Saturday, April 17
Bryan-College Station
1:00 PM
Texas A&M
4
vs
0
Alabama
No. 8 Men’s Tennis Sweeps No. 18 Alabama on Senior Day
Apr 17, 2021 | Men's Tennis
BRYAN-COLLEGE STATION, Texas – The No. 8 Texas A&M men's tennis wraps up the 2021 regular season with a senior day sweep, 4-0, Saturday afternoon against No. 18 Alabama at the Mitchell Tennis Center. The Aggies honored the collegiate careers of seniors Carlos Aguilar, Hady Habib, Bjorn Thomson and Valentin Vacherot prior to first serve.
The Maroon & White improved to 15-7 this season and 7-5 against SEC foes while the Crimson Tide fell to 14-10 overall and 5-7 in league play.
The Aggies opened play by capturing the tightly contested doubles point with wins on court two and three. A&M's No. 71 Vacherot and Pierce Rollins rattled off a 6-3 win on court two over Alexey Nesterov and Edson Ortiz followed by the clincher from Pranav Kumar and Noah Schachter on court four, 6-4, over Marcelo Sepulveda and Zhe Zhou.
Leading 1-0 heading into singles action, the Maroon & White maintained all of the momentum with first set victories on five of six courts. No. 5 Vacherot doubled the A&M advantage with a 6-2, 6-2 win on court one over No. 47 Ortiz. The win was the 84th dual singles win of Vacherot's career, pushing him just one win shy of tying A&M's all-time program record.
No. 120 Rollins pushed the A&M lead to 3-0 as he topped Jeremy Gschwendtner 6-1, 6-3 on court five. Moments later Raphael Perot clinched the sweep with a 6-1, 6-3 triumph on court six over Alabama's Nesterov.
Tennis Match Results
Alabama vs Texas A&M
4/17/2021 at BCS, TX
(Mitchell Tennis Center)
#8 Texas A&M 4, #18 Alabama 0
Singles competition
1. #5 Valentin Vacherot (TAMU) def. #47 Edson Ortiz (UA) 6-2, 6-2
2. #7 Hady Habib (TAMU) vs. #83 Patrick Kaukovalta (UA) 7-5, 5-3, unfinished
3. #45 Juan Carlos Aguilar (TAMU) vs. #69 Zhe Zhou (UA) 6-7 (6-8), 0-3, unfinished
4. #107 Noah Schachter (TAMU) vs. Riccardo Roberto (UA) 7-6 (7-2), 4-1, unfinished
5. #120 Pierce Rollins (TAMU) def. Jeremy Gschwendtner (UA) 6-1, 6-3
6. Raphael Perot (TAMU) def. Alexey Nesterov (UA) 6-1, 6-3
Doubles competition
1. #7 Juan Carlos Aguilar/Bjorn Thomson (TAMU) vs. #21 Patrick Kaukovalta/Riccardo Roberto (UA) 5-6, unfinished
2. #71 Valentin Vacherot/Pierce Rollins (TAMU) def. Alexey Nesterov/Edson Ortiz (UA) 6-3
3. Pranav Kumar/Noah Schachter (TAMU) def. Marcelo Sepulveda/Zhe Zhou (UA) 6-4
Match Notes:
Alabama 14-9, 5-6; National ranking #18
Texas A&M 15-7, 7-5; National ranking #8
Order of finish: Doubles (2,3); Singles (1,5,6)
UP NEXT
A&M will compete at the SEC Tournament in Fayetteville, Arkansas next week beginning on Wednesday, April 21 as the tournament's No. 4 seed. The Aggies will take on either Arkansas, Vanderbilt or No. 14 Kentucky in the quarterfinals.
POSTMATCH QUOTES
Steve Denton, Texas A&M Head Coach
On senior day…
"It was real emotional because I know that they're not going to be here much longer. These guys are like my sons and I am so proud of them that they have become men, but also sad that it's coming to an end. It is just a difficult day, but most of all you are proud of them for their accomplishments."
On the match…
"Time will tell what this means for us moving forward but I was pleased with our effort today, I thought we competed hard. The conditions were pretty difficult for both teams and I thought our guys managed the wind pretty well. It was nice to have all our guys out there competing and we will see what we can do going forward. Today was a good start in the right direction. I told them, this was kind of the beginning of a new season and we will see where we go from here."
Valentin Vacherot, Texas A&M senior
On the match…
"We had a really, really, really rough weekend, last weekend. So we can start from zero at practice this week. Maybe we didn't start the week with too much confidence, but playing at home gives us confidence. I mean, we are really good at home. We did a really good job today, especially in doubles, jumping on them from the beginning. I know I did not play amazing in singles, but just did the job."
On senior day…
"It means a lot. It is my fifth season, if you count the COVID season from last year. It is sad knowing that is has come to an end, but today was a great day. Great senior day winning four zero at home."
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.
The Maroon & White improved to 15-7 this season and 7-5 against SEC foes while the Crimson Tide fell to 14-10 overall and 5-7 in league play.
The Aggies opened play by capturing the tightly contested doubles point with wins on court two and three. A&M's No. 71 Vacherot and Pierce Rollins rattled off a 6-3 win on court two over Alexey Nesterov and Edson Ortiz followed by the clincher from Pranav Kumar and Noah Schachter on court four, 6-4, over Marcelo Sepulveda and Zhe Zhou.
Leading 1-0 heading into singles action, the Maroon & White maintained all of the momentum with first set victories on five of six courts. No. 5 Vacherot doubled the A&M advantage with a 6-2, 6-2 win on court one over No. 47 Ortiz. The win was the 84th dual singles win of Vacherot's career, pushing him just one win shy of tying A&M's all-time program record.
No. 120 Rollins pushed the A&M lead to 3-0 as he topped Jeremy Gschwendtner 6-1, 6-3 on court five. Moments later Raphael Perot clinched the sweep with a 6-1, 6-3 triumph on court six over Alabama's Nesterov.
Tennis Match Results
Alabama vs Texas A&M
4/17/2021 at BCS, TX
(Mitchell Tennis Center)
#8 Texas A&M 4, #18 Alabama 0
Singles competition
1. #5 Valentin Vacherot (TAMU) def. #47 Edson Ortiz (UA) 6-2, 6-2
2. #7 Hady Habib (TAMU) vs. #83 Patrick Kaukovalta (UA) 7-5, 5-3, unfinished
3. #45 Juan Carlos Aguilar (TAMU) vs. #69 Zhe Zhou (UA) 6-7 (6-8), 0-3, unfinished
4. #107 Noah Schachter (TAMU) vs. Riccardo Roberto (UA) 7-6 (7-2), 4-1, unfinished
5. #120 Pierce Rollins (TAMU) def. Jeremy Gschwendtner (UA) 6-1, 6-3
6. Raphael Perot (TAMU) def. Alexey Nesterov (UA) 6-1, 6-3
Doubles competition
1. #7 Juan Carlos Aguilar/Bjorn Thomson (TAMU) vs. #21 Patrick Kaukovalta/Riccardo Roberto (UA) 5-6, unfinished
2. #71 Valentin Vacherot/Pierce Rollins (TAMU) def. Alexey Nesterov/Edson Ortiz (UA) 6-3
3. Pranav Kumar/Noah Schachter (TAMU) def. Marcelo Sepulveda/Zhe Zhou (UA) 6-4
Match Notes:
Alabama 14-9, 5-6; National ranking #18
Texas A&M 15-7, 7-5; National ranking #8
Order of finish: Doubles (2,3); Singles (1,5,6)
UP NEXT
A&M will compete at the SEC Tournament in Fayetteville, Arkansas next week beginning on Wednesday, April 21 as the tournament's No. 4 seed. The Aggies will take on either Arkansas, Vanderbilt or No. 14 Kentucky in the quarterfinals.
POSTMATCH QUOTES
Steve Denton, Texas A&M Head Coach
On senior day…
"It was real emotional because I know that they're not going to be here much longer. These guys are like my sons and I am so proud of them that they have become men, but also sad that it's coming to an end. It is just a difficult day, but most of all you are proud of them for their accomplishments."
On the match…
"Time will tell what this means for us moving forward but I was pleased with our effort today, I thought we competed hard. The conditions were pretty difficult for both teams and I thought our guys managed the wind pretty well. It was nice to have all our guys out there competing and we will see what we can do going forward. Today was a good start in the right direction. I told them, this was kind of the beginning of a new season and we will see where we go from here."
Valentin Vacherot, Texas A&M senior
On the match…
"We had a really, really, really rough weekend, last weekend. So we can start from zero at practice this week. Maybe we didn't start the week with too much confidence, but playing at home gives us confidence. I mean, we are really good at home. We did a really good job today, especially in doubles, jumping on them from the beginning. I know I did not play amazing in singles, but just did the job."
On senior day…
"It means a lot. It is my fifth season, if you count the COVID season from last year. It is sad knowing that is has come to an end, but today was a great day. Great senior day winning four zero at home."
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.
Team Stats
#1 Doubles Match
12
Patrick Kaukovalta/ Riccardo Roberto (21/-) [UA]
60
5UF
#2 Doubles Match
#3 Doubles Match
Order of Finish:
2,3
#1 Singles Match
12
Edson Ortiz / 0 (47/-) [UA]
22
66
#2 Singles Match
123
Patrick Kaukovalta / 0 (83/-) [UA]
530
75UF
#3 Singles Match
123
Zhe Zhou / 0 (69/-) [UA]
730
60UF
#4 Singles Match
123
Riccardo Roberto / 0 [UA]
610
74UF
#5 Singles Match
12
Jeremy Gschwendtner / 0 [UA]
13
66
#6 Singles Match
12
Alexey Nesterov / 0 [UA]
13
66
Order of Finish:
1,5,6
Players Mentioned
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
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