FORT WORTH – For the first time in eight months, TCU men's tennis is back on the purple courts.
 
The third-ranked Horned Frogs are set to open their indoor season with consecutive home duals vs. Abilene Christian and SMU inside the Bayard H. Friedman Tennis Center.
 
TCU will face the Wildcats on Saturday before renewing its annual rivalry with the Mustangs on Monday.
 
First serve for both matches is 4 p.m and admission is free.
 
Saturday's match marks TCU's first indoor contest since capturing the 2022 ITA Indoor National Championship, the first national title in program history. The Horned Frogs have won 12 consecutive indoor matches dating back to the 2022 campaign.
 
TCU will take the purple courts five times from January-February during the indoor season. The Horned Frogs host Gonzaga, Texas Tech and Utah for a two-day tournament on Jan. 28-29. TCU's final home contest is Feb. 12 vs. No. 20 Pepperdine.
 
Series History: ACU
All-Time: TCU leads 10-0
Home Record: 8-0
Away Record: 2-0
Neutral Record: 0-0
First Meeting: 5-2 TCU, Apr. 4, 1974 in Fort Worth
Last Meeting: 4-1 TCU, Jan. 27, 2022 in Fort Worth
Current Winning Streak: TCU W10
 
Series History: SMU
All-Time: TCU leads 34-27
Home Record: 17-8
Away Record: 13-13
Neutral Record: 4-6
First Meeting: 7-0 SMU, Apr. 18, 1974 in Dallas
Last Meeting: 4-1 TCU, March 21, 2022 in Dallas
Current Winning Streak: TCU W13
 
Inside Opening Weekend
 

• TCU is 40-9 all-time in season-openers and 10-2 under 12th-year head coach David Roditi. 
• The Horned Frogs are 12-0 in home-opening matches with Roditi at the helm.
• Since Roditi took the program reins in 2010, the Horned Frogs have posted a 37-13 overall record inside the Bayard H. Freidman Tennis Center. TCU is 20-4 in home indoor matches since 2018.
• Saturday's showdown vs. Abilene Christian will be TCU's first home indoor match since winning the 2022 ITA Indoor National Championship, the first national title in program history.
• TCU did not drop a set all dual in its 2022 indoor victory over Abilene Christian.
• Monday's match will mark the 21st straight year in which the Horned Frogs and Mustangs have engaged in a dual match. The programs have played annually since 2002.
• The Horned Frogs are enjoying the longest indoor winning streak in program history. TCU has won 12 straight indoor matches, with its last triumph coming at the expense of SMU in the programs' most recent meeting.
• TCU has not hosted SMU on the indoor courts since 1991.
• Jake Fearnley and Sander Jong each went 2-0 in singles play last season vs. the Wildcats and Mustangs.

 
Frog Focus
 

• TCU was picked to finish first in the Big 12 Men's Tennis Preseason Poll for the fifth time in 11 years of conference membership.
• The Horned Frogs attained the No. 3 overall preseason ITA team ranking - their highest-ever under Roditi.
• Nearly three years have passed since TCU dropped out of the top-10 of the ITA team rankings. In fact, the Horned Frogs are enjoying the longest consecutive streak of weeks ranked in the top-10 of any Division I program. TCU has boasted a top-10 ITA team ranking for 152 consecutive weeks, dating back to March 10, 2020.
• TCU is the only program in the country that has finished in the top-10 of the final ITA team rankings for eight consecutive seasons.
• TCU returns six letter winners from a 2022 squad that captured the Indoor National Championship, won its fifth Big 12 regular season title and earned the No. 1 overall seed in the NCAA Tournament.
• Fifth year senior Luc Fomba became a four-time ITA All-American in May, having earned credentials in both singles and doubles for the second straight year. He is the most decorated All-American in the David Roditi era and boasts the third-most All-American accolades in program history.
• Fearnley, Fomba's doubles partner, joined Fomba on TCU's All-American pedestal in 2022. He earned his first set of All-American honors in doubles, becoming TCU's 29th All-Amercan. Fearnley won the Battle in the Bay Classic singles championship in September and ascended from No. 65 to No. 8 on the ITA singles rankings.
• Jong and Lui Maxted, the Horned Frogs' No. 2 doubles team in 2022, punctuated TCU's five-meet fall slate in style. The duo advanced to the doubles finals of the ITA National Fall Championships. They became the first doubles pair in program history to finish as national runners-up during the fall season.
• Sebastian Gorzny arrived at TCU in August on the heels of capturing the 2022 Wimbledon Junior Doubles Championship 

Across the ITA Rankings
 
Preseason ITA Team Rankings (Jan. 164
No. 3 - TCU
 
ITA Singles Rankings (Nov. 16)
No. 8 - Jake Fearnley
No. 28 - Luc Fomba
No. 76 - Pedro Vives
 
ITA Doubles Rankings (Nov. 16)
No. 4 - Sander Jong / Lui Maxted
 
Preseason ITA Singles Rankings (Sept. 6)
No. 5 - Luc Fomba
No. 58 - Sander Jong
No. 65 - Jake Fearnley
No. 66 - Lui Maxted
No. 87 - Pedro Vives
 
Preseason ITA Singles Rankings (Sept. 6)
No. 1 - Luc Fomba / Jake Fearnley
No. 3 - Sander Jong / Lui Maxted
 
ITA Newcomer Rankings (Sept. 6)
No. 5 - Sebastian Gorzny
 
TCU Picked to Win Big 12 Conference
 
TCU was picked to finish first in the Big 12 Men's Tennis Preseason Poll for the fifth time in 11 years of conference membership.

The Horned Frogs were picked to finish first in the Big 12 Men's Tennis Preseason Poll as voted on by conference head coaches.
 
The honor marks the fifth time in 11 years of conference membership TCU has claimed the top spot in the Big 12 Preseason Poll.
 
2023 Big 12 Men's Tennis Preseason Poll
 
1.            TCU (4)                  24
 
2.            Texas (2)               22
 
3.            Baylor                   16
 
4.            Oklahoma           13
 
5.            Oklahoma St.     10
 
6.            Texas Tech          5
 
252 and counting...
 
As of Thursday, Jan. 12, exactly four years and 10 months have passed since TCU last dipped outside the top-25 of the ITA team rankings. The Horned Frogs have boasted 304 consecutive top-25 appearances, a streak matched by few other Division I programs.
 
The streak began on March 21, 2018, when TCU skyrocketed from No. 32 to No. 11 following three straight wins over No. 17 Duke (March 13), No. 12 Florida (March 14) and No. 9 Columbia (March 18)
 
The trio of top-20 wins ignited a 12-match winning streak to close the regular season. The Horned Frogs concluded the 2016-17 season with a 20-5 overall record and No. 9 final ITA team ranking.
 
Since then, TCU has spent just one week outside the top-20 of the ITA team rankings and posted a 79-24 combined record in that span.
 
TCU's program-best streak of top-25 appearances will reach five years should the Horned Frogs hold steady in the rankings through March 21.
 
Big 12's Best
 
TCU tied a program record for most individual postseason All-Big accolades in 2022, as six Horned Frogs received all-conference recognition. The Horned Frogs last produced six All-Big 12 honorees in 2018.
 
All-Big 12 First Team Singles
Juan Carlos Aguilar, TCU
Luc Fomba, TCU
Sander Jong, TCU
 
All-Big 12 First Team Doubles
Luc Fomba/Jake Fearnley, TCU
All-Big 12 Second Team Singles
Jake Fearnley, TCU
 
All-Big 12 Second Team Doubles
Sander Jong/Lui Maxted, TCU
 
Big 12 Co-Newcomer of the Year
Juan Carlos Aguilar, TCU
 
Additionally, David Roditi took home Big 12 Coach of the Year for the fourth time in his 12-year run as head coach in 2022. The conference coach of the year honor was his first since he received the award for three consecutive seasons from 2015-2017.
 
The King of the Lone Star State
 
David Roditi was named the Best College Coach in Texas Tennis in 2022 by the United States Tennis Association (USTA). Roditi received the recognition after guiding TCU to a 26-5 overall record - his best mark in 12 years at the helm - winning his first ITA Indoor National Championship and fifth Big 12 conference regular season title and helping the Horned Frogs achieve the No. 1 overall seed in the NCAA Tournament.