By Matt Callaway, Texas A&M Athletics Communications
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – The No. 8 Texas A&M men’s tennis opened play at the 2021 SEC Men’s Tennis Tournament with a 4-1 win over No. 14 Kentucky at the Billingsley Tennis Center Wednesday afternoon. With the win, Texas A&M improved to 16-7 this season while the Wildcats fell to 17-7. The Maroon & White advance to face the winner of this evening’s match between No. 1 Florida and No. 17 Mississippi State on Thursday in the semifinals at 3 p.m. (CT).
The Aggies displayed a bit of singles dominance against the squad from the Blue Grass State, winning all four singles matches that were completed while holding advantages on the final two courts that went unfinished.
After dropping the doubles point, A&M freshman Raphael Perot evened the team score at 1-1 with a 6-1, 6-4 triumph on court six over Kentucky’s Alexandre Leblanc. The Aggies earned their first lead of the day as No. 5 Hady Habib posted a 7-6, 6-4 triumph over No. 15 Gabriel Diallo on court two, the _ ranked win of the season for Habib.
Sophomore Pierce Rollins, ranked No. 123 nationally, pushed A&M to the precipice of victory with a 6-1, 2-6, 7-6(5) win on court five over No. 103 Joshua Lapadat. Junior Noah Schachter, ranked No. 98, clinched A&M’s win with a 6-7(2) 6-3, 7-5 result over No. 96 Cesar Bourgois on court four to push the Aggies through to Thursday’s semifinals.
Against the Wildcats, A&M’s Pranav Kumar and Schachter raced through a 6-2 win on court three over Kentucky’s Lapadat and Leblanc to open the match. UK leveled the doubles tally with a 6-4 win by No. 9 Bourgois and Diallo over A&M’s No. 6 Carlos Aguilar and Bjorn Thomson on the top court. Kentucky claimed the day’s first point with a 7-6(5) win on court two by Millen Hurrion and Liam Draxl over A&M’s No. 70 Valentin Vacherot and Rollins.
TEXAS A&M AT THE SEC TOURNAMENT
A&M earned a top-four seed in the SEC Tournament for the sixth straight year. Texas A&M holds an all-time 12-5 record at the SEC Tournament, claiming the trophy in the 2014 and 2015 seasons. The Aggies have advanced to the SEC Semifinals in seven of the eight SEC tournaments that they have participated in since joining the league for the 2013 season.
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POST MATCH QUOTES
Steve Denton, Texas A&M Head Coach
On the match…
“I liked what I saw today from the team after falling behind and then fighting back. I thought a couple of tiebreakers went our way that changed the momentum back in our favor. This type of match is a momentum builder for our team. We are looking forward to another opportunity tomorrow.”
Noah Schachter, Texas A&M Junior
On winning the match…
“We did a great job of rebounding after losing the doubles point and I think it was a very hard fought match all across the board, but we were able to raise our level when we needed to. Now we are looking forward to tomorrow’s semifinal match.”
RESULTS
Tennis Match Results
Kentucky vs Texas A&M
Apr 21, 2021 at Billingsley Tennis Center
(Fayetteville, Ark.)
#8 Texas A&M 4, #14 Kentucky 1
Singles competition
1. #4 Valentin Vacherot (TAMU) vs. #1 Liam Draxl (UK) 2-6, 7-6 (7-2), 5-3, unfinished
2. #5 Hady Habib (TAMU) def. #15 Gabriel Diallo (UK) 7-6, 6-4
3. #42 Carlos Aguilar (TAMU) vs. #33 Millen Hurrion (UK) 6-7 (7-9), 6-4, 1-0, unfinished
4. #98 Noah Schachter (TAMU) def. #96 Cesar Bourgois (UK) 6-7 (2-7), 6-3, 7-5
5. #123 Pierce Rollins (TAMU) def. #103 Joshua Lapadat (UK) 6-1, 2-6, 7-6 (7-5)
6. Raphael Perot (TAMU) def. Alexandre Leblanc (UK) 6-1, 6-4
Doubles competition
1. #9 Cesar Bourgois/Gabriel Diallo (UK) def. #6 Carlos Aguilar/Bjorn Thomson (TAMU) 6-4
2. Millen Hurrion/Liam Draxl (UK) def. #70 Valentin Vacherot/Pierce Rollins (TAMU) 7-6 (7-5)
3. Pranav Kumar/Noah Schachter (TAMU) def. Joshua Lapadat/Alexandre Leblanc (UK) 6-2
Match Notes:
Kentucky 18-6; National ranking #14
Texas A&M 15-7; National ranking #8
Order of finish: Doubles (3,1,2); Singles (6,2,5,4)