BRYAN-COLLEGE STATION, Texas – Texas A&M No. 10 men’s tennis team defeated South Carolina No. 18 6-1 at the Mitchell Tennis Center on Friday night. A&M improved to 7-1 overall and 3-0 in the league game, while Gamecocks dropped to 6-3 this season and 2-1 in the conference.
“Our guys really came with a lot of determination and played at a high level tonight,” said Texas A&M coach Steve Denton. “I think the doubles point was tremendously important in this particular game. There was only one point against the serve in the tiebreaker. I thought our guys played at a good level there and that was a real high quality team with the point on the line. After that point of doubles, I felt that after that our guys relaxed and played well. Honestly, this was our best complete game we’ve played so far this season. “
After South Carolina won the first doubles match to finish on court two, A&M returned with a victory on courts one and three to take the 1-0 lead. A&M’s 48th, Carlos Aguilar and Bjorn Thomson, beat No. 44 Daniel Rodrigues and Connor Thomson 6-2 on the upper court before Valentin Vacherot and Pierce Rollins beat Jake Beasley and Toby Samuel 7-6 (5) on the third court .
Maroon & White kept pace in the singles action, taking all the first six sets on their way to four consecutive wins. A&M freshman Raphael Perot improved to 3-0 in SEC games with a 6-1 6-2 win over Beasley in court six, followed by No. 13 Hady Habib, beating No. 32 Rodrigues in the first court for push the Aggies forward 3-0. Second year Guido Marson served the fourth point for the Aggies with a 6-2 6-4 win in court five over Phillip Jordan of SC.
With the team match guaranteed, No. 33 Aguilar stacked the fifth point of the night for the home team with a 6-4 6-2 victory in court three over No. 118 Thomson. Gamecocks’ only point of the day came in three sets on court four before A&M’s Vacherot, ranked 4th nationally, claimed his 19th consecutive SEC victory with a 6-4, 3-6, 6-4 marathon over Raphael No. 81 Lambling in block two.
Tennis match results
South Carolina vs Texas A&M
2/26/2021 in BCS, TX
(Mitchell Tennis Center)
# 10 Texas A&M 6, # 18 South Carolina 1
Singles competition
1. # 13 Hady Habib (TAMU) won. # 32 Daniel Rodrigues (SC) 6-1, 6-4
2. # 4 Valentin Vacherot (TAMU) won. # 81 Raphael Lambling (SC) 6-4, 3-6, 6-1
3. # 33 Carlos Aguilar (TAMU) won. # 118 Connor Thomson (SC) 6-4, 6-2
4. Toby Samuel (SC) won. # 116 Noah Schachter (TAMU) 4-6, 6-0, 6-3
5. Guido Marson (TAMU) won. Phillip Jordan (SC) 6-2, 6-4
6. Raphael Perot (TAMU) won. Jake Beasley (SC) 6-1, 6-2
Double competition
1. # 48 Carlos Aguilar / Bjorn Thomson (TAMU) won. # 44 Daniel Rodrigues / Connor Thomson (SC) 6-2
2. # 59 Raphael Lambling / Phillip Jordan (SC) won. Hady Habib / Noah Schachter (TAMU) 6-4
3. Valentin Vacherot / Pierce Rollins (TAMU) def. Jake Beasley / Toby Samuel (SC) 7-6 (7-5)
Match notes:
South Carolina 6-3, 2-1; National classification nº 18
Texas A&M 7-1, 3-0; National classification # 10
Finishing order: Doubles (2,1,3); Singles (6,1,5,3,4,2)
NEXT
The Aggies remain at home for a Sunday clash against Florida No. 11, while the Gators return to the Mitchell Tennis Center for the second consecutive season. A&M will face the Gators at 1 pm and will close the doubleheader against UTRGV at 6 pm.