Friday, April 17
Bryan-College Station
6:00 PM
Texas A&M
4
vs
3
Oklahoma
Photo by: Julianne Shivers/Texas A&M Athletics
Montsi Clinches No. 10 Aggies’ 4-3 Win Over No. 8 Oklahoma
Apr 17, 2026 | Men's Tennis
COLLEGE STATION – Texas A&M's Kholo Montsi clinched the No. 10 Aggies' 4-3 victory over the No. 8 Oklahoma Sooners to propel his team to the semifinals of the SEC Men's Tennis Championship on Friday night at the Mitchell Tennis Center.
Montsi, who transferred to Texas A&M after two seasons at Oklahoma, claimed a 6-4, 6-7, 6-3 win over OU's Oscar Lacides in the "last man standing" match at the second line. Lacides couldn't handle Montsi's sharp backhand down the line as the South Africa native clinched a 4-3 victory for the third time this season – all against top 10 opponents.
"He's come through for us before and he knows how to win these close matches," Aggie head coach Steve Denton said. "For him to come out and play like he did in the third set after being a point away from clinching in the second shows me a lot. It takes a lot of mental toughness to turn around and win the third set. He didn't get rattled."
The Aggies, who improved to 19-8 overall, will face the top-seeded and No. 1-ranked Texas Longhorns in Saturday's semifinal with first serve adjusted to 10 a.m. due to the weather forecast. The Longhorns advanced to the semis with a 4-2 win over Florida. Both semifinals will be played concurrently beginning at 10 a.m. with the Aggies and Longhorns on the stadium court side and Mississippi State and LSU on the grandstand side.
"It's a quick turnaround and our guys are going to have to step up and fight like heck again," Denton said. "Texas is obviously a really good team, and they've already beaten us twice this year. But we've got them on our courts and we'll see what we can do.
"I'm hopeful the 12th Man is going to come out and support tomorrow because we're going to need it."
The Aggies got on the board first against the Sooners, winning the doubles point advantage with victories on courts 1 and 3. The fifth-ranked tandem of sophomore Theo Papamalamis and senior Togan Tokac were dominant in a 6-2 win over fourth-ranked Luis Alvarez and Bruno Nhavene at court 1, while junior Lathan Skrobarcek and freshman Markus Molder took down Asahi Harazaki and Johan Rodriguez 6-4 on court 3.
After the Sooners evened the score at 1-1 with a singles win at court 4, Skrobarcek put the Aggies back in the lead by rallying past Harazaki at court 6. The Helotes, Texas, native dropped the first set, but turned the tables for a 3-6, 6-4, 6-3 victory.
Tokac put the Aggies one win away from the overall match victory as he outlasted Alejandro Melero 7-5, 3-6, 6-3 on court 5 before the Sooners turned the tide with victories at court 1 and court 3 to knot the match at 3-all. With more than 300 fans watching at court 2, Montsi delivered the Aggies to semifinals with the three-set win.
#10 Texas A&M 4, #8 Oklahoma 3
Apr 17, 2026 at College Station, Texas
(Mitchell Tennis Center)
Singles competition
1. #35 Luis Alvarez (OU) def. #10 Theo Papamalamis (TAMU) 6-3, 7-6 (9-7)
2. #41 Kholo Montsi (TAMU) def. #61 Oscar Lacides (OU) 6-4, 6-7 (2-7), 6-3
3. #77 Orel Kimhi (OU) def. #100 Alex Frusina (TAMU) 6-7 (8-10), 6-1, 6-3
4. #109 Johan Rodriguez (OU) def. Markus Molder (TAMU) 6-1, 6-4
5. Togan Tokac (TAMU) def. Alejandro Melero (OU) 7-5, 3-6, 6-3
6. Lathan Skrobarcek (TAMU) def. Asahi Harazaki (OU) 3-6, 6-4, 6-3
Doubles competition
1. #5 Theo Papamalamis/Togan Tokac (TAMU) def. #4 Luis Alvarez/Bruno Nhavene (OU) 6-2
2. Alejandro Melero/Oscar Lacides (OU) def. Alex Frusina/Kholo Montsi (TAMU) 6-2
3. Lathan Skrobarcek/Markus Molder (TAMU) def. Asahi Harazaki/Johan Rodriguez (OU) 6-4
Match Notes:
Texas A&M 19-8; National ranking #10
Oklahoma 18-6; National ranking #8
Order of finish: Doubles (2,1,3); Singles (,6,1,3,2)
Montsi, who transferred to Texas A&M after two seasons at Oklahoma, claimed a 6-4, 6-7, 6-3 win over OU's Oscar Lacides in the "last man standing" match at the second line. Lacides couldn't handle Montsi's sharp backhand down the line as the South Africa native clinched a 4-3 victory for the third time this season – all against top 10 opponents.
"He's come through for us before and he knows how to win these close matches," Aggie head coach Steve Denton said. "For him to come out and play like he did in the third set after being a point away from clinching in the second shows me a lot. It takes a lot of mental toughness to turn around and win the third set. He didn't get rattled."
The Aggies, who improved to 19-8 overall, will face the top-seeded and No. 1-ranked Texas Longhorns in Saturday's semifinal with first serve adjusted to 10 a.m. due to the weather forecast. The Longhorns advanced to the semis with a 4-2 win over Florida. Both semifinals will be played concurrently beginning at 10 a.m. with the Aggies and Longhorns on the stadium court side and Mississippi State and LSU on the grandstand side.
"It's a quick turnaround and our guys are going to have to step up and fight like heck again," Denton said. "Texas is obviously a really good team, and they've already beaten us twice this year. But we've got them on our courts and we'll see what we can do.
"I'm hopeful the 12th Man is going to come out and support tomorrow because we're going to need it."
The Aggies got on the board first against the Sooners, winning the doubles point advantage with victories on courts 1 and 3. The fifth-ranked tandem of sophomore Theo Papamalamis and senior Togan Tokac were dominant in a 6-2 win over fourth-ranked Luis Alvarez and Bruno Nhavene at court 1, while junior Lathan Skrobarcek and freshman Markus Molder took down Asahi Harazaki and Johan Rodriguez 6-4 on court 3.
After the Sooners evened the score at 1-1 with a singles win at court 4, Skrobarcek put the Aggies back in the lead by rallying past Harazaki at court 6. The Helotes, Texas, native dropped the first set, but turned the tables for a 3-6, 6-4, 6-3 victory.
Tokac put the Aggies one win away from the overall match victory as he outlasted Alejandro Melero 7-5, 3-6, 6-3 on court 5 before the Sooners turned the tide with victories at court 1 and court 3 to knot the match at 3-all. With more than 300 fans watching at court 2, Montsi delivered the Aggies to semifinals with the three-set win.
#10 Texas A&M 4, #8 Oklahoma 3
Apr 17, 2026 at College Station, Texas
(Mitchell Tennis Center)
Singles competition
1. #35 Luis Alvarez (OU) def. #10 Theo Papamalamis (TAMU) 6-3, 7-6 (9-7)
2. #41 Kholo Montsi (TAMU) def. #61 Oscar Lacides (OU) 6-4, 6-7 (2-7), 6-3
3. #77 Orel Kimhi (OU) def. #100 Alex Frusina (TAMU) 6-7 (8-10), 6-1, 6-3
4. #109 Johan Rodriguez (OU) def. Markus Molder (TAMU) 6-1, 6-4
5. Togan Tokac (TAMU) def. Alejandro Melero (OU) 7-5, 3-6, 6-3
6. Lathan Skrobarcek (TAMU) def. Asahi Harazaki (OU) 3-6, 6-4, 6-3
Doubles competition
1. #5 Theo Papamalamis/Togan Tokac (TAMU) def. #4 Luis Alvarez/Bruno Nhavene (OU) 6-2
2. Alejandro Melero/Oscar Lacides (OU) def. Alex Frusina/Kholo Montsi (TAMU) 6-2
3. Lathan Skrobarcek/Markus Molder (TAMU) def. Asahi Harazaki/Johan Rodriguez (OU) 6-4
Match Notes:
Texas A&M 19-8; National ranking #10
Oklahoma 18-6; National ranking #8
Order of finish: Doubles (2,1,3); Singles (,6,1,3,2)
Team Stats
#1 Doubles Match
#2 Doubles Match
#3 Doubles Match
Order of Finish:
2,1,3
#1 Singles Match
12
36
Luis Alvarez / 0 (35/-) [OU]
67
#2 Singles Match
123
666
Oscar Lacides / 0 (61/-) [OU]
473
#3 Singles Match
123
713
Orel Kimhi / 0 (77/-) [OU]
666
#4 Singles Match
12
14
Johan Rodriguez / 0 (109/-) [OU]
66
#5 Singles Match
123
736
Alejandro Melero / 0 [OU]
563
#6 Singles Match
123
366
Asahi Harazaki / 0 [OU]
643
Order of Finish:
6,1,3,2
Players Mentioned
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
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