TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – Texas A&M’s Hady Habib captured a last match standing victory in a third-set tiebreaker to propel the No. 24 men’s tennis team to a 4-3 upset over No. 20 Alabama Sunday at the Alabama Tennis Stadium. With the win the Aggies improved to 8-3 on the season and 2-0 in SEC matches, while the Crimson Tide fell to 11-3 overall and 1-1 against the league.
“I thought our guys played a very solid match and stayed the course in a real seesaw battle against a very tough minded opponent in Alabama,” Texas A&M head coach Steve Denton said. “Hady served his way out of trouble late in the third set against a really tough in form player in Edson Ortiz who was undefeated this spring. The match was played at a high level in the third set and after being 2-0 down in the deciding tiebreaker, Hady raised his level at that moment and put the team on his back to secure the match. We couldn’t be happier for the team after all of the work they have put in the last month.”
Habib, a sophomore from Houston, outlasted Alabama’s Edson Ortiz on court two to secure the team victory. The right-hander claimed the first set 6-4 before dropping the second set with the same score. Serving down 5-6 and 15-40, Habib reeled off an ace followed by a couple service winners to force the tiebreaker. Once in the tiebreaker, Habib never looked back and surged to a 7-2 result clinching the win for the visitors.
“When I was down 15-40 on my serve I was obviously a bit tight, but trusted the work that the team has collectively put in,” Texas A&M’s Habib said. “That trust loosened me up and I was able to play my best tennis to get through that game and win the match.”
The Aggies clinched the doubles point to open the match with a 6-1 result on court two by Valentin Vacherot and Austin Abbrat over Alabama’s Thibault Cancel and Alexey Nesterov. A&M’s Carlos Aguilar and Barnaby Smith clinched the point with a 6-4 win on court one against the Tide’s Mazen Osama and Patrick Kaukovalta.
The Aggies and Tide split first sets in singles play before No. 47 Vacherot doubled A&M’s advantage with a 6-3, 6-0 win on court three over No. 108 Kaukovalta. The Tide picked up their first point through a 6-0, 6-3 win by Jeremy Gschwendtner on court six over A&M’s Abbrat. Alabama evened the match at 2-2 as No. 32 Osama bested A&M’s Aguilar 7-5, 6-2 on court one.
A&M’s Smith, ranked No. 66 nationally, posted the third point with a 6-1, 3-6, 6-0 win on court four over the Tide’s Nesterov. The match tied up for the final time as Alabama’s Riccardo Roberto outlasted A&M’s Noah Schachter 6-4, 4-6, 6-3 on court five. With the match tied at 3-3, Habib’s heroics were on display and sent the Aggies home victorious.
With the win, the Aggies lead the all-time series against the Crimson Tide, 15-0. Following the trip to the Yellowhammer state the Aggies return to the Mitchell Tennis Center for the first time in league play on Thursday, March 7 against Georgia.
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 Alabama
3/3/2019 at Tuscaloosa, Ala.
(Alabama Tennis Stadium)
Texas A&M 4, #20 Alabama 3
Singles competition
1. #32 Mazen Osama (UA) def. #121 Juan Carlos Aguilar (TAMU) 7-5, 6-2
2. Hady Habib (TAMU) def. Edson Ortiz (UA) 6-4, 4-6, 7-6 (7-2)
3. #47 Valentin Vacherot (TAMU) def. #108 Patrick Kaukovalta (UA) 6-3, 6-0
4. #66 Barnaby Smith (TAMU) def. Alexey Nesterov (UA) 6-1, 3-6, 6-0
5. Riccardo Roberto (UA) def. Noah Schachter (TAMU) 6-4, 4-6, 6-3
6. Jeremy Gschwendtner (UA) def. #105 Austin Abbrat (TAMU) 6-0, 6-3
Doubles competition
1. Juan Carlos Aguilar/Barnaby Smith (TAMU) def. Mazen Osama/Patrick Kaukovalta (UA) 6-4
2. Valentin Vacherot/Austin Abbrat (TAMU) def. Thibault Cancel/Alexey Nesterov (UA) 6-1
3. Edson Ortiz/Riccardo Roberto (UA) vs. Hady Habib/Alex Vedri (TAMU) 4-4, unfinished
Match Notes:
Texas A&M 8-3
Alabama 11-3; National ranking #20
Order of finish: Doubles (2,1); Singles (3,6,1,4,5,2)
T-3:15 A-110
Story courtesy of Texas A&M Athletics