No Repeat Natty for the TCU Men's Tennis Team

Had it worked, TCU fans today would be saying, "Move over Hypnotoad, and say hello to MustardToad." Late in Sunday's national championship dual, TCU's Duncan Chan was caught on camera in between points taking swigs of mustard straight from the bottle. It was as if he was using the mustard as a superstition to help him in his must-win third set.

It didn't work, so Hypnotoad lives another day. Chan would lose that third set, which put Wake Forest just one point away from clinching the national championship title.

The No. 1 Demon Deacons (40-1) did just that, but not after a pair of Horned Frogs put up a fight that put TCU just two sets away from clinching its second consecutive title. Instead, Wake Forest won 4-2 to win the NCAA D1 Men's Tennis Championship. TCU finished the season at 28-4 and as national runners-up.

TCU fell behind early on all three doubles courts, which forced the Horned Frogs to play from behind the entire dual. Given Chan's mustard antics, you might say they were playing "ketchup" the entire night. Though the Frogs "relished" their second straight natty appearance, they found themselves in a "pickle" after losing the doubles point.

Demon Deacon Doubles Domination

Wake Forest came out Sunday night with the pedal to the metal and won early breaks on all three doubles courts. TCU was down 0-3 on each court as Wake found a way to keep pushing. TCU had won 12 straight doubles points, and going into the match on Sunday, had only lost four doubles points all season. But Wake Forest had only lost three all season.

The Deacs would easily win their sets on Courts Two and Three. The nation's No. 18 duo of Luca Pow and Luciano Tacchi cruised to a win on Court Three, defeating TCU's Chan and Albert Pedrico 6-2. Then, the No. 26 pair of Stefan Dostanic and Charlie Robertson defeated TCU's No. 32 Jack Pinnington and Cooper Woestendick 6-3 on Court Two.

Pinnington and Woestendick tasted defeat for the first time on the outdoor courts. They carried a 10-match winning streak into Sunday's final, with their most recent defeat coming at the hands of Wake Forest in February.

Court One featured the No. 2 duo in the nation in TCU's Lui Maxted and Pedro Vives. They faced No. 53 DK Suresh and Ioannis Xilas. They were on serve at 4-5 when the doubles point was won. By leaving their match unfinished, Maxted and Vives preserved their record versus ranked pairs at 16-1. The NCAA doubles champions produced a 26-3 overall record in 2024-25.

Singles Struggles Stop Second Straight

Wake Forest continued to push as singles play began. It looked like it would be a quick Singles Slaughter like the Doubles Domination we had just witnessed. But after Lui Maxted won a break, the heavily one-sided fans pushed the other Horned Frogs to make the singles matches a competitive affair.

The Deacs did win four of the six first sets. Only Maxted and Woestendick would win their first sets. Maxted would go on to win in straight sets on Court Three, 6-1, 7-6 (3), but his long second set meant his point made the dual 3-2 in Wake's favor.

Four of the courts would force third sets - Woestendick's on Court Four, plus Vives (Court Two), Pedrico (Court Five), and Chan (Court Six). But first, Wake Forest would make the score 2-0 after TCU's Jack Pinnington was dismantled on Court One, 6-3, 6-1.

Pedrico put the Frogs on the board with a 3-6, 6-1, 6-2 win, making the dual 2-1. Wake would make it 3-1 after Chan's mustard antics didn't work, and he lost 3-6, 6-1, 2-6. Maxted made it 3-2 with his win.

With two courts still playing, Wake needed to win just one, and TCU needed to win both. Both were at 3-3 in the third sets when both Vives and Woestendick lost their serves, giving the Deacs the edge. Moments later, Suresh would finish Vives off on Court Two, 6-2, 3-6, 6-3. Woestendick's match was unfinished, but he was down 6-3, 2-6, 3-5.

End of an Era

Two sets. Actually, three games each on two courts. That was the difference. But coach David Roditi's squad should hold their head high. TCU was the only team that made it to the finals site each of the last 10 years. And TCU made back-to-back appearances in the championship match. Only five programs in the history of D1 Men's Tennis have won two in a row.

The season will go down as the second-best ending to a season in program history. The Horned Frogs set a single-season record for total wins and reached the NCAA semifinals for the third straight season, a feat only Texas, whom they defeated in Saturday's Final Four dual, can match. TCU will earn its third consecutive top-five final ITA team ranking come Wednesday. The Frogs will also extend their NCAA-leading streak of end-of-year top-10 rankings to 11 seasons dating back to 2015.

Maxted and Vives each earned NCAA Championships All-Tournament Team honors. Maxted got the nod at No. 3 singles, and the senior duo shared the accolade in No. 1 doubles. Maxted finished 5-0 in singles play in the postseason. He and Vives put doubles victories on the board in three matches and never surrendered defeat.

Sunday's dual was the final match in the storied careers of three seniors: Maxted, Vives, and Luke Swan. Collectively, the trio departs TCU as the winningest class in program history. They led TCU to a 138-16 combined overall record and four team or individual national titles across their four years in Fort Worth.

The match also marked the conclusion of Pinnington's career. He announced he will forgo his senior year and turn professional.

If we know one thing about Roditi, we know that he will have his squad ready to compete once again at the highest level when the 2025-26 season arrives next fall. Now, with all of this talk of mustard and other condiments, who's ready for a hot dog?