Credit to Sam Thornton | Communications Specialist, Athletics Communications
BRYAN-COLLEGE STATION, Texas – The No. 27 Texas A&M men’s tennis team swept a pair of matches with ACU (6-1) and No. 55 Tulsa (5-2) Tuesday at the Mitchell Tennis Center.
The hot doubles streak continued for A&M (9-7, 2-2 SEC), as it claimed its sixth straight doubles point versus ACU (8-8). Kenner Taylor/Pierce Rollins started the day off right with a win on court 3, the pair bested Daniel Morozov/Mihaly Deli (6-3). The point was secured by No. 78 Noah Schachter/Trey Hilderbrand, as they remain red hot, extending their winning streak to seven with a win over Dario Kmet/Cesar Barranquero on court 1 (6-4).
The Maroon & White continued their dominance into singles, as they claimed five of the six courts. Sophomore Luke Casper garnered his third dual-match win of the season over Savan Chabbra, in a straight-set clinic on court 3 (6-2, 6-2). JC Roddick wasn’t far behind, as the sophomore claimed a win on court 5 over Benjamin McDonald (6-1, 6-4). Junior Taylor clinched the match for the Aggies on court 6, as he won his matchup with Deli (6-3, 6-4). The coaches agreed to play out the remaining matches, and shortly after graduate No. 109 Hilderbrand added another point to the board besting Kmet on court 1 (7-6(5), 6-4). The final point of the opening match was claimed by junior Rahul Dhokia, he outlasted Barranquero in a back-and-forth third set tiebreaker on court 4 (4-6, 7-6(4), 1-0(6)).
The early aggressors in the second match of the day were Tulsa (5-7), as the Hurricane claimed the doubles point. Schachter/Hilderbrand were the bright spot for the Aggies however, as the pair secured their second win of the day, this time over Connor Di Marco/Kody Pearson on court 1 (6-3).
The Aggies flipped the script in singles, as they claimed five of the six courts. Senior Guido Marson knotted the teams with a win on court 5 over the Hurricane’s Di Marco (6-2, 6-2). Casper continued the momentum on court 6 as he claimed a straight-set win versus Ezequiel Santalla, this gave A&M the advantage, 2-1. Junior No. 66 Raphael Perot increased the lead further with a stunning performance on court 2, as he dominated Stefan Hampe (6-2, 6-3). Clinching the match for the Maroon & White was Giulio Perego, as the sophomore bested Callum Gale on court 3 (6-1-, 3-6, 6-2). No. 100 Rollins added one final win for the Aggies with a three-set thriller on court 4 outlasting Volodymyr Zakharov (6-1, 4-6, 6-1).
COACHES QUOTES
Head coach Steve Denton on today’s match with ACU…
“These doubleheader matches are tricky, but at the same time very important. Getting to play some of our guys like Trey [Hilderbrand], Rahul [Dhokia], Kenner [Taylor] and JC [Roddick] was great, and they played some quality tennis. All these matches are crucial as we can continue to evaluate them, and if we have guys banged up we know they can step in for us.”
Denton on today’s match with Tulsa…
“I thought we actually played very well in the doubles, but Tulsa also put out some great performances, especially on courts 3 and 5. I think our response was great in singles, we could have been rattled but instead we won all of the opening sets and kept our foot on the gas. I was also impressed with Luke [Casper] as he played two singles matches today and won both.”
UP NEXT
The Aggies go back on the road for a conference matchup in Fayetteville to take on the Arkansas Razorbacks, Saturday, March 18 with first serve set for 1 p.m.
TEAM NOTES
- Court 1 leads the Aggies in singles with a .714 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.
MATCH STATS
Singles Matches with ACU
No. 109 Hilderbrand Def. Kmet (7-6(5), 6-4)
Ross – Morozov (4-6, 6-2, 0-1(7))
Casper Def. Chhabra (6-2, 6-2)
Dhokia Def. Barranquero (4-6, 7-6(4), 1-0(6))
Roddick Def. McDonald (6-1, 6-4)
Taylor Def. Deli (6-3, 6-4)
Doubles Matches with ACU
No. 78 Schachter/Hilderbrand Def. Kmet/Barranquero (6-4)
Taylor/Rollins Def. Morozov/Deli (6-3)
Ross/Storch – Chhabra/Scribner (3-3) unfinished
Singles Matches with Tulsa
No. 31 Schachter – No. 34 Pearson (6-3, 5-7, 0-1(6))
No. 66 Perot Def. Hampe (6-2, 6-3)
Perego Def. Gale (6-1, 3-6, 6-2)
No. 100 Rollins Def. Zakharov (6-1, 4-6, 6-1)
Marson Def. Di Marco (6-2, 6-2)
Casper Def. Santalla (6-3, 6-3)
Doubles Matches with Tulsa
No. 78 Schachter/Hilderbrand Def. Di Marco/Pearson (6-3)
Taylor/Rollins – Seger/Siddall (4-6)
Perot/Perego – Santalla/Hampe (2-6)