COLLEGE STATION, Texas – Texas A&M sophomore Noah Schachter prevailed in a pair of tiebreakers to secure No. 12 Texas A&M’s 4-3 upset of No. 6 Florida on Sunday afternoon at the Mitchell Tennis Center. The Aggies followed with a 6-1 victory over Valparaiso in the second match of the day. A&M improved to 12-3 on the season and 4-0 in SEC play with the wins, Florida fell to 15-3 overall and 3-1 in the league while Valpo slipped to 6-7.
Schachter posted the final point against the Gators with a 7-6(1), 7-6(7) victory over No. 97 Andy Andrade on court four. The win was Schachter fourth ranked win this year as he improved to 3-1 in SEC matches.
A&M’s Hady Habib, ranked 28th, earned a straight set win over No. 5 Sam Riffice on court two to pull the Aggies within 2-1 after Florida opened the match with the doubles point and a win on court three.
After Florida regained the two-point advantage with a win on court five at 3-1, the Aggies needed wins on all three courts remaining.
No. 3 Valentin Vacherot continued his torrid play in his final season in Aggieland as he topped No. 10 Oliver Crawford on court win to earn his second ranked win this weekend. The senior posted his 14th-straight SEC regular season win, his 12th-straight win this spring and 100th career victory in the Maroon & White.
Sophomore Guido Marson evened the match at three-all to set up Schachter for his heroics moments later. Marson outlasted Josh Goodger 6-1, 4-6, 6-4 on court six before Schachter prevailed on court four.
Against the Gators, the Aggies were at their best in tiebreakers as they claimed all four tiebreakers across three different courts.
After a couple hours off, A&M captured the doubles point against the Crusaders before No. 34 Juan Carlos Aguilar, Stefan Storch, Pierce Rollins, Pranav Kumar and Austin Abbrat earned singles wins.
The Aggies take to the road for five straight matches away from the Mitchell Tennis Center beginning with a Friday matchup against Mississippi State followed by a Sunday showdown against No. 11 Ole Miss.
Visit 12thMan.com for more information on Texas A&M men’s tennis. Aggie fans also can keep up to date with the A&M men’s tennis team on Twitter by following @AggieMTEN or on Facebook at Facebook.com/AggieMensTennis.
Texas A&M Quotes
Head Coach Steve Denton
On the match…
“It is amazing winning four singles points against a team like Florida. They are one of the best teams in the country and certainly outdoors in singles. They have great players all up and down their lineup. We didn’t play well in the doubles. We challenged them and they came out and played with fire in the singles. We were led by Val and Hady playing two great players and winning in straight sets was huge for us.”
On the atmosphere…
“These are the kind of matches that you come to Texas A&M to play in. Our team trains all year to play in a match like that and to deliver in front of our fans with another top-10 win at the Mitchell Tennis Center is great. Our guys are so mentally tough that they love have all the eyes on their court.”
On Noah and his match …
“Noah has been working so hard and it has been great to see him mature as a tennis player. He deserves all the credit as hard as he’s worked over the last year. Last year he had that terrible ending against OU and he’s put that behind him completely. We are just so proud of his fight and effort to get another chance like that and to come through is good. Noah was going for his shots and I think he learned that lesson last year and he is a much better tennis player now as a result, and our team is starting to play pretty well.”
On Val and Hady’s matches…
“Like I said, they are two of the best players in college tennis and for us to beat those guys at the top of the lineup just shows how well Hady and Val are playing right now and how good our team is. We could have laid down after that doubles today and gotten discouraged, but we ended up winning four first sets and the tiebreakers in two sets there kind of turned the tide to our favor so we could have those first four sets and then it was just a question of holding on to what we were ahead in.”
On Guido’s match…
“Guido made a big comeback in that last game down 15-40 on his serve and ended up holding serve there so just a great team effort all and up down the line.”
On the weekend…
“We had a big weekend with South Carolina and Jubb coming to town as the National Champion. We knew we were going to have to play at a really high level this weekend and our guys responded. We played really good tennis in the important moments and as a result we were able to escape with a win here against a great Florida team.”
Sophomore Noah Schachter
On his preparation for the match…
“I was struggling with my serve yesterday and as we were working on it, Coach O’Shea told me that the match vs Florida would come down to me and that I’d clinch the win and it happened to come true just as he said.”
On the last time he was in this situation…
“Unfortunately our season ended against Oklahoma here last season and we had all of our fans packed on my court and I was one point away from sending us to the Sweet 16 and we ended up losing. That really hurt and today I feel that makes up for that. All the hard work I’ve put in, all the hard work our team has put in to beat our biggest rival in the SEC, it feels amazing. This definitely was similar. I just tried to stay composed. I learned from my mistakes last year and I just focused on the present.”
His favorite part of the clinch…
“Definitely celebrating with the team. They are unbelievable. I just happened to be the last one to finish and our captain Val is a great leader for us and I’m really happy for him. I did it for him.”
On facing Florida…
“We knew coming in this was going to be one of our hardest SEC matches. They kicked our butt last year at their place and now it feels good to beat them here. But, we have to keep going there is a lot left in the season and we are motivated.”
On A&M winning all four tiebreakers…
“Sometimes that happens. It went our way today, the home crowd was great getting us through those tight moments and I felt that it was really important for us.”
Tennis Match Results
Florida vs Texas A&M
3/8/2020 at College Station, TX
(George P. Mitchell Tennis Center)
#12 Texas A&M 4, #6 Florida 3
Singles competition
1. #3 Valentin Vacherot (TAMU) def. #10 Oliver Crawford (UF) 7-6 (7-0), 6-1
2. #28 Hady Habib (TAMU) def. #5 Sam Riffice (UF) 6-1, 7-6 (7-4)
3. #22 Duarte Vale (UF) def. #34 Juan Carlos Aguilar (TAMU) 6-2, 6-1
4. Noah Schachter (TAMU) def. #97 Andy Andrade (UF) 7-6 (7-1), 7-6 (9-7)
5. #115 Lukas Greif (UF) def. #111 Barnaby Smith (TAMU) 6-3, 6-3
6. Guido Marson (TAMU) def. Josh Goodger (UF) 6-1, 4-6, 6-4
Doubles competition
1. #33 Juan Carlos Aguilar/Barnaby Smith (TAMU) vs. #19 Oliver Crawford/Sam Riffice (UF) 5-4, unfinished
2. #45 Will Grant/Johannes Ingildsen (UF) def. Valentin Vacherot/Noah Schachter (TAMU) 6-2
3. Duarte Vale/Josh Goodger (UF) def. Pranav Kumar/Hady Habib (TAMU) 6-4
Match Notes:
Florida 15-3, 3-1; National ranking #6
Texas A&M 11-3, 4-0; National ranking #12
Order of finish: Doubles (2,3); Singles (3,2,5,1,6,4)
Tennis Match Results
Valparaiso vs Texas A&M
3/8/2020 at College Station, TX
(George P. Mitchell Tennis Center)
#12 Texas A&M 6, Valparaiso 1
Singles competition
1. #34 Juan Carlos Aguilar (TAMU) def. Brandon Ancona (VALPO) 6-1, 3-0, retired
2. Brian Pecyna (VALPO) def. #111 Barnaby Smith (TAMU) 5-7, 2-3, retired
3. Stefan Storch (TAMU) def. Gabriel Carvajal (VALPO) 6-1, 6-0
4. Pierce Rollins (TAMU) def. Daniel Langston (VALPO) 6-1, 6-3
5. Austin Abbrat (TAMU) def. Philipp Leithold (VALPO) 6-4, 6-2
6. Pranav Kumar (TAMU) def. Franklin Brozovich (VALPO) 6-2, 6-2
Doubles competition
1. Pranav Kumar/Barnaby Smith (TAMU) def. Daniel Langston/Brian Pecyna (VALPO) 6-1
2. Pierce Rollins/Stefan Storch (TAMU) def. Franklin Brozovich/Gabriel Carvajal (VALPO) 6-1
3. Austin Abbrat/Guido Marson (TAMU) vs. Oscar Mendoza/Andrej Kalenic (VALPO) 4-4, unfinished
Match Notes:
Valparaiso 6-7
Texas A&M 12-3; National ranking #12
Order of finish: Doubles (2,1); Singles (1,3,4,6,2,5)
Story courtesy of Texas A&M Athletics