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Men's tennis finishes 2006 season ranked 31st
Frogs bring home MWC Tournament Title
June 5, 2006 FORT WORTH, Texas - The TCU men's tennis team concluded the 2006 season ranked 31st in the ITA polls after capturing the 2006 Mountain West Conference Tournament title and advancing to the second round of the NCAA Championships. After beginning the season ranked 50th, the Frogs quickly leaped to 23rd after rattling off six-straight wins to begin the season. During the win streak, the Purple and White defeated four higher-ranked opponents. Junior Radu Barbu was named Mountain West Conference Player of the Week on Feb. 24, following TCU's wins over No. 23 Texas Tech (Feb. 17) and No. 30 San Diego (Feb. 19). Barbu teamed with sophomore Cosmin Cotet for a pair of doubles victories at the No. 3 spot. He also won both singles matches at the No. 5 position, defeating Teddy DiBlasi of Texas Tech (6-2, 6-2) and Ryo Sekiguchi of San Diego (6-2, 6-4). The following week, senior Jacopo Tezza pulled in MWC Player of the Week honors after posting a 1-0 mark in singles play and a 1-1 record in doubles competition to help the Frogs to a pair of victories. In a win over then No. 70 Denver, Tezza teamed with Kriegler Brink for a doubles victory over the Pioneers (8-8 [9-7]). In a win over No. 13 LSU, he defeated the Tigers' Paul White (6-2, 6-4). TCU recorded its fifth victory over a higher-ranked opponent when it went to College Station and dropped Texas A&M on March 22 before heading into league play. A newcomer to the MWC, the Frogs quickly established themselves as a strong team and posted five-straight victories to set up a showdown with defending champion San Diego State for the regular-season crown. Although the Aztecs prevailed, TCU would use that as motivation for the conference tournament. For their efforts during confrence play, Abreu, senior Jordan Freitas and sophomore Andrei Mlendea garnered All-MWC accolades. After whipping through the MWC Championships and bringing home the title, the team was off to Malibu, Calif., to compete in its 16th-straight NCAA Tournament. In a rematch of a Feb. 19 match that saw them prevail 4-1 over San Diego, the team echoed similar sentiments and dropped the Toreros 4-0 to advance to the second round. TCU was unable to sustain its momentum and fell to eventual national champion Pepperdine. The tandem of Abreu and Freitas concluded their season ranked 16th in the ITA doubles poll after advancing to the semifinals of the 2006 NCAA Doubles Championships. In the opening round of the tournament, TCU's pair defeated No. 24 Thomas Liversage and Pierrick Ysern of San Diego 6-3, 4-6, 6-3. The second round saw the Frog duo defeat seventh-ranked Nick Maythaler and Ryan Rizza of Virginia (6-4, 3-6, 7-6(5)) to advance to the quarterfinal round. The TCU pair then defeated the 17th-ranked team of Joey Atas and Jonathan Stokke of Duke to set up the semifinal showdown. Their tournament run came to an end at the hands of eventual champions Kevin Anderson and Ryan Rowe of Illinois. The duo pulled in NCAA All-America honors after advancing past the second round of the tournament. Mlendea finished 39th in the singles poll while Abreu grabbed the 104th slot.
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