Texas A&M men’s tennis hosted the ITA Texas Regional at Mitchell Tennis Center. The tournaments’ main draw lasted from Oct. 18-21, consisting of 13 regions with each one containing 64 competitors in singles and 32 teams in doubles. The two singles’ finalists and doubles’ champions from the tournament punched their ticket to compete in the NCAA Individual Championships in Orlando, Florida starting Nov. 18.
This week the Aggies were represented by nine competitors including freshmen Kriish Tyagi and Egor Gorin, redshirt sophomore Ritesh Patil and sophomore Alex Frusina, juniors Tiago Pires, Kholo Montsi and Lathan Skrobarcek and seniors Ethan Silva and Togan Tokac.
Days 1-3
Following dominant wins over Lamar junior Leon Nickel, Texas sophomore Evan Burnett and Baylor senior Luc Koenig, No. 1 first seed Frusina found himself matched up against Baylor No. 6 seed graduate student Alexandru Chirita in a very lopsided match. From the get-go, Frusina fiercely attacked from the baseline, rarely missing ground strokes while constantly forcing Chirita into errors. Top-spin forehands headed cross-court allowed Frusina to stay in control of rallies and ultimately prevail for a chance at a spot in Orlando, 6-2, 6-1.
In addition to Frusina, Tokac made his presence known in this tournament. After convincing victories over Rice senior Kabeer Kapasi, UTSA freshman Maximilian Ontiveros and UT Arlington junior Yazid Lahjomri, Tokac took the court against Texas sophomore Sebastian Eriksson. While Tokac’s skill proved to be exceptional by staying consistent and going for winners, Eriksson’s ability to move the ball all over the court made the difference in this match. Seemingly playing on time-lapse, Eriksson was able to dictate rallies with his stellar forehands while also distributing dart-like serves. Tokac’s effort wasn’t enough as Eriksson took the straight-sets win, 6-1, 6-3.
Wins against Texas Tech junior Felipe Pagnacco, Rice freshman Noey Do and TCU sophomore Albert Pedrico propelled Montsi into the quarterfinals where he took on SMU No. 2 seed junior Trevor Svajda. The match was a battle of consistency as both refused to give up on long and exhausting rallies. Svajda showed why he was the No. 2 seed, delivering strong returns that gave him chances at a break point. An impressive backhand return forced Montsi into an error, allowing him to break and take the first set.
Set 2 was a fight as both refused to give an edge. Knotted at five games, Svajda once again delivered returns and gave himself another chance to break. While Montsi fought hard, errors at the wrong time cost him the break and eventually the match as Svajda emerged victorious, 6-3, 7-5.
Skrobarcek showed his expertise as well, capturing victories against Texas A&M-Corpus Christi senior Josef Zapletal and SMU graduate student Alex Finkelstein before meeting Chirita in the Round of 16. Skrobarcek started off hot, delivering fireball aces on his serve while giving Chirita problems on his return. An early break paved the way for Skrobarcek to claim the first set, however, this match was far from over.
Despite Chirita’s slow start, he quickly gained momentum in the second set, breaking early and taking a 3-0 lead while utilizing every shot in his arsenal. Skrobarcek failed to keep up with his electrifying shots and was forced to play a deciding set. Pressure shifted in the direction of Skrobarcek as Chirita held the momentum. While errors were few and far in between in the first, Skrobarcek hit error after error on his serve as his first-serve speed slowed and he hit careless shots, allowing Chirita to break and capture the deciding set, 4-6, 6-1, 6-4.
Victories over Rice junior Tommy Czaplinski and Texas senior Jonah Braswell launched Patil into the Round of 16 where he faced off against Baylor junior Louis Bowden. Although Patil demonstrated superb ball-striking ability, errors and failing to hold serve cost him in both sets as Bowden won a lopsided match in straight-sets, 6-2, 6-3.
Moving onto doubles, Tyagi and Silva teamed up for the Maroon and White. After a convincing 8-3 win over the Lamar duo of sophomore Louis Drapeau and freshman Vicente Monge, they took the court against SMU senior Jerry Barton and Finkelstein in the Round of 32. Despite chemistry and the ability to persevere in long rallies, the extraordinary variety that the Mustangs brought was too much to overcome as prevailed, 8-3.
No. 7 seed Tokac and Pires received a first-round bye before playing the Owls’ Czaplinski and sophomore Gabriel Porras in the Round of 32. Net game played a crucial part in this match as both teams sniped easy points with silky smooth volleys and passing shots. The Aggie duo looked dominant on serve through the first six games of the match, however, a singular bad service game cost them a break, handing the Owl duo a close win, 8-6.
No. 15 seed Patil and Montsi put on a string of stunning, dominant performances. Following a first-round bye, they clinched back-to-back wins against Texas Tech duo of sophomore Ludovico Vaccari and Pagnacco and SMU Svajda and sophomore Georgi Georgiev to reach the quarterfinals. The start of this match went smoothly for the Maroon and White, holding serve and contending on the return using backhand strokes. However, a string of errors in a service game combined with great chemistry from the Red Raiders forced the Aggies to lose serve and ultimately the match, 8-6.
Making their mark in the doubles tournament, No. 8 seed Skrobarcek and Frusina received a first-round bye and a victory over UTSA sophomores Oskar Grzegorzewski and Ben Chetewy Ungar before facing Texas A&M-Corpus Christi juniors Matthieu Coignet and Mikel Garmendia. While the Aggies displayed great effort, the fireball play of the Islanders was too much to handle, dropping serve multiple times before losing the match, 8-3.
Day 4
Playing for a spot in Orlando, Frusina matched up against the No. 4 seed Eriksson, a player who moved the ball well and was not afraid to attack in the semi-finals. Winners flew back and forth, serves darted up the middle and errors were non-existent. Both players demonstrated heart and emotion, Frusina held up his fist in celebration following a forehand bomb that allowed him to hold serve while Eriksson shouted in excitement after winning big points.
After a break sealed the first set for Eriksson, the second proved to be just as competitive. Frusina gave his all and managed to stay within striking distance until errors finally caught up to him. Shanked shots from the baseline forced him to drop serve for the second time, paving the way for a straight-sets win for Eriksson, 7-5, 7-5.
With hopes of advancing to Orlando gone, the Aggies traveled to Oklahoma where serves continue in the M25 Norman ITF Tournament which will end this Sunday, Oct. 26.
