A few days before, the No. 12 Texas A&M men’s tennis team beat the No. 2 ranked team in the nation. Three days later they suffered a 4-3 loss to the unranked Arkansas Razorbacks.
The Aggies fell to 10-4 on the season as they surrendered their third loss in SEC play. A&M’s No. 13 Hady Habib remained out of the lineup for the second straight match. Arkansas was 7-6 prior to the match, losing five of its last six.
A&M began the match playing from behind when the Razorbacks earned a pair of 6-4 wins on courts 3 and 2. The match on court 1 for A&M’s No. 48 ranked duo of grad student Bjorn Thomson and senior Carlos Aguilar went unfinished. The doubles point continues to be the ultimate indicator for the Aggies. All 10 wins have come when the Aggies win the doubles point, and all four losses come when the Aggies concede it.
Down 1-0 early, the Aggies needed to make a play in singles matches. Any comeback attempt was soon stymied as the Aggies went 3-3 to finish off the match. The doubles point would prove crucial as the Aggies break even in singles, ultimately losing 4-3.
Court 3 would be the first to finish as A&M’s No. 116 junior Noah Schachter lost 6-3, 6-1. This was followed up by another loss at court 5 by freshman Raphael Perot. The Aggies got back within striking position with 2 straight wins. Thomson, who’s been in place of Habib, earned a 6-2, 7-5 win on court 6, his third straight. Junior Guido Marson, who took sophomore Pierce Rollins’s spot in the singles lineup, won 6-4, 6-3 on court 4.
The Aggies’ fate would be sealed however on court 2. No. 33 Carlos Aguilar would lose 7-5, 6-3. This would secure the victory for the Razorbacks. The ranked matchup on court 1 would finish with a win for No. 4 senior Valentin Vacherot in three sets over No. 72 Alex Reco, though it was a consolation win as the Razorbacks came out victorious in Fayetteville.
Up next for the Aggies is a bout in Stillwater with the Oklahoma State Cowboys is set for Tuesday, March 16 at 2 p.m. Oklahoma State currently sits at No. 25 with a record of 6-3.