Coming off of the ITA National Team Indoor Championships tournament that saw it win its last two matches against No. 20 Michigan and No. 8 Kentucky, Texas A&M men’s tennis aimed for a third-straight win as it traveled to the Hawkins Indoor Tennis Center in Waco to take on the LSU Tigers.
The Aggies refused to disappoint the 12th Man as they took down the Tigers in commanding fashion, 4-1. Consistency and variety was the key for the Maroon and White as they forced their opponents into uncomfortable shots while maintaining control of the pace.
“I thought today was a very difficult day for both teams,” coach Steve Denton said. “This was our first conference match at home, with both teams uncertain about the time or place of the match. I thought with all the twists and turns our guys were a bit lethargic in the warm up, but our senior leadership along with our coaching staff did a great job of motivating our players.”
The race for the doubles point was filled with intensity and grit. On Court 2, the Aggies’ sophomore Lathan Skrobarcek and No. 37 JC Roddick struck first. After splitting the first two games with the Tigers’ freshmen Sasa Markovic and Andrej Loncarevic, they utilized perfect placement passing shots to break twice and win the set in a dominant fashion, 6-2.
Court 1’s action was interesting. After LSU’s sophomore Aleksi Lofman and senior Julien Penzlin broke early, A&M’s junior Togan Tokac and No. 42 freshman Theo Papamalamis broke back late in the set to get back on serve. However, failing to hold serve cost them in the end as the Tigers’ evened the score, 6-4.
Capturing the first point of the day for the Maroon and White on Court 3, freshman Ritesh Patil and sophomore Tiago Pires fought off the Tigers’ freshman Enzo Kohlmann De Freitas and sophomore Alessio Vasquez in a close battle. Demonstrating incredible teamwork and net-game, A&M was able to sneak away with the point, 7-5.
Moving on to singles play, Court 1 saw Papamalamis strike first for A&M after getting the better of Markovic. His forehand proved effective as he moved Markovic around the court to force errors on his way to a straight-sets victory, 6-1, 6-4.
Penzlin gave the Tigers some hope on Court 3. While the Aggies’ senior Damien Salvestre played some exceptional tennis, errors and double-faults ultimately led to his defeat, 6-4, 6-4.
“There were a few firsts today,” Denton said. “I thought Lathan did a great job in the doubles today in his first action this season. We got Damien cleared to play, and it was exciting seeing him out there against one of LSU’s most confident players.”
Roddick proved why he is a top-40 player in the country on Court 2. In the first set against Vasquez, Roddick demonstrated incredible consistency from the baseline. He continued to put pressure on Vasquez after a smooth first-set win, forcing him out of his comfort zone and into tough shots to claim the victory in a second-set tiebreak, 6-2, 7-6.
Pires captured the fourth point of the day and clinched the Aggies’ third-straight win in a battle against Lofman. After a clean first-set win, Pires struggled with errors and serve in the second set as Lofman forced a deciding set.
In the third set, Pires shifted into another gear, striking forehands, hitting backhands down the line and utilizing volleys on his way to dropping just a single game while breaking three times, 6-2, 4-6, 6-1.
“We were able to turn a couple of these matches around today in our favor,” Denton said. “This was a typical SEC tussle against a very good and dangerous team. We are happy to get out of there with the win, but we have to focus our attention on a very tough, veteran Florida State team.”
A&M will return home to the Mitchell Tennis Center to host No. 15 Florida State on Sunday, Feb. 23.
