No. 21 Men’s Tennis Falls at No. 9 South Carolina

Friday, April 15

Columbia, S.C.

4:00 PM

Texas A&M

South Carolina

COLLEGE STATION, TX - 20220313 - Texas A&M Aggies Men's Tennis vs. Mississippi St. Bulldogs

Photo by: Kate Luffman/Texas A&M Athletics

Apr 15, 2022 | Men's Tennis

Box Score

By: Matt Callaway, Texas A&M Athletics Communications

COLUMBIA, S.C. – The No. 21 Texas A&M men's tennis team forced a trio of third sets, but were unable to overcome the early deficit to fall 6-1 at No. 9 South Carolina Friday evening at the Carolina Tennis Center. The Aggies fell to 21-11 on the season and 7-4 in league play while the Gamecocks improved to 21-5 this spring and 10-2 in conference matches.

South Carolina took the early advantage through doubles wins on courts one and two. Raphael Lambling and James Story bested A&M's Pierce Rollins and Giulio Perego, 6-2, on court two before No. 22 Daniel Rodrigues and Connor Thomson tripped up No. 20 Kenner Taylor and Noah Schachter, 6-4, on court one.

The Aggies fell behind early in singles play as they dropped five-of-six first sets, but were able to mount a comeback bid as they forced a trio of third sets on courts two, three and four. No. 2 Rodrigues pushed the SC advantage to 2-0 as he topped No. 41 Schachter on court one.

Luke Casper continued his stellar freshman campaign with a 7-5, 6-1 triumph on court six over Casey Hoole to pull the Aggies within 2-1. Casper improved to a team-best 16-3 in dual matches and 9-2 in SEC play.

James Story pushed the Gamecocks ahead 3-1 after defeating A&M's Matthis Ross on court five before the team-match was clinched by Lambling against Perego on court four in a third-set. No. 73 Toby Samuel bested A&M's Raphael Perot and Connor Thomson tripped up A&M's Guido Marson to wrap up the action.

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).

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.

QUOTES
Steve Denton, Texas A&M head coach
On the match…
"South Carolina jumped on us in the doubles, but our guys battled back to have advantages in all three third-sets remaining. The first hour and fifteen minutes was all South Carolina, but the last hour and 45 minutes was all about the Aggie fight. We just need to start faster especially on the road against an elite team and when we get our nose in front; we have to shut the door better. We have another great opportunity to get better on Sunday against the defending champs."

RESULTS
Texas A&M vs South Carolina
04/15/2022 at Columbia, SC
(Carolina Tennis Center)

#9 South Carolina 6, #21 Texas A&M 1

Singles competition
1. #2 Daniel Rodrigues (SC) def. #41 Noah Schachter (TAMU) 6-0, 6-2
2. #73 Toby Samuel (SC) def. Raphael Perot (TAMU) 6-3, 5-7, 7-5
3. Connor Thomson (SC) def. Guido Marson (TAMU) 7-5, 1-6, 6-4
4. Raphael Lambling (SC) def. Giulio Perego (TAMU) 6-1, 3-6, 7-5
5. James Story (SC) def. Matthis Ross (TAMU) 6-1, 6-4
6. Luke Casper (TAMU) def. Casey Hoole (SC) 7-5, 6-1

Doubles competition
1. #22 Daniel Rodrigues/Connor Thomson (SC) def. #20 Kenner Taylor/Noah Schachter (TAMU) 6-4
2. Raphael Lambling/James Story (SC) def. Pierce Rollins/Giulio Perego (TAMU) 6-2
3. Toby Samuel/Casey Hoole (SC) vs. Stefan Storch/Raphael Perot (TAMU) 5-3, unfinished

Match Notes:
Order of finish: Doubles (2,1); Singles (1,6,5,4,2,3)