By: Matt Callaway, Texas A&M Athletics Communications
ORLANDO, Florida – Carlos Aguilar clinched the last match standing to secure a 4-3 win for No. 10 Texas A&M men’s tennis over No. 19 UCF at the USTA National Campus Wednesday evening. With the win A&M improved to 4-1 on the year while the Knights fell to 2-2 this season.
“This was a very tough match from both teams I thought, UCF is a very good team,” Texas A&M head coach Steve Denton said. “We were very fortunate to get out of the doubles winning a couple of tiebreakers and then that elusive fourth point almost never happened. Credit to the team for hanging tough there in the end. Carlos faced four match points on his serve at 4-5 in the second set. Sometimes in these matches you have to have some good fortune and the Aggies got it today. We are very proud of Carlos when he was given a second opportunity that he really raised his level. I only recall one unforced error from him in the third set. It was great for Carlos and the team’s confidence to get through this one.”
No. 33 Aguilar fought back after dropping a first-set tiebreaker to win 6-7(4), 7-5, 6-1 over Trey Hilderbrand on court three to deliver the final blow for the Maroon & White. The clinch victory was the second of the year for Aguilar after he delivered the fourth and final point against No. 21 Pepperdine last month at the ITA Kick Off Weekend in Ann Arbor.
The Aggies opened the match by capturing the doubles point through a pair of tiebreakers on courts two and three. After A&M’s No. 48 Aguilar and Bjorn Thomson dropped a 6-3 result on court one to Hildebrand and Gabriel Decamps, the visitors needed both courts still playing to secure the early 1-0 advantage. A&M’s Hady Habib and Noah Schachter registered the first tiebreaker win 7-5 on the middle court over Juan Pablo Grassi Mazzuchi and Bogdan Pavel. The day’s first point was secured by Valentin Vacherot and Pierce Rollins on court three with a 7-2 win against Alan Rubio and Kento Yamada.
UCF flipped the script on the Aggies winning four of six first sets in singles action, but the Aggies were the first to secure singles wins to march out to a 3-0 advantage. No. 116 Schachter topped Rubio 6-2, 6-2 while No. 13 Habib bested No. 52 Grassi Mazzuchi 6-2, 6-4 before UCF was able to claim three straight wins and even the match. With all of the attention on court three, Aguilar was able to clinch the last match standing in three-sets over Hilderbrand.
Wednesday’s match was scheduled to begin at 9 a.m., but inclement weather forced a nearly six hour delay.
UP NEXT
The Aggies were scheduled to host No. 19 Kentucky Friday, but inclement weather in Texas has forced the match to be postponed. A&M will remain on the road for a showdown with Vanderbilt Sunday at 1 p.m. to open SEC play.
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TENNIS MATCH RESULTS
No. 10 Texas A&M 4, No. 19 UCF 3
USTA National Complex – Orlando, Florida
Singles Competition
1. #16 Gabriel Decamps (UCF) def. #4 Valentin Vacherot (TAMU) 7-5, 6-4
2. #13 Hady Habib (TAMU) def. #52 Juan Pablo Mazzuchi (UCF) 6-2, 6-4
3. #33 Carlos Aguilar (TAMU) def. Trey Hilderbrand (UCF) 6-7 (4-7), 7-5, 6-1
4. #116 Noah Schachter (TAMU) def. Alan Rubio (UCF) 6-2, 6-2
5. Kento Yamada (UCF) def. Guido Marson (TAMU) 6-2, 6-3
6. Mikhail Sokolovskiy (UCF) def. Raphael Perot (TAMU) 6-4, 7-6 (7-2)
Doubles Competition
1. Gabriel Decamps/Trey Hilderbrand (UCF) def. #48 Bjorn Thomson/Carlos Aguilar (TAMU) 6-3
2. Hady Habib/Noah Schachter (TAMU) def. Juan Pablo Mazzuchi/Bogdan Pavel (UCF) 7-6 (7-5)
3. Valentin Vacherot/Pierce Rollins (TAMU) def. Alan Rubio/Kento Yamada (UCF) 7-6 (7-2)
Match Notes:
Texas A&M 4-1; National ranking #10
UCF 2-2; National ranking #19
Order of finish: Doubles (1,2,3); Singles (4,2,5,6,1,3)
Match scheduled for 10 a.m., experienced 6 hour rain delay, began at 4 p.m.
T-3:20 A-41
Story courtesy of Texas A&M Athletics