Credit to Sam Thornton | Communications Specialist, Athletics Communications
ATHENS, Ga. – The No. 39 Texas A&M men’s tennis team fell to the No. 7 Georgia Bulldogs (2-5), Thursday, at the Dan Magill Tennis Complex.
The Maroon & White (6-7, 1-2 SEC) began doubles play with a speedy ranked win on court 1. No. 78 Noah Schachter/Trey Hilderbrand defeated No. 11 Ethan Quinn/Trent Bryde (6-2), opening the door to the doubles point. Giulio Perego/Raphael Perot answered the call with a point-clinching win on court 3 versus Blake Croyder/Britton Johnston (7-5).
Momentum shifted in favor of the Bulldogs (9-5, 3-0 SEC) during singles play with early wins on courts 1, 2 and 6. Needing wins on the remaining courts to clinch the match, all three clashes advanced into the third set. With plenty of back-and-forth play, the Bulldogs claimed the match with a win on court 4. The coaches decided to play out the final matches, and No. 100 Pierce Rollins picked up another ranked win for the Aggies over No. 101 Teodor Giusca (6-4, 4-6, 6-4) on court 5.
COACHES QUOTES
Head coach Steve Denton on the today’s match…
“I thought we started out well by playing very solid in the doubles. Georgia is a very good team, and we didn’t extend matches on a couple of courts. They played better on the big points today which was ultimately the difference in the match. We have another great opportunity on Saturday against Mississippi State, now it’s time to rest up and be ready to compete again.”
UP NEXT
The Aggies remain on the road and face No. 18 Mississippi State Saturday, March 11, at the A.J. Pitts Tennis Centre, with first serve set for 12 p.m.
TEAM NOTES
- Court 1 leads the Aggies in singles with a .727 winning percentage.
- Noah Schachter paces A&M with four 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 seven.
- Noah Schachter/Trey Hilderbrand lead A&M with dual match eight doubles wins.
MATCH STATS
Singles Matches
No. 31 Schachter – No. 2 Quinn (4-6, 2-6)
No. 66 Perot – No. 15 Henning (1-6, 5-7)
Perego – Bryde (6-3, 6-7(2), 4-6)
Marson – No. 90 Croyder (4-6, 6-4, 4-6)
No. 100 Rollins Def. No. 101 Giusca (6-4, 4-6, 6-4)
Casper – Perez Pena (2-6, 4-6)
Doubles Matches
No. 78 Schachter/Hilderbrand Def. No. 11 Quinn/Bryde (6-2)
Taylor/Rollins – Henning/Giusca (5-6) unfinished
Perot/Perego Def. Croyder/Johnston (7-5)