Fresh off their win against the Sooners, the Texas A&M men’s tennis team headed for the state capitol to take on the University of Texas on Sunday, Feb. 26. The Aggies looked to get a second-straight win against Big 12 opponents, while also getting revenge on their in-state rivals after falling to them 3-4 last year in College Station. The Longhorns, meanwhile, looked to bounce back after losing to TCU in the ITA National Team Indoor Championships.
The No. 2Longhorns started off hot in the doubles point, breaking serve early on all three courts. Juniors Eliot Spizzirri and Cleeve Harper drew first blood in the contest by defeating seniors Trey Hilderbrand and Noah Schachter 6-2. Junior Siem Woldeab and sophomore Pierre-Yves Bailley quickly followed suit with their 6-2 win over Aggie sophomores Giulio Perego and JC Roddick. The match on Court 3 ended with a no-decision, but the Aggies and Longhorns were on-serve at 3-4.
The Longhorns continued to grow their lead as match play transitioned to singles. Junior Micah Braswell doubled the Horn’s lead with his 6-3, 6-3 win over Perego. Immediately afterwards, Spizzirri, the top-ranked player in the country, put his team within striking distance of the rivalry win by defeating Schachter 6-3 7-5.
Down 3-0 and staring down the barrel of a sweep, the Aggies began to rally. Junior Raphael Perot gave the Aggies their first point of the day with a straight-set win over Yves Bailley on Court 2. Meanwhile on Courts 4 and 5, senior Guido Marson and sophomore Luke Casper both rallied from a set down to send their matches into pivotal third sets.
The drama reached its highest point on Court 6 during the match between juniors Matthis Ross of A&M and Evin McDonald of UT. McDonald won the first set, putting the Horns within a set of victory. The second set was a back-and-forth affair before Ross sent the set to a tiebreaker. With so much on the line, both players held their nerves to make the tiebreaker go the distance. McDonald held on to win the match with a final score of 6-4, 7-6 (6), giving the Longhorns the decisive fourth point.
With their 5-2 win, the Longhorns improved to 11-2 on the season and extended their winning streak over the Aggies to four. Next up for the players from the 40-acres is a rematch with No. 1 TCU on Saturday, March 4.
The Aggies, meanwhile, continue to search for consistency this season. They take on Lamar in College Station on Thursday, March 2, before kicking-off SEC play against LSU.