The Texas A&M men’s tennis team opened up its fall season in the 2022 Harvard Chowderfest Invite this past weekend, Sept 23-25 in Cambridge, Mass.
The Aggies were able to face many ranked opponents this weekend and put up a strong showing. The maroon & white were led in the singles category by the two UCF transfers, senior Trey Hilderbrand and sophomore JC Roddick, who both went 3-0. A&M also had a strong showing from the No. 25 doubles pair of Hilderbrand and senior Noah Schachter who went 2-1.
A&M was joined at the Beren Tennis Center by the host school Harvard along with Memphis, Arizona and Boston College.
On Day 1 of the tournament, the Aggies struggled to find success from their higher-ranked players. Schachter, ranked No.19, fell to junior Ronan Jachuk from Harvard in straight sets, 7-5, 6-3. Junior Raphael Perot, ranked No. 72, also fell in straight sets to sophomore Pablo Alemany, ranked No. 113, of Memphis, 6-4, 6-4.
Despite the tough start for the higher-ranked players, the Aggies went 7-5 on the day in singles play.
The doubles play on Day 1 went the same for the ranked pairs as it went for the ranked singles. The pair of Hilderbrand and Schachter fell to the pair of Jachuck and sophomore Daniel Milavsky of Harvard, 6-4. The pair of Jachuck and Milavsky were coming off the Milwaukee Tennis Classic’s Doubles Championship victory. The No. 45 doubles pair of Perot and junior Kenner Taylor fell to the No. 50 doubles pair of redshirt senior David Stevenson and sophomore Pablo Alemany of Memphis, 7-5. The Aggies went 2-4 on Day 1 in doubles play.
Day 2 fared much better for the Aggies in singles play despite Schachter falling to eventual singles champion and No. 18 ranked junior Henry von der Schulenburg in straight sets, 7-5, 6-4. Hilderbrand, ranked No. 50, defeated No. 39 senior Harris Walker of Harvard in straight sets, 6-3, 6-3. Perot also added a win for A&M knocking off No. 95 Milavsky in a three-set match, 7-5, 4-6, 6-3. The maroon & white went 10-2 on the day in singles matches.
Despite the Aggies going 3-4 on Day 2 in doubles play, the duo of Hilderbrand and Schacheter were able to rebound and pick up a victory over the duo of Schulenburg and Milavsky.
Hilderbrand capped off his 3-0 weekend in singles play with a victory on Day 3 over No. 46, junior Gustaf Strom of Arizona, in a three-set battle, 6-4, 6-7, 10-8. Roddick also improved to 3-0, picking up a ranked win over No. 77, junior Herman Hoeyeraal of Arizona in three sets, 4-6, 6-1, 6-3. The Aggies went 6-6 in singles play on Day 3.
Schachter and Hilderbrand continued their momentum from Day 2 on to Day 3 improving to 2-1 in doubles play with a victory over the pair of Hoeyeraal and senior Nick Lagaev of Arizona, 6-4. A&M went 3-3 on Day 3 in doubles play.
The men’s tennis team will be back in action at the ITA All-American in Tulsa from Oct. 1-9.