After a tight 4-3 loss against Ole Miss earlier in the week on the road, Texas A&M men’s tennis extended its losing streak to two with a home loss against South Carolina on Thursday, April 13.
The Aggies succumbed to a flip in momentum to garner a lopsided 4-1 loss to the Gamecocks on the maroon and white’s home court. Doubles play served as a light in the darkness of the loss as A&M pressure-tested the new pair of juniors Matthis Ross and Pierce Rollins. The duo took on the Gamecock pair of junior Connor Thompson and Toby Samuel, the No. 1 team in the country, and boasted a 6-3 victory to put the Aggies in a prime position.
South Carolina did not take the fall lightly, coming back to force a tiebreaker on Court 3 in the match with juniors Raphael Perot and Kenner Taylor. However, the stress did not overcome the pair as they came back to win 7-6(4) and lock down the doubles point for the maroon and white.
“We had a very encouraging doubles point, and I thought our guys competed very well against some of the best doubles teams in the nation,” coach Steve Denton said to 12thMan.com.
Despite being down 1 point, the garnet and white did not waste time taking advantage of opportunities and flipping the tide. The Gamecocks notched four consecutive wins to shut out the Aggies. Senior Guido Marson and sophomore Luke Casper had found their respective footings on their courts, but it was for naught as South Carolina secured the win before the matches could finish.
“We had our chances early in singles to put our stamp on the match, but they were up to the task and won the big points overall giving them the victory,” Denton said to 12thMan.com.
As the SEC tournament approaches, A&M seeks to return to its win streak; the Aggies have faced and defeated nine ranked opponents with three being members of the top 25. Before the maroon and white can focus on postseason play, they face one more ranked opponent in No. 17 Auburn and Incarnate Word in a doubleheader on Sunday, April 16. Play is set to begin at 1 p.m. and 6 p.m., respectively.
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Junior Kenner Taylor (front) reaches for the ball during his doubles match with Junior Raphael Perot (back) against South Carolina at the Mitchell Outdoor Tennis Center on April 13, 2023.
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