappointing loss in the round of 16 at the 2018 NCAA Tournament, the Horned Frogs will look to take it a step further in 2019. Having lost some valuable players from a year ago, Coach David Roditi’s newcomers will need to make an impact early on if TCU is going to reach its goals.

2017-2018 Season Stats

Overall: 20-5

Conference: 5-0

Home: 13-1

Away: 6-2

Neutral: 1-2

Big 12 Tournament Semifinalists

NCAA Team Championships Round of 16

TCU’s Squad

Luc Fomba, Fr.

Alastair Gray, Jr.

Sander Jong, Fr.

Bertus Kruger, So.

Max Kurzban, So.

Juan Martin, So.

Eduardo Roldan, So.

Alex Rybakov, Sr.

Reese Stalder, Sr.

Outlook

TCU is going to have to find a way to make up for the departures of two key players from a year ago. Both Trevor Johnson and Guillermo Nunez had outstanding careers in Fort Worth, racking up wins in singles and doubles on a weekly basis.

Head Coach David Roditi has been very vocal about how much Johnson and Nunez meant to the program and their tennis community. Replacing their production and leadership will be a full team effort.

Roditi has a fairly young squad for the 2018-2019 season, and will be looking to his three upperclassman to pave the way for the Horned Frogs. Alex Rybakov, Alastair Gray, and Reese Stalder all return as major contributors from last season.

Expect Rybakov to be a mainstay in the top 10 singles rankings all year long. There’s no doubt the senior from Florida is one of the best players in the country. Gray and Stalder also possess valuable college experience in singles and doubles.

In addition, Bertus Kruger, Max Kurzban, and Eduardo Roldan return to Fort Worth with a year of college tennis under their belts. I expect those three to provide depth for Coach Roditi. If they’re called upon, the sophomores can step in and play good tennis.

The most interesting part of this team for me will be the newcomers/freshmen. Luc Fomba and Sander Jong are highly regarded recruits who should definitely make an immediate impact. Juan Martin will be eligible to play this season after having to sit out last year due to NCAA transfer rules.

Fomba, Jong, and Martin bring a wealth of international experience to the Horned Frogs, and have the ability to elevate TCU from a very good team, to a great one. With only 9 players currently rostered, each member of the team will have to play his part. If injuries do strike, there aren’t as many reinforcements for Roditi’s squad as some of the other top teams.

As far as the lineup goes, Rybakov will stay at #1. I’m assuming Gray, Martin, and Fomba will fill the middle of the lineup in some order. Stalder and Jong will most likely round out the starting six. If necessary, Kruger, Kurzban, and Roldan will need to be ready for action.

Cracked Take

I have mixed feelings about TCU’s roster this year. On one hand, I love having the lefty Rybakov as the go-to guy, and the possibilities for this team with the newcomers/freshmen. On the other hand, there seems to be some unanswered questions that we won’t find the answers to until dual-matches begin.

We haven’t seen what Martin, Fomba, or Jong are capable of in a dual-match situation. If these guys can come along quickly and adapt to the college game, there’s no reason why the Horned Frogs can’t win the Big 12 title. The conference is always very deep however, so the possibility of it going the other way remains.

TCU’s run in the 2018 NCAA Team Championships ended in a disappointing fashion with a 4-0 loss to Illinois in the round of 16. The Illini ended up falling to the eventual National Champion Wake Forest Demon Deacons in the quarterfinals.

Prior to the loss, the Horned Frogs looked strong during the tournament, posting a 4-1 victory over Utah State and a 4-0 victory over Oregon.

This is certainly a team to watch throughout the dual-match season. They will be well-coached, and have the potential to possibly become an elite squad. Do they have a shot at the National Title? I don’t think I can go that far. I’m not entirely sure Coach Roditi has enough depth to go all the way. We’ll see how it all plays out.

TCU 2019 Schedule

The Horned Frogs will absolutely be battle-tested when the postseason rolls around. Coach Roditi has scheduled many notable non-conference matchups as TCU prepares for Big 12 play. The Frogs will welcome the Florida Gators to Fort Worth on February 10th in a premier matchup.

TCU will also host Illinois in a rematch of last year’s NCAA round of 16 bout on March 3rd. The Frogs will then make their way to Knoxville, Tennessee to take on the Volunteers on March 13th.

Columbia and Arizona State will both make their way to Fort Worth to face TCU on March 20th and March 24th, respectively. Finally, on April 8th, the Horned Frogs will get a visit from SEC powerhouse Texas A&M in the final non-conference match of the season.

The Big 12 only has six teams, but this is routinely one of the deepest conferences every single year. All six teams usually have the ability to play elite level tennis on a given day. This year, TCU will visit Baylor, Oklahoma, and Oklahoma State, while hosting Texas Tech and Texas in conference play.

Reader Poll

How will TCU do in the 2019 season? This is the 2018 NCAA Championship team.

Big 12 Champions, but they falter in the NCAA tournament.

Finish top 3 in the Big 12, make an average run in the NCAA tournament.

This team is overhyped, and will not finish in the top 10. View Results

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How do you think the season will turn out for the TCU men? Make sure to take the poll, or let us know your thoughts in the comments below.