After a disappointing Southeastern Conference tournament run, No. 16 Texas A&M’s men’s tennis team has begun its campaign in the NCAA Tournament. With the opportunity to host the first two rounds, the Aggies first had to face former Southwest Conference rivals No. 47 Rice.

The lower-ranked Owls battled hard in College Station, but the Maroon and White ultimately advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament with a 4-2 win. 

Despite entering the game as the favorite, the Aggies struggled to assert their dominance over the Owls, and the 2025 American Athletic Conference Champions’ doubles slate made their intentions clear immediately. Senior Eduardo Morais and sophomore Tommy Czaplinski dispatched redshirt freshman Ritesh Patil and senior Giulio Perego, 6-4. 

Unfortunately for A&M, what followed on Court 2 was similar. Junior Kabeer Kapasi and senior Arthus de la Bassetiere added to the Owls’ momentum with a 6-4 win of their own, as sophomore Tiago Pires and senior Alan Magadan couldn’t extend the doubles point onto Court 1.

The nation’s fourth ranked duo was left stranded on Court 1, and junior Togan Tokac and freshman Theo Papamalamis were unable to contribute during the doubles round. 

Thankfully for the Aggies, an unlikely hero emerged to get the team back on track: senior Damien Salvestre. This was the Marseille, France, native’s first appearance for the Maroon and White since Feb. 23 against Lamar, and fortunately for the Fightin’ Farmers, he’d take down Kabeer Kapsi, 6-0, 6-3, pushing the scoreboard to 1-1.

This stalemate did not last long as senior Luke Casper was unable to withstand a vicious onslaught from Tommy Czaplinski. The Orland Park, Illinois native’s strong afternoon continued as his 6-4, 6-2 victory on Court 4 restored the visitors’ lead.

The heavyweight bout on Court 1 came to a rapid conclusion shortly after. Much like the thunderstorm that visited College Station Friday evening, No. 31 Theo Papamalamis quickly overwhelmed the opposing infrastructure. A dominant 6-2, 6-1 win over the experienced senior Arthus de la Bassetiere brought the Aggies level once again.

The Maroon and White’s dominance spilled over onto Court 3, where Pires battled junior Santiago Navarro. Pires picked up where Papamalamis left off, dominating the first set 6-3. But what followed was significantly more challenging for the highly talented Aggie: a rock fight. Still, the Frenchman eventually got the better of Navarro in a 7-5 duel, putting the Fightin’ Farmers in the lead for the first time.

With two games ongoing, the Aggies needed a win from either No. 85 Magadan or Tokac to advance to the next round. Fierce competition led to a tiebreaking third set commencing on both courts. In an impressive display of determination, Tokac secured the victory with a 6-3 third set.

At the end of the afternoon’s play, coach Steve Denton’s team stood victorious 4-2. Although the encounter was more challenging than expected, the Aggies survived and advanced to take on the No. 19 Baylor Bears at Mitchell Tennis Center on Sunday.

Unlike the previous day’s clash with the Owls, the Maroon and White’s doubles slate made their mark on the game. On Court 1, Tokac and Papamalamis obliterated No. 27 seniors Oskar Brostrom Poulsen and Marko Miladinovic, 6-1.

Next, Magadan and Pires rebounded from their poor doubles performance against Rice. In a display of toughness to secure the doubles point, the home side’s duo cruised by the No. 64 pairing of sophomore Devin Badenhorst and junior Luc Koenig, 6-3.

The victory was paramount, as the tide of war was shifting towards the Bears on Court 3. Patil and Perego were within one point of a crushing defeat.

Unlike doubles play, A&M’s singles slate started proceedings similarly. For the second time in two days, Salvestre stepped onto Court 6 and pummelled his opponent. Compared to his opponent the day prior, Miladinovic performed well. But his resistance was ultimately futile, as Salvestre secured the Aggies’ second point of the match, winning 6-2, 6-4.

However, the Bears were not discouraged by these early defeats and stormed back ferociously. First, junior Luc Koenig got the visitors on the board, defeating Tokac 6-4, 6-2. Simultaneously, graduate Alexandru Chirita was locked in a tense battle with Casper, and the two traded blows during a close first set. 

Eventually, the Romanian got the better of Casper, winning 7-6. The set that followed was yet another melee. Once again, Casper pushed hard, and once again, Chirita returned fire. Unfortunately for the Maroon and White, the result was the same; a 6-4 win would level the score for the Bears.

With the overall score now at 2-2, the match came down to Courts 1, 2 and 3. 

In an unsurprising turn of events, Magadan was the man to break the deadlock. The McAllen magician battled through tiebreakers in both sets to ultimately defeat No. 84 Zsombor Velcz, 7-2, 7-2. 

The spotlight then shifted to Magadan’s doubles partner on Court 3, where Pires was locked in a battle with Brostrom Poulsen. Pires earned victory in the first set 6-3 before being blanked 0-6 in the second. In the all-important third set, “OBP” got the better of Pires through a tiebreaker, winning 7-5.

On Court 1, two men decided which team would move on to the next round: Papamalamis donned maroon, and No. 33 Devin Badenhorst was draped in green and gold. The two aces traded volleys, with the first set going to the Aggies, 6-4. 

However, Badenhorst didn’t allow this deficit to last, and restored parity with a 6-4 win of his own following a truly herculean effort. Papamalamis took advantage of the South Africans’ exhaustion in the third set, dominating in a 6-1 win.

A 4-3 defeat of the Baylor Bears was enough for the Aggies to punch their ticket to the next round of the NCAA tournament.

The Aggies will return to action against No. 1 Wake Forest at 4 p.m. on Friday, May 9.