By Matt Callaway, Texas A&M Athletics Communications
BRYAN-COLLEGE STATION, Texas – The eighth-ranked Texas A&M men’s tennis team claimed a 4-1 win in the NCAA Tournament second round match against Oklahoma (11-15) at the George P. Mitchell Tennis Center Saturday afternoon. The Aggies (18-8) are the top-seed in the College Station Regional as they participate in their 27th straight NCAA Tournament and are hosting for the eight straight season.
The Maroon and White will take on the winner of the matchup between No. 9 UCF and Mississippi State on Monday, May 17 at 6 p.m. (CT) at the USTA National Campus in Orlando, Florida.
A&M opened play by earning the doubles point through dominating victories on the top two courts. The Aggie duo Carlos Aguilar and Bjorn Thomson, ranked No. 8 nationally, posted a convincing 6-0 win over No. 25 Mark Mandlik and Max Stewart. A&M’s No. 65 Pierce Rollins and Valentin Vacherot topped Jake Van Emburgh and Alex Martinez, 6-1, on court two to clinch the day’s first point.
The Aggies maintained momentum in singles action as they claimed first sets on three of six courts, converting all three into straight-set wins. No. 3 Habib doubled A&M’s advantage to 2-0 as he topped No. 70 Mason Beiler 7-6(4), 6-1 on court two before OU got on the board with a 7-5, 7-5 win by Justin Schlageter over No. 122 Rollins on court five.
Needing a pair of points to book their trip to Orlando, No. 5 Vacherot and No. 100 Schachter were up to the task as they claimed wins on courts one and four, respectively. Vacherot became A&M’s all-time singles win leader as he topped No. 86 Van Emburgh 6-3, 6-3 followed by Schachter’s 7-5, 6-4 triumph against Nathan Han to secure A&M’s trip to the Round of 16.
RESULTS
Tennis Match Results
Oklahoma Men’s Tennis vs Texas A&M
5/8/2021 at BCS, TX
(Mitchell Tennis Center)
#8 Texas A&M 4, Oklahoma Men’s Tennis 1
Singles competition
1. #5 Valentin Vacherot (TAMU) def. #86 Jake Van Emburgh (OU) 6-3, 6-3
2. #3 Hady Habib (TAMU) def. #70 Mason Beiler (OU) 7-6 (7-4), 6-1
3. #30 Juan Carlos Aguilar (TAMU) vs. Alex Martinez (OU) 6-7 (2-7), 5-6, unfinished
4. #100 Noah Schachter (TAMU) def. Nathan Han (OU) 7-5, 6-4
5. Justin Schlageter (OU) def. #122 Pierce Rollins (TAMU) 7-5, 7-5
6. Raphael Perot (TAMU) vs. Welsh Hotard (OU) 3-6, 6-2, 4-3, unfinished
Doubles competition
1. #8 Juan Carlos Aguilar/Bjorn Thomson (TAMU) def. #25 Mark Mandlik/Max Stewart (OU) 6-0
2. #65 Pierce Rollins/Valentin Vacherot (TAMU) def. Jake Van Emburgh/Alex Martinez (OU) 6-1
3. #86 Hady Habib/Noah Schachter (TAMU) vs. Nathan Han/Mason Beiler (OU) 2-4, unfinished
Match Notes:
Oklahoma Men’s Tennis 11-15
Texas A&M 18-8; National ranking #8
Order of finish: Doubles (1,2); Singles (2,5,1,4)
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TEXAS A&M HEAD COACH STEVE DENTON QUOTES
On the win over Oklahoma…
“First of all, we played lights out in the doubles on the first two courts. I think that is the best I have seen on those first two courts in a long time. I thought that set the tone for the day. Oklahoma was ahead and some early parts of a lot of singles sets, but I think once we got ourselves back on serve on a couple courts I felt like then we were able to kind of push ourselves to a higher level. Having that doubles point in our back pocket helped the guys relax and know that we can press forward and play a little bit more aggressively.”
TEXAS A&M SENIOR VALENTIN VACHEROT QUOTES
On playing so well in today’s match…
“It is just about having confidence in our games. We played really well in doubles winning 6-0 and 6-1. That was probably the best doubles we have played all year. We started a little bit slow in singles and they jumped on our serve a bit, but we had a lot of confidence in our games.”
On breaking A&M’s singles wins record…
“It is amazing of course. We know how big of a program A&M tennis is. Breaking the singles record is just such an honor for me, but I just try my best to help the team win. I am going to try to do it for four or five more matches.
TEXAS A&M SENIOR HADY HABIB QUOTES
On today’s match…
“The conditions were not the best today, but I think mentally I was positive and fun out there. I gave it my best. Now we get another week together before we play our next match, so we are all going go to Orlando, which is going to be exciting because we have been looking forward to the trip. ”
On defeating Oklahoma after they knocked A&M out of the 2019 NCAA Tournament…
“I didn’t really try to think about that too much. I tried to stay in the moment and just try to get on jump on my opponent. From the beginning, and I just found my game and started play well towards the end of the second set.”
NCAA NOTES
– The Aggies are 45-28 all-time in the NCAA Tournament, reaching the Round of Sixteen for the 15th time. A&M has reached Round of Eight three times and the NCAA Semifinal in 2018.
– Head Coach Steve Denton is 25-13 all-time in the NCAA Tournament.
– With this season’s appearance, Texas A&M has advanced to 28 NCAA Tournaments and made 27 consecutive appearances.
– Texas A&M is 27-8 all-time against Oklahoma.
NCAA FIRST AND SECOND ROUNDS
(Mitchell Tennis Center, College Station, Texas)
First Round
Friday, May 7
No. 27 Oklahoma (11-14) def. Denver (16-4), 4-1
No. 8 Texas A&M (17-8) def. New Mexico (8-10), 4-1
Second Round
Saturday, May 8
No. 8 Texas A&M (18-8) def. Oklahoma (11-15), 4-1