TCU men’s tennis takes down Texas for program’s first NCAA championship

For the first time in program history TCU is the NCAA national champions in men’s tennis.

The Horned Frogs defeated Texas 4-3 to capture the title in Stillwater, Oklahoma on Saturday. With TCU trailing 3-2, Jack Pinnington came clutch with a singles win over UT’s Eliot Spizzirri. After dropping the first set, Pinnington stormed back to win the next two.

TCU’s Sebastian Gorzny sealed the title with a singles win over Jonah Braswell. The Horned Frogs captured two ITA Indoor National Championships in 2022 and 2023, but had never been crowned NCAA champions before Sunday.

That the victory came against Texas was fitting as the two programs have had their share of title bouts. The Horned Frogs and Longhorns have clashed eight times in the last two seasons with TCU defeating Texas to win the indoor title and Big 12 championship in 2023 while the Longhorns defeated TCU in April to secure their last Big 12 conference crown.

To set up the championship match, TCU had to go through another familiar foe in top-seeded Ohio State. The Buckeyes stopped TCU’s quest for a three-peat at the indoor championships and also eliminated the Horned Frogs in the 2023 Final Four.

This year things were different as TCU defeated Ohio State 4-2 on Friday in the semifinals.