Credit to 12thman.com
NEW YORK – The No. 12 Texas A&M men’s tennis team had a dominant performance in singles play to secure the upset win over No. 4 South Carolina, 4-1, to advance to the quarterfinals of the 2024 ITA National Indoor Championships at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center on Friday.
“I thought our guys just put their heads down and worked today,” head coach Steve Denton said. “I am happy for the team to know they can overcome adversity and continue to compete hard. That was a very good win against a very tenacious team.”
The Aggies (7-0) got off to a slow start after losses on courts 1 and 3 in doubles to go down 1-0 heading into singles action.
No. 114 JC Roddick secured the first point for the Aggies in singles play, winning in straight sets on court 2 against Casey Hoole (6-3, 6-1). No. 103 Giulio Perego continued that momentum and earned an upset win over No. 76 Jelani Sarr on court 4 (6-3, 7-5).
Togan Tokac extended the lead for the Maroon & White with a thrilling victory on court 3 that went down to the wire in set two against James Story (6-3, 7-6(5)). Clinching the match for A&M was No. 57 Raphael Perot on Court 1 who also defeated a ranked opponent in No. 50 Toby Samuel (6-4, 7(10)-6(8)).
The Aggies will take on the No. 2 TCU Horned Frogs on Saturday, Feb. 17 at 11 a.m. for an opportunity to advance to the semifinals of the ITA National Indoor Championships for the first time since the 2018 season.
Fans can watch the action and keep up with live stats here.
TEAM NOTES
First top-10 win since defeating No. 6 South Carolina in last year’s SEC Tournament, 4-2.
First top-five win since beating No. 2 Baylor, 4-3, on March 11, 2020.
Raphael Perot is 3-0 against ranked opponents this season.
MATCH STATS
Doubles
Casey Hoole/Toby Samuel (SC) def. Giulio Perego/Togan Tokac (TAMU) 6-2
Luke Casper/JC Roddick (TAMU) def. James Story/Lucas Andrade Da Silva (SC) 6-4
Jelani Sarr/Sean Daryabeigi (SC) def. Raphael Perot/Tiago Pires (TAMU) 7-5
Order of finish: 1, 2, 3*
Singles
No. 57 Raphael Perot (TAMU) def. No. 50 Toby Samuel (SC) 6-4, 7(10)-6(8)
No. 114 JC Roddick (TAMU) def. Casey Hoole (SC) 6-3, 6-1
Togan Tokac (TAMU) def. James Story (SC) 6-3, 7-6(5)
No. 103 Giulio Perego (TAMU) def. No. 76 Jelani Sarr (SC) 6-3, 7-5
Tiago Pires (TAMU) vs. Lucas Andrade Da Silva (SC) 3-6, 7-5, 0-2 UNF
Luke Casper (TAMU) vs. Sean Daryabeigi (SC) 7-5, 5-5 UNF
Order of finish: 2, 4, 3, 1*