No. 19 Aggies Advance to Second Round of NCAA Tournament

Friday, May 5

Fort Worth, Texas

2:00 PM

Texas A&M

SMU

May 05, 2023 | Men's Tennis

Box Score Photo Gallery

By: Sam Thornton, Athletics Communications

FORT WORTH, Texas – The No. 19 Texas A&M men's tennis team advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament following a win over American Athletic Conference Champions No. 48 SMU (4-1) at the Bayard H. Freidman Tennis Center Friday afternoon.

Facing a deficit after doubles, captain No. 46 Noah Schachter lit a spark for the Aggies at the start of singles play. Returning from injury for one final NCAA Tournament run, he put on an impressive display on court 2 dominating SMU's Liam Krall (6-3, 6-1), knotting the teams at one.

The Maroon & White continued their momentum with two quick strikes, the first from No. 123 Trey Hilderbrand on court 5. The graduate transfer bested Julian Steinhausen in straight sets (6-3, 6-1), which gave A&M the lead, 2-1. Guido Marson was the next to strike, as he claimed victory over former teammate Pranav Kumar on court 4 (6-4, 6-2), leaving the Aggies one point from victory (3-1).

With advancement to the NCAA second round on the line, it was senior Pierce Rollins who secured the win for the Maroon & White. He downed Antonio Muniz-Hidalgo on court 3 (6-3, 6-4), punching A&M's ticket to the next round.

COACH'S QUOTES
Head Coach Steve Denton on today's match …
"I'm really proud of how the guys responded after losing the doubles point. We came out fast and aggressive in singles which really showed across the courts. Now we need to rest up and prepare for tomorrow."

UP NEXT
The Aggies return to the Bayard H. Freidman Tennis Center Saturday, May 6 for the second round of the NCAA Tournament. A&M will face the winner of the No. 2 TCU and UT Arlington with a trip to the round of 16 on the line. The match is slated to begin at 4 p.m.

STREAMING
Fans can also catch the action through Cracked Racquets Cross Court Coverage.

MATCH RESULTS
Singles Matches
(TAMU) No. 53 Raphael Perot – (SMU) No. 70 Adam Neff (3-6, 6-2, 0-0) unfinished
(TAMU) No. 46 Noah Schachter Def. (SMU) Liam Krall (6-3, 6-1)
(TAMU) Pierce Rollins Def. (SMU) Antonio Muniz-Hidalgo (6-3, 6-4)
(TAMU) Guido Marson Def. (SMU) Pranav Kumar (6-4, 6-2)
(TAMU) No. 110 Trey Hilderbrand Def. (SMU) Julian Steinhausen (6-3, 6-1)
(TAMU) JC Roddick – (SMU) Louis Cloud (5-7, 0-4) unfinished

Doubles Matches
(SMU) No. 77 Adam Neff/Pranav Kumar Def. (TAMU) Trey Hilderbrand/Noah Schachter (6-3)
(SMU) Liam Krall/Callaway Clark Def. (TAMU) No. 71 Matthis Ross/Pierce Rollins (7-6(4))
(TAMU) Kenner Taylor/Raphael Perot Def. (SMU) Antonio Muniz-Hidalgo/Julian Steinhausen (6-4)

MATCH STATS

Raphael Perot has tallied the most singles wins in dual matches on the team with 16.
Noah Schachter and Perot pace A&M with five ranked wins in dual matches this season.
Rahul Dhokia and Kenner Taylor hold perfect 4-0 records in dual match singles play.
Schachter/Trey Hilderbrand lead A&M with 13 dual match doubles wins.

TEAM NOTES

Every Aggie to take part in a dual match this season has secured a singles win (12 players).
Noah Schachter boasts two top-30 singles wins so far this season.
The Maroon & White have won 12 ranked matches this season, five of those have been the top 25.
The Aggies have reached the SEC Tournament semifinals eight times since they joined the SEC ahead of the 2013 tournament (does not include Covid season).
A&M reached its 27th-straight, 29th total, NCAA Tournament appearance.

ITA RANKINGS

The team remains in the top 25, as they land at No. 19.
Ranked in singles: No. 46 Noah Schachter, No. 53 Raphael Perot and No. 123 Trey Hilderbrand.
Ranked in doubles: No. 32 Rollins/Matthis Ross and No. 46 Schachter/Hilderbrand.

AWARDS

Noah Schachter and Raphael Perot were selected to the All-SEC First Team.
Kenner Taylor was named to the SEC Community Service Team, April 13.

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.