SOUTH BEND, Ind. – The No. 14 Texas A&M men’s tennis team fell 5-2 to No. 13 Notre Dame at the Eck Tennis Pavilion on Sunday. With the loss the Aggies fell to 3-3 while the Fighting Irish improved to 5-0 this season.
The Aggies opened the match by dropping the doubles point as Notre Dame’s Grayson Broadus and Matthew Gamble, ranked No. 49 nationally, bested Texas A&M’s Barnaby Smith and Austin Abbrat 6-0 on court three followed by the Irish duo of Alex Lebedev and Axel Nefve defeating A&M’s Valentin Vacherot and Jack Pulliam 6-3 on court two.
The Irish doubled their lead as No. 63 Richard Ciamarra topped Texas A&M junior Valentin Vacherot 6-3, 6-1 on court two. Texas A&M sophomore Hady Habib made his first dual match appearance this spring, the Houston native defeated Notre Dame’s Nefve 6-2, 6-2 on court three. The Maroon & White evened the match at 2-2 as Aggie freshman Austin Abbrat topped No. 49 William Howells 6-2, 6-4 to win his sixth straight match. Abbrat improved to 2-0 against ranked opponents to equal the team-lead in ranked victories.
Notre Dame picked up its third point as Guillermo Cabrera bested A&M freshman Alex Vedri 6-2, 6-4 on court six. The Irish clinched the win as No. 16 Lebedev topped A&M’s Aguilar, ranked No. 89, 7-6(1), 6-1 on court one. Notre Dame’s Tristan McCormick earned the final point of the day as he outlasted A&M freshman Noah Schachter 7-6(3), 5-7, 1-0[7] on court four.
The Aggies return to action on Feb. 22 at the Mitchell Tennis Center in College Station against Arizona State at 6 p.m. (CT).
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.
Tennis Match Results
Texas A&M vs Notre Dame
2/3/19 at Notre Dame, Ind.
(Eck Tennis Pavilion)
#13 Notre Dame 5, #14 Texas A&M 2
Singles competition
1. #16 Alex Lebedev (ND) def. #89 Juan Carlos Aguilar (TAMU) 7-6 (7-1), 6-1
2. #63 Richard Ciamarra (ND) def. Valentin Vacherot (TAMU) 6-3, 6-1
3. Hady Habib (TAMU) def. Axel Nefve (ND) 6-2, 6-2
4. Tristan McCormick (ND) def. Noah Schachter (TAMU) 7-6 (7-3), 5-7, 1-0 (10-7)
5. Austin Abbrat (TAMU) def. #49 William Howells (ND) 6-2, 6-4
6. Guillermo Cabrera (ND) def. Alex Vedri (TAMU) 6-2, 6-4
Doubles competition
1. #11 Richard Ciamarra/Tristan McCormick (ND) vs. Hady Habib/Juan Carlos Aguilar (TAMU) 5-3, unfinished
2. Alex Lebedev/Axel Nefve (ND) def. Valentin Vacherot/Jack Pulliam (TAMU) 6-3
3. #49 Grayson Broadus/Matt Gamble (ND) def. Barnaby Smith/Austin Abbrat (TAMU) 6-0
Match Notes:
Texas A&M 3-3; National ranking #14
Notre Dame 5-0; National ranking #13
Order of finish: Doubles (3, 2); Singles (2, 3, 5, 6, 1, 4)
Story courtesy of Texas A&M Athletics