COLLEGE STATION – Bolstered by a rambunctious crowd sophomore Barnaby Smith clinched Texas A&M men’s tennis’ triumph over No. 1 Ohio State Monday night at the George P Mitchell Tennis Center. Monday’s, 4-3, victory marked the second victory over a top-ranked opponent in A&M tennis history.
“We did what we had to do to get a win tonight,” Texas A&M head coach Steve Denton said. “It’s tough on them, their star player is not here and obviously that makes a difference. They would be the first to not use that as an excuse and its tough coming out and playing outdoor tennis for a few days, but it is just like when we go play them indoors. We knew they were going to compete very hard against us like they always do and it’s going to be a dogfight, but our guys were pretty good again tonight. We are playing with a little bit of momentum and the guys believe in themselves and we were able to get across the finish line.”
Denton led the Aggies to their only previous triumph over a No. 1 squad as the Maroon & White topped Oklahoma in 2015. With the win on Monday the Aggies improved to 12-3 on the season, while the Buckeyes were handed their first loss of the season to fall to 16-1 this spring.
Smith earned a 7-6(7), 6-3 win over Ohio State’s Martin Joyce, ranked No. 69 nationally, to secure the A&M victory. Smith is an impressive 11-1 this spring having won 12 of his last 13 matches overall.
“I’m not surprised even when we lost the doubles point,” Smith said. “We didn’t play well at doubles as a team and I honestly thought we could win every point in singles and we almost did. We had chances in the other two singles matches. I know a lot of us didn’t feel like we played our best tennis tonight, but we just competed really hard. The conditions were tough and the crowd was great. We have been working so hard for so long. We trust the work that we have put in as a team.”
A&M freshman Noah Schachter posted his third straight win to give the Aggies their first point of the day. The Wesley Chapel, Florida native, topped OSU’s Tim Seibert 6-3, 6-3 on court five. Moments later, A&M sophomore Hady Habib pushed Aggies ahead 2-1 with a 6-2, 7-6(3) win over OSU’s Kyle Seelig, ranked No. 28, on court two. Habib improved to 7-1 in dual matches and claimed his second ranked win of the week after topping No. 93 Adam Walton of Tennessee on Saturday.
A&M’s Valentin Vacherot, ranked No. 38, posted the third point of the night for the Aggies, winning 2-6, 6-3, 6-0 on court three. The sophomore bested No. 81 Alex Kobelt to earn his sixth straight win and improve to 7-3 in dual matches this spring and set up Smith for the clincher.
The Aggies have won nine straight matches this spring, including wins over No. 1 Ohio State, No. 20 Tennessee, No. 20 Alabama and traditional SEC powerhouse Georgia. Monday night was the 16th all-time matchup between Texas A&M and Ohio State, with each team winning eight matches.
The Buckeyes earned the first point of the night in doubles action and earned a pair of singles wins after the team match was already secured.
Up next, A&M will hit the road for a double header in Baton Rouge against No. 24 LSU and New Orleans on Saturday, March 16.
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
Ohio State vs Texas A&M
3/11/2019 at College Station, TX
(George P Mitchell Tennis Center)
#28 Texas A&M 4, #1 Ohio State 3
Singles competition
1. #27 John McNally (OSU) def. Juan Carlos Aguilar (TAMU) 2-6, 6-4, 6-4
2. #120 Hady Habib (TAMU) def. #28 Kyle Seelig (OSU) 6-2, 7-6 (7-3)
3. #38 Valentin Vacherot (TAMU) def. #81 Alex Kobelt (OSU) 2-6, 6-3, 6-0
4. #58 Barnaby Smith (TAMU) def. #69 Martin Joyce (OSU) 7-6 (9-7), 6-3
5. Noah Schachter (TAMU) def. Tim Seibert (OSU) 6-3, 6-3
6. Hunter Tubert (OSU) def. Guido Marson (TAMU) 6-7 (1-7), 7-6 (7-1), 1-0 (10-4)
Doubles competition
1. Alex Kobelt/James Trotter (OSU) def. Juan Carlos Aguilar/Barnaby Smith (TAMU) 6-4
2. Valentin Vacherot/Alex Vedri (TAMU) vs. #57 John McNally/Hunter Tubert (OSU) 3-4, unfinished
3. Martin Joyce/Kyle Seelig (OSU) def. Hady Habib/Kevin Lam (TAMU) 6-4
Match Notes:
Ohio State 16-1; National ranking #1
Texas A&M 12-3; National ranking #28
Order of finish: Doubles (1,3); Singles (5,2,3,4,1,6)
Story courtesy of Texas A&M Athletics