Vacherot Falls in NCAA Singles Quarterfinals

ORLANDO, Fla. –Texas A&M men’s tennis’ No. 5 Valentin Vacherot fell in the quarterfinals of the NCAA Singles Championship Wednesday to No. 6 Sam Riffice of Florida at the USTA National Campus.

Vacherot fell 6-3, 6-0 to Riffice as he matched the best showing in the NCAA Singles Championship in program history. In addition to Vacherot A&M has sent Connor Pollock (2009), Shaun Madden (2000) and Grant Connell (1985) to the National Quarterfinals.

The 2021 SEC Player of the Year, Vacherot rewrote the A&M record books as he broke the A&M record for career singles wins in dual matches with 86 all-time victories. Additionally, he finished with a 43-6 all-time singles record in SEC Regular Season matches, including a 12-0 record in 2019 and a program-best 19-match conference win streak. Vacherot was the only SEC player ranked in the top-5 of every ITA single ranking this year.

TEXAS A&M HEAD COACH STEVE DENTON QUOTES
On Valentin Vacherot’s contribution to the A&M program…
“We could not be more proud of Val and what he has accomplished the last four years in Aggieland. He exemplified everything that is great about college sports; a quiet warrior that relished every opportunity to represent the Maroon & White. He, Carlos [Aguilar], Hady [Habib] and Bjorn [Thomson] have represented this university with class and dignity that all Aggies can be proud of. We look forward to great things from all of them as they move on to the next chapter of their life. They each had truly amazing careers. We will miss them a lot, but I know they are equipped to do great things in the future.”

NCAA INDIVIDUAL CHAMPIONSHIPS

(USTA National Campus, Orlando, Florida)

Singles

First Round

No. 37 Matej Vocel (OSU) def. No. 30 Carlos Aguilar (TAMU) 6-3, 6-1

No. 3 Hady Habib (TAMU) def. No. 50 Kody Pearson (Tulsa) 6-2, 6-1

No. 5 Valentin Vacherot (TAMU) def. No. 45 Gustaf Strom (Zona) 2-6, 7-5, 6-3

Second Round

No. 35 William Blumberg (UNC) def. No. 3 Hady Habib (TAMU) 7-5, 6-2

No. 5 Valentin Vacherot (TAMU) def. No. 52 Riley Smith (USC) 6-1, 6-2

Round of 16

No. 5 Valentin Vacherot (TAMU) def. No. 24 Rinky Hijikata (UNC) 6-2, 3-6, 6-1

Quarterfinals

No. 6 Sam Riffice (UF) def. No. 5 Valentin Vacherot (TAMU) 6-3, 6-0

Doubles

First Round

No. 10 Riley Smith / Daniel Cukierman (USC) def. No. 8 Carlos Aguilar / Bjorn Thomson (TAMU) 6-3, 6-0

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