No. 10 Men’s Tennis Defeats No. 18 South Carolina 6-1 Friday Night

The No. 10 men's tennis team defeated No. 18 South Carolina 6-1 at the Mitchell Tennis Center Friday evening, as A&M improved to 7-1 overall and 3-0 in league play.

BRYAN-COLLEGE STATION, Texas – The No. 10 Texas A&M men's tennis team defeated No. 18 South Carolina 6-1 at the Mitchell Tennis Center Friday evening. A&M improved to 7-1 overall and 3-0 in league play while the Gamecocks fell to 6-3 this season and 2-1 in conference action.

"Our guys really came out with a lot of determination and played at a high level tonight," Texas A&M head coach Steve Denton said. "I think that doubles point was tremendously important in this particular match. There was only one point against serve in the tiebreaker. I thought our guys played at a good level there and that was a real high quality doubles with the point on the line. After that doubles point I felt like after that our guys relaxed and played well. Honestly, that was our best complete match that we played thus far this season."

After South Carolina earned the first doubles match to finish on court two, A&M stormed back with a win on courts one and three to take the 1-0 advantage. A&M's No. 48 Carlos Aguilar and Bjorn Thomson topped No. 44 Daniel Rodrigues and Connor Thomson 6-2 on the top court before Valentin Vacherot and Pierce Rollins outlasted Jake Beasley and Toby Samuel 7-6(5) on court three.

The Maroon & White maintained the momentum in singles action, taking all six first sets en route to four straight-set victories. A&M freshman Raphael Perot improved to 3-0 in SEC matches with a 6-1, 6-2 win over Beasley on court six followed by No. 13 Hady Habib besting No. 32 Rodrigues on court one to push the Aggies ahead 3-0. Sophomore Guido Marson served up the fourth point for the Aggies with a 6-2 6-4 win on court five over SC's Phillip Jordan.

With the team match secured, No. 33 Aguilar piled on the fifth point of the night for the home team with a 6-4, 6-2 win on court three over No. 118 Thomson. The Gamecocks lone point of the day came in three-sets on court four before A&M's Vacherot, ranked No. 4 nationally, claimed his 19th straight SEC win with a 6-4, 3-6, 6-4 marathon over No. 81 Raphael Lambling on court two.

Tennis Match Results
South Carolina vs Texas A&M
2/26/2021 at BCS, TX
(Mitchell Tennis Center)

#10 Texas A&M 6, #18 South Carolina 1

Singles competition
1. #13 Hady Habib (TAMU) def. #32 Daniel Rodrigues (SC) 6-1, 6-4
2. #4 Valentin Vacherot (TAMU) def. #81 Raphael Lambling (SC) 6-4, 3-6, 6-1
3. #33 Carlos Aguilar (TAMU) def. #118 Connor Thomson (SC) 6-4, 6-2
4. Toby Samuel (SC) def. #116 Noah Schachter (TAMU) 4-6, 6-0, 6-3
5. Guido Marson (TAMU) def. Phillip Jordan (SC) 6-2, 6-4
6. Raphael Perot (TAMU) def. Jake Beasley (SC) 6-1, 6-2

Doubles competition
1. #48 Carlos Aguilar/Bjorn Thomson (TAMU) def. #44 Daniel Rodrigues/Connor Thomson (SC) 6-2
2. #59 Raphael Lambling/Phillip Jordan (SC) def. Hady Habib/Noah Schachter (TAMU) 6-4
3. Valentin Vacherot/Pierce Rollins (TAMU) def. Jake Beasley/Toby Samuel (SC) 7-6 (7-5)

Match Notes:
South Carolina 6-3, 2-1; National ranking #18
Texas A&M 7-1, 3-0; National ranking #10
Order of finish: Doubles (2,1,3); Singles (6,1,5,3,4,2)

UP NEXT
The Aggies remain at home for a Sunday showdown against No. 11 Florida as the Gators return to the Mitchell Tennis Center for the second consecutive season. A&M will take on the Gators at 1 p.m. and will cap off the doubleheader against UTRGV at 6 p.m..

FOLLOW THE AGGIES
Visit 12thman.com for more information on Texas A&M men's tennis. Fans can keep up to date with the A&M men's tennis team on Facebook, Instagram, and on Twitter by following @AggieMTEN.