The No. 12 Aggies traveled to the Carolina Tennis Center to take on No. 16 Gamecocks on March 3, leaving with a 4-3 win to go 1-1 in conference play, picking up its first SEC win after falling to Florida two days prior.
The result hung in the balance when A&M managed to get within a whisker of victory, holding a 3-1 lead. The Aggies’ key victory came in singles play when No. 86 junior Giulio Perego clinched the win for A&M when he bested senior James Story in a highly contested match, 4-6, 6-3, 6-4.
The Maroon and White started off on the right foot by winning the doubles point in three competitive sets. A&M’s team of juniors in Luke Casper and JC Roddick were able to best Story and sophomore Lucas Andrade Da Silva, 6-2. Graduate student Kenner Taylor and freshman Tiago Pires got the clutch victory to seal the point. Perego and sophomore Togan Tokac were losing to the Gamecocks’ No. 9-ranked team junior Casey Hoole and senior Toby Samuel when the point was secured.
Fierce competition carried over into singles play with both teams winning a match in the third set. The Maroon and White jumped ahead early, winning two of the first three matches to make victory within reach.
Hoole managed to gain the upper hand on Tokac, 6-3, 4-6, 6-2, shrinking the Aggie lead by one to 3-2. After Perego had finished the job for the Aggies, Pires and Gamecock freshman Jelani Sarr continued to clash in a back-and-forth affair that Sarr clinched with his 13th game win.
A&M men’s tennis returns to action on Friday, March 8 at home against Incarnate Word at 12 p.m.
