Credit to Sam Thornton | Assistant Director, Athletics Communications
BRYAN-COLLEGE STATION, Texas – The No. 29 Texas A&M men’s tennis team hosts a conference match at the Mitchell Tennis Center with No. 48 Alabama, Thursday, March 23, with first serve set for 4 p.m.
The Aggies (10-7, 3-2 SEC) are on a four-match win streak, following their most recent win in Fayetteville over the Razorbacks (5-2). A&M opened the match claiming the doubles point with two convincing wins, as Pierce Rollins/Kenner Taylor dominated Stefanos Savva/Alan Sau Franco (6-1) on court 2, while Raphael Perot/Giulio Perego bested Jacob Sweeney/Foster Rogers (6-2) on court 3.
That momentum continued through to singles, where the Maroon & White claimed four wins. The first was from Rollins as he doubled the lead on court 4, topping Benedikt Emesz (7-5, 6-3), followed by Noah Schachter outlasting Savva on court 1 (6-3, 2-6, 6-4). Clinching the match for the Aggies was Guido Marson, who claimed his third-straight win versus Sau Franco on court 5 (6-4, 6-4). Rounding out the wins was Matthis Ross on court 6, as he battled Gerard Planelles in a third-set tiebreaker (3-6, 6-2, 7-6(3)).
“Alabama is much improved from last year,” head coach Steve Denton said. “They have a lot of very solid young players that have had a year of this SEC grind. They are playing at a high level and we are playing our best tennis of the year thus far, so it should be a really good match. Typically, in conference matches it comes down to doubles and a few key points in the singles matches, so we need to execute to come away with the win.”
A&M holds a perfect record against the Crimson Tide (9-9, 1-4 SEC), 11-0. In all previous matchups, the Maroon & White have outscored Alabama 48-11. In the most recent match between the programs, the Aggies secured a comfortable win, 5-2, and look to extend that winning streak again Thursday.
The Intercollegiate Tennis Association revealed its new team, singles and doubles rankings, in which the Maroon & White have four individuals featured. No. 38 Schachter remains within the top-50 players in the country for the second consecutive ranking. Perot moves up a spot to land at No. 65, while No. 104 Rollins and No. 113 Trey Hilderbrand round out the singles rankings. In doubles Schachter/Hilderbrand half their ranking with a massive jump from No. 78 all the way to the No. 39 spot.
Fans can keep up with Thursday’s match with Alabama through live stream and live stats on 12thMan.com.
TEAM NOTES
- Court 1 leads the Aggies in singles with a .733 winning percentage.
- Noah Schachter paces A&M with five ranked wins in dual matches this season.
- Every Aggie to take part in a dual match this season has secured a singles win (11 players).
- Schachter boasts two top-30 singles wins so far this season.
- Raphael Perot holds the most singles wins in dual matches on the team with nine.
- Rahul Dhokia holds a perfect 3-0 record in dual match singles play.
- Noah Schachter/Trey Hilderbrand lead A&M with 11 dual match doubles wins.
- Schachter/Hilderbrand are currently on an eight-match winning-streak.
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