The No. 8 Texas A&M men’s tennis team took down No. 16 Mississippi State 4-0 in the Round of 16 in the NCAA Tournament.
After taking down New Mexico and Oklahoma less than two weeks ago at home, the Aggies flew to Orlando to finish off the remainder of the tournament. The Aggies now prepare to rematch the No. 2 Florida Gators on Thursday, May 20.
The match against Mississippi State started off strong for the Aggies as they got early leads on all three courts in doubles play. Court 3 finished first as the No. 86 duo of senior Hady Habib and junior Noah Schachter earned a 6-3 win for A&M. The No. 65 duo of senior Valentin Vacherot and sophomore Pierce Rollins followed suit with a 6-3 win of their own.
The wins put the Aggies up 1-0. The Aggies have won the doubles point in all three matches throughout the tournament.
A&M once again came out hot in singles play. The Aggies won the first set on all six courts to start off singles play. The team capitalized on this, putting away wins on courts 2, 6 and 4. No. 2 Habib got things started for the Aggies with a 6-4, 6-1 victory, followed by freshman Raphael Perot. Perot’s dominant 6-0, 6-1 win put the Aggies up 3-0; No. 100 Schachter would finish it off, clinching a win for the Aggies.
“This was a really good team win,” A&M coach Steve Denton told 12thman.com. “We knew this was going to be a hard fought match. [Mississippi State is] a real feisty team and our guys came on and played very well I thought.”
The final three rounds of the tournament will take place in Orlando between Thursday, May 20, and Saturday, May 22. To advance, the Aggies will need to beat the No. 2 Florida Gators. A&M has faced Florida twice this season, with a 5-2 loss in the regular season and a 4-3 loss in the SEC Tournament semifinals.