COLUMBIA, S.C. – The No. 21 Texas A&M men's tennis team opens the final weekend of the regular season at No. 9 South Carolina at 4 p.m. (CT) Friday at the Carolina Tennis Center. The Aggies enter the match at 21-10 on the season and 7-3 in league play while the Gamecocks are 20-5 this spring and 9-2 in conference matches.
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The Maroon & White return to action after earning a trio of wins including a pair of SEC victories last weekend. The Aggies topped LSU in Baton Rouge last Friday to earn their first 7-0 road SEC win since March 1, 2019 at Auburn. On Sunday, A&M topped Ole Miss and UTRGV 6-1 to wrap up the 3-0 weekend. Junior Noah Schachter claimed SEC Player of the Week honors after posting back-to-back top-35 singles wins for the first time in his career.
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TEXAS A&M RANKINGS UPDATE
A&M's Schachter skyrocketed to a career-high No. 40 in the latest ITA singles rankings as he leads the team with seven ranked wins, the most ranked wins in a single season in Schachter's collegiate career.
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Schachter and sophomore Kenner Taylor moved up 41 spots to land at No. 20 in the doubles poll, the career-best doubles ranking for both Aggies. The pair are an impressive 13-4 on the top doubles court and pace the team with four ranked wins, including a career-best victory over then-No. 17 Lukas Engelhardt and Finn Reynolds of Ole Miss.
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Austin Abbrat and Schachter continue to appear in the doubles rankings, the pair landed at No. 49 this week. The Maroon & White duo have recorded a pair of ranked wins this season, highlighted by an 8-7 result against Finn Bass and Sven Lah of Baylor, currently ranked No. 19.
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SCOUTING SOUTH CAROLINA
The Gamecocks are riding a five match win streak, dating back to a 4-1 loss to NC State on March 23 in Raleigh. In league play, South Carolina has not dropped a match since a 4-3 setback against then-No. 8 Georgia on March 13. The garnet and black clad squad is led by No. 2 Daniel Rodrigues, the junior is 20-2 in dual matches and is riding an 11-match win streak. Rodrigues and Connor Thomson hold a 15-4 dual mark and rank No. 22 in Wednesday's doubles rankings.
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QUOTES
Steve Denton, Texas A&M Head Coach
On Friday's match…
"South Carolina is one of the best teams in the country sitting second in the SEC standings. Very proud of the job Josh [Goffi] has done with his team. They are well prepared and a tough-minded experienced team. Having said that, I am excited to see our growth as a team continue. We got a taste of them in the fall and I will be particularly interested in our progress against them tomorrow evening as we are certainly trending in the right direction. It is a great opportunity for our team to continue improving."
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FOLLOW THE ACTION
Friday's match will be streamed here and live scoring will be available here.
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Cracked Racquets continues their coverage of SEC Tennis on their CrossCourt Cast available here.
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UP NEXT
After the trip to the Palmetto State, A&M will head south to Gainesville to wrap up the regular season at No. 3 Florida on Sunday at noon (CT).
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FOLLOW THE AGGIES
Visit 12thMan.com for more information on Texas A&M men's tennis. Aggie fans can also keep up to date with the A&M men's tennis team on Facebook or on Twitter by following @AggieMTEN.
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The Maroon & White return to action after earning a trio of wins including a pair of SEC victories last weekend. The Aggies topped LSU in Baton Rouge last Friday to earn their first 7-0 road SEC win since March 1, 2019 at Auburn. On Sunday, A&M topped Ole Miss and UTRGV 6-1 to wrap up the 3-0 weekend. Junior Noah Schachter claimed SEC Player of the Week honors after posting back-to-back top-35 singles wins for the first time in his career.
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TEXAS A&M RANKINGS UPDATE
A&M's Schachter skyrocketed to a career-high No. 40 in the latest ITA singles rankings as he leads the team with seven ranked wins, the most ranked wins in a single season in Schachter's collegiate career.
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Schachter and sophomore Kenner Taylor moved up 41 spots to land at No. 20 in the doubles poll, the career-best doubles ranking for both Aggies. The pair are an impressive 13-4 on the top doubles court and pace the team with four ranked wins, including a career-best victory over then-No. 17 Lukas Engelhardt and Finn Reynolds of Ole Miss.
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Austin Abbrat and Schachter continue to appear in the doubles rankings, the pair landed at No. 49 this week. The Maroon & White duo have recorded a pair of ranked wins this season, highlighted by an 8-7 result against Finn Bass and Sven Lah of Baylor, currently ranked No. 19.
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SCOUTING SOUTH CAROLINA
The Gamecocks are riding a five match win streak, dating back to a 4-1 loss to NC State on March 23 in Raleigh. In league play, South Carolina has not dropped a match since a 4-3 setback against then-No. 8 Georgia on March 13. The garnet and black clad squad is led by No. 2 Daniel Rodrigues, the junior is 20-2 in dual matches and is riding an 11-match win streak. Rodrigues and Connor Thomson hold a 15-4 dual mark and rank No. 22 in Wednesday's doubles rankings.
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QUOTES
Steve Denton, Texas A&M Head Coach
On Friday's match…
"South Carolina is one of the best teams in the country sitting second in the SEC standings. Very proud of the job Josh [Goffi] has done with his team. They are well prepared and a tough-minded experienced team. Having said that, I am excited to see our growth as a team continue. We got a taste of them in the fall and I will be particularly interested in our progress against them tomorrow evening as we are certainly trending in the right direction. It is a great opportunity for our team to continue improving."
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FOLLOW THE ACTION
Friday's match will be streamed here and live scoring will be available here.
Â
Cracked Racquets continues their coverage of SEC Tennis on their CrossCourt Cast available here.
 Â
UP NEXT
After the trip to the Palmetto State, A&M will head south to Gainesville to wrap up the regular season at No. 3 Florida on Sunday at noon (CT).
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FOLLOW THE AGGIES
Visit 12thMan.com for more information on Texas A&M men's tennis. Aggie fans can also keep up to date with the A&M men's tennis team on Facebook or on Twitter by following @AggieMTEN.
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