In the first game of a doubleheader, the Texas A&M men’s tennis team defeated Incarnate Word 5-1 on March 3 at the George P. Mitchell Tennis Center, breaking a five-match losing streak.
After a disappointing showing at the ITA National Indoor Championships, followed by losses to No. 20 Oklahoma and SMU, the Aggies came into Friday’s matchup looking to regain momentum heading into the final half of the season.
The maroon and white began the day by securing the doubles point early after junior Austin Abbrat and freshman Stefan Storch caught a victory on Court 2, followed by junior Noah Schachter and sophomore Kenner Taylor taking the win on Court 1.
This match marks the first time since Feb. 19 against Stanford where A&M was able to win the doubles point.
Heading into singles play, Taylor and Storch were able to stay hot as they won the first two matches, giving the Aggies a 3-0 lead. Incarnate Word sophomore Joao Sasso and junior Tomas Reche were both able to pick up points for the Cardinals, but, ultimately, it wasn’t enough as A&M was able to secure the rest of the points in singles.
A&M sophomore Rahul Dhokia gave a particularly impressive performance with his singles win over Incarnate Word junior Ivan Smith. The Leicester, England, native was able to power through both a tiebreaker and a neck-and-neck second set to improve to 6-3 in singles on his career, as well as earning the point that secured the win for the Aggies.
“I thought the man of the match was Rahul [Dhokia],” coach Steve Denton told 12thman.com. “He played a couple of really good points there at the very end, which I was really proud to see. It is not easy for these guys that are not getting a lot of matches. They are playing against people that are playing on a weekly basis. We are proud that we are able to trust themselves, believe in their games and be able to come through.”
With SEC play beginning and rival Texas coming to College Station on March 9, the maroon and white are hoping to build on the confidence they earned from Friday’s first match of the day.