Texas A&M
Pepperdine
No. 18 Aggies Down No. 24 Pepperdine, 6-1
Mar 19, 2010 | Men's Tennis
March 19, 2010
COLLEGE STATION, Texas - The 18th-ranked Texas A&M men's tennis team claimed the doubles point then took five of six singles matches en route to a 6-1 win over No. 24 Pepperdine Friday night before 341 fans at the George P. Mitchell Tennis Center.
With the win the Aggies (10-4) won their sixth straight at home and swept the day-night doubleheader, defeating Lamar by the same score earlier in the afternoon. The Waves, meanwhile, lost their third straight and fell to 6-8.
"The score was 6-1, but that was not an indication of how close this match was," A&M coach Steve Denton said. "We won three of the matches in three sets, so the guys did a good job of fighting towards the end there."
Both teams quickly got on the board in doubles play, setting the stage for a winner-take-all match on the third line. The ninth-ranked Aggie duo of Marcus Lunt teamed up for an 8-6 win over Sebastian Fanselow and Alejandro Moreno on the third court--marking the seventh time in the last eight matches that the Aggies scored in doubles play.
"The doubles was really important for us," Denton said. "We won pretty comfortably at one, and they won comfortable at two, and it came down to three. Our guys played really solid for us to get the point against this team."
Freshman Alberto Bautista pushed the Aggie lead to 2-0 at No. 5 singles after defeating Tearney in straight sets, 6-3, 6-1.
Pepperdine would get its only point of the night on court No. 2, as Fanselow--ranked 110th nationally--posted a 6-2, 6-4 upset win over 30th-ranked Dadamo.
Junior Alexey Grigorov would move A&M within one win of the match thanks to a 6-2, 6-3 victory over the Waves' Mousheg Hovhannisyan at No. 4, and true freshman Niall Angus would clinch the match at No. 6 with a 6-1, 3-6, 6-3 victory over Daniel Moss.
"It was really good to have Niall Angus clinch the match for us," Denton said. "We took him out of the line up so he could work on some things, so for him to come out and get a good result like that will do tremendous things for his confidence."
Krajicek then picked up a key ranked win on the front line with a come-from-behind 2-6, 6-4, 6-3 victory over Beidas, ranked 40th nationally. Klegou would close the night by defeating Llompart in three sets, 5-7, 6-4, 6-4.
The victory was Texas A&M's sixth this season against a ranked foe, and the Aggies will a shot for another on Sunday when 12th-ranked Louisville comes to the Mitchell Tennis Center. First serve is set for 1 p.m.
(18) Texas A&M 6, (24) Pepperdine 1
George P. Mitchell Tennis Center March 19, 2010 at 6:00 p.m. Attendance: 341
Singles: 1. (21) Austin Krajicek (Texas A&M) def. (40) Bassam Beidas (Pepperdine) 2-6, 6-4, 6-3. 2. (110) Sebastian Fanselow (Pepperdine) def. (30) Jeff Dadamo (Texas A&M) 6-2, 6-4. 3. Alexis Kelgou (Texas A&M) def. Alex Llompart (Pepperdine) 5-7, 6-4, 6-4. 4. Alexey Grigorov (Texas A&M) def. Mousheg Hovhannisyan (Pepperdine) 6-2, 6-3. 5. Alberto Bautista (Texas A&M) def. Finn Tearney (Pepperdine) 6-3, 6-1. 6. Niall Angus (Texas A&M) def. Daniel Moss (Pepperdine) 6-1, 3-6, 6-3.
Doubles: 1. (9) Krajicek-Dadamo (Texas A&M) def. (25) Beidas-Llompart (Pepperdine) 8-3. 2. Hugh Clarke-Tearney (Pepperdine) def. Grigorov-Bautista (Texas A&M) 8-4. 3. Klegou-Marcus Lunt (Texas A&M) def. Fanselow- Alejandro Moreno (Pepperdine) 8-6.
Order of Finish: Singles: 5,2, 4, 6*, 1, 3 Doubles: 1,2,3
Players Mentioned
