DALLAS – The No. 14 Texas A&M men's tennis team upset the No. 8 Kentucky Wildcats to round out play at ITA National Team Indoors Championships at the Styslinger/Altec Tennis Complex on Sunday.
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Texas A&M (5-3) started the day strong against Kentucky (7-3), with Theo Papamalamis and Togan Tokac making quick work on court 1 against Jaden Weekes and Martin Breysach, 6-1. The Wildcats then moved on to claim court 2. It all came down to Luke Casper and JC Roddick in a thrilling tiebreaker, coming out with the win, 7-6 (2) and giving the Aggies the all-important doubles point.
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Once in singles, the Wildcats countered with a pair of wins on courts 2 and 3 to take a 2-1 lead.
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Togan Tokac continued his strong play while knotting the match at 2-2 by securing a straight set win on court 5 against Matthew Rankin, 7-6 (1), 6-3.
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At court 6, Ritesh Patil split the first two sets and then came back with a vengeance in the third to defeat Martin Breysach, 6-2, 2-6, 6-3.
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Tiago Pires provided the winning margin for the Aggies, rallying from a first-set loss to clinch the match with a 3-6, 6-1, 6-1 over Eli Stephenson on court 4
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Up Next
The Aggies are back at home, opening SEC play against LSU on Feb. 22.
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COACH'S QUOTES
Head coach Steve Denton on the grit of the team…
"I think we showed a lot of Aggie fight today. We faced a lot of adversity in this match. Kentucky is a tough-minded team that knows how to win tight matches, but our guys dug deep and found a way to overcome some deficits. These guys really care about each other, and I thought that made a big difference today in turning around a couple of matches."
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Match Results
Singles Results
#60 Theo Papamalamis (TAMU) vs. Antoine Ghibaudo (UK) 1-6, 6-4, 2-0 unfinished
# 62 Jaden Weekes (UK) def. #71 JC Roddick (TAMU) 6-4, 6-4
#68 Jack Loutit (UK) def. Luke Casper (TAMU) 6-4, 6-2
Tiago Pires (TAMU) def. Eli Stephenson (UK) 3-6, 6-1, 6-1
Togan Tokac (TAMU) def. Matthew Rankin (UK) 7-6(1), 6-3
Ritesh Patil (TAMU) def. Martin Breysach (UK) 6-2, 2-6, 6-3
Order of finish: 3, 2, 5, 6, 4
Double Results
Theo Papamalamis/Togan Tokac (TAMU) def. Jaden Weekes/Martin Breysach (UK) 6-1
Luke Casper/JC Roddick (TAMU) def. Eli Stephenson/Jack Loutit (UK) 7-6 (2)
Antoine Ghibaudo/Charlelie Cosnet (UK) def. Ritesh Patil/Tiago Pires (TAMU) 6-2
Order of finish: 1, 3, 2
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Texas A&M (5-3) started the day strong against Kentucky (7-3), with Theo Papamalamis and Togan Tokac making quick work on court 1 against Jaden Weekes and Martin Breysach, 6-1. The Wildcats then moved on to claim court 2. It all came down to Luke Casper and JC Roddick in a thrilling tiebreaker, coming out with the win, 7-6 (2) and giving the Aggies the all-important doubles point.
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Once in singles, the Wildcats countered with a pair of wins on courts 2 and 3 to take a 2-1 lead.
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Togan Tokac continued his strong play while knotting the match at 2-2 by securing a straight set win on court 5 against Matthew Rankin, 7-6 (1), 6-3.
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At court 6, Ritesh Patil split the first two sets and then came back with a vengeance in the third to defeat Martin Breysach, 6-2, 2-6, 6-3.
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Tiago Pires provided the winning margin for the Aggies, rallying from a first-set loss to clinch the match with a 3-6, 6-1, 6-1 over Eli Stephenson on court 4
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Up Next
The Aggies are back at home, opening SEC play against LSU on Feb. 22.
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COACH'S QUOTES
Head coach Steve Denton on the grit of the team…
"I think we showed a lot of Aggie fight today. We faced a lot of adversity in this match. Kentucky is a tough-minded team that knows how to win tight matches, but our guys dug deep and found a way to overcome some deficits. These guys really care about each other, and I thought that made a big difference today in turning around a couple of matches."
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Match Results
Singles Results
#60 Theo Papamalamis (TAMU) vs. Antoine Ghibaudo (UK) 1-6, 6-4, 2-0 unfinished
# 62 Jaden Weekes (UK) def. #71 JC Roddick (TAMU) 6-4, 6-4
#68 Jack Loutit (UK) def. Luke Casper (TAMU) 6-4, 6-2
Tiago Pires (TAMU) def. Eli Stephenson (UK) 3-6, 6-1, 6-1
Togan Tokac (TAMU) def. Matthew Rankin (UK) 7-6(1), 6-3
Ritesh Patil (TAMU) def. Martin Breysach (UK) 6-2, 2-6, 6-3
Order of finish: 3, 2, 5, 6, 4
Double Results
Theo Papamalamis/Togan Tokac (TAMU) def. Jaden Weekes/Martin Breysach (UK) 6-1
Luke Casper/JC Roddick (TAMU) def. Eli Stephenson/Jack Loutit (UK) 7-6 (2)
Antoine Ghibaudo/Charlelie Cosnet (UK) def. Ritesh Patil/Tiago Pires (TAMU) 6-2
Order of finish: 1, 3, 2