The brotherly bond runs deep for Texas Christian University men’s head tennis coach Dave Roditi and his top assistant Devin Bowen. For 40-plus years, the two have been side-by-side, their tennis careers always managing to find a way to lead them back to one another. 

Junior rivals growing up in Orange County, then teammates at TCU, young rookies on the pro tour and finally coming full circle and leading the Horned Frogs to their first-ever NCAA team championship after 10 years together on the sidelines at one of college tennis’ elite programs.  

A few days had passed since Sunday’s victory for No. 4 TCU with little time to celebrate and enjoy the unbelievable achievement of upsetting top-seeded Ohio State and the next day beating Big 12 rival and No. 2 Texas in a classic 4-3 battle of the ages. 

“It’s just starting to sink in,” said Bowen, from his car in New Mexico halfway home to California. “I’m thinking about the boys and the memories they’ll have. I’m just so happy for the school and the people who have supported us. We have a very small community that have been loyal, loyal, supporters of our program even going back to when David and I were there, and you’re talking about 30 years. 

“To have been a good team to never have won it – this became kind of the last thing for us to accomplish there.” 

Halfway around the world, Roditi was walking back to his hotel from a restaurant and said he flew Tuesday to Europe to start recruiting future Horned Frogs. 

“It’s been great response from the community – from the school and the staff and even the President,” said Roditi, who spent two days in France, the Netherlands and Belgium before heading back to Texas. “I got to spend some time with the Chancellor and the athletic director. That’s the best part. To be able to share it with the TCU community and the alums. Other than rifle we hadn’t won a team championship since 1983 and before that it was in 1937. So, it’s very, very special.” 

And special doesn’t even begin to describe the incredible feelings Roditi has for his “older” brother Bowen. 

“You could argue that is even the best part,” Roditi said of sharing the win with Bowen. “He’s like an older brother to me. He was not just a great friend, my best friend, but also a mentor of mine on the tour. When I came on tour he had been on tour for two years and always showed me the ropes. We played together on the tour, as well. It’s like winning it with your brother.”

Speaking just a little English, Roditi came from Mexico to train with a coach in San Clemente starting around age 11 or 12 in 1988, before moving here full time in high school where he played for San Clemente High and was of the area’s top players making it to three consecutive Ojai finals in the early 1990s.  

“The first junior match he played here was against me,” Bowen said. “We just became really close friends, and he would stay at my house. We were really more like brothers than friends. Just competing and fighting with each.” 

Costa Mesa’s Bowen was ignored by SoCal and other top Division I schools after playing for Estancia High. He said a TCU player turned pro, opening up a final scholarship that he nabbed at the last minute.  

“I went first and brought David here,” Bowen, 52, recalled. “No one wanted us in Southern California. That’s what is crazy. I think the line UCLA used was that David wasn’t ‘UCLA material.’ Fortunately, TCU took a shot on us.

“To do it with David, you couldn’t have written the story any better.” 

Bowen had a successful pro career as a doubles specialist that lasted more than 10 years. He broke into the world top 40 and made it to the round of 32 in each of the Grand Slams, including quarterfinal US Open appearances in 2001 and 2002. 

With back-to-back ITA Indoor National Championships on his resume in 2022 and 2023, and a runner-up finish this season, you could call Bowen the most sought after assistant coach in all of college tennis. But he’s not going anywhere. 

“I’ll give you the quickest answer – I would not leave TCU for anything,” Bowen said. “That’s the short answer. There’s a multiple of reasons but there’s a sense of loyalty to the program. I don’t care what job it was.” 

Roditi said the same thing. “I’m a Horned Frog so I’m not going anywhere,” he said. “The goal is to stay in the hunt, to stay relevant, hopefully, and to continue to develop guys for the tour to become professional tennis players. If you have guys that are successful on the tour, then that means you have a good team and that’s going to attract the best players. That’s a big motivator for me and for Devin. To help get guys on the tour.” 

Bowen dedicated the national title to the TCU alumni and fans of the program. “They travel with us to tournaments and come to every match,” he said. “There are a lot of people like that at TCU who deserve this and so I’m really happy we were able to deliver it. Just a lot of emotions right now. It’s just really hard to do and you have to catch some breaks and be a little bit lucky along the way. During the time you don’t really put a lot of importance to it so you don’t make it more than it is. But when it’s done, it really does feel like a massive accomplishment.”