On Day 2 of the ITA Kickoff Weekend, the No. 18 Texas A&M men’s tennis team defeated the No. 19 Georgia Bulldogs 4-2 on Monday, Jan. 29, in Athens, Georgia. The Aggies played six singles matches and three doubles matches in this matchup as they move to 4-0 on the year.
Unlike their last match against Auburn, the Aggies had a slow start. They fell behind in doubles, giving the Bulldogs a 1-0 lead early. Juniors Luke Casper and JC Roddick were the only pair for A&M who didn’t come away with a loss, but their match was left unfinished at 3-3. Georgia would win the other two matches by scores of 6-2 and 6-1.
Despite facing a deficit after doubles matches, the Aggies rebounded soundly in their singles matches. No. 109 Roddick fell to No. 36 junior Ryan Colby 4-6, 2-6 early, which gave Georgia a 2-0 advantage; however, A&M was able to rebound, as No. 93 Casper won his match in the first two sets with a score of 6-4, 6-0. This cut the lead in half, leaving Georgia with a slim 2-1 advantage. After this, the Maroon and White didn’t let their foot off the gas pedal and would go on to win three unanswered matches.
Freshman Tiago Pires evened the score for the Aggies at 2-2 after the French native won his match against No. 112 Bulldogs freshman Cyrus Majhoob, with scores of 6-3, 4-6 and 6-3. Senior Raphael Perot then gave A&M the 3-2 lead it was looking for after he won against No. 41 Georgia senior Thomas Paulsell, winning the last two sets with identical 6-3 scores. With these victories, A&M had all the momentum it needed to snatch a win.
Finally, sophomore Togan Tokac defeated the Bulldogs’ No. 43 junior Miguel Perez Pena in three sets, 6-4, 3-6, 6-4. The Istanbul, Turkey native gave the Maroon and White a 4-2 victory with the win, sealing the team’s spot in the ITA National Indoors Championship in New York. It also gave head coach Steve Denton his 351st career win.
The win marks the first time the Aggies have beaten the Bulldogs on the road since the 2017-18 season, and it puts them at 8-7 all-time against Georgia. The Aggies ended up going two-for-two at the ITA Kickoff Weekend event, beating both Auburn and Georgia by identical 4-2 scores.
A bad start to the season was one of the many things the Maroon and White wanted to avoid, as they began last year with a 1-3 record. Now, the team sits comfortably with a 4-0 to start the 2024 campaign.
After a successful weekend in the Southeast, A&M will host SMU on Friday, Feb. 2, where the team will look to win its fifth in a row.
