Following its second round win, 5-seed Texas A&M men’s tennis faced off against 4-seed Oklahoma in the quarterfinals of the Southeastern Conference Tournament. The Sooners previously defeated the Aggies in their final regular season match, 4-1. This time around, it was the Fightin’ Farmers who prevailed, besting the Panhandle program, 4-3.
Oklahoma had the edge early in doubles play as the sophomore duo of Alejandro Melero and Oscar Lacides defeated the combo of sophomoreAlex Frusina and junior Kholo Montsi on Court 2, 6-2. The tides then quickly shifted in A&M’s favor, beginning with a slight upset on Court 1 thanks to the No. 5 duo of sophomore Theo Papamalamis and senior Togan Tokac. The French and Turkish twosome brought down the No. 4 senior duo of Luis Alvarez and Bruno Nhavene, 6-2.
With the doubles point up for grabs, the Aggie pairing of junior Lathan Skrobarcek and freshman Markus Molder came up clutch on Court 3 versus junior Asahi Harazaki and freshman Johan Rodriguez, 6-4.
The Sooners didn’t let the early deficit deter them, though, drawing even immediately on Court 4 thanks to No. 109 Rodriguez, who defeated Molder in a lopsided first match and more competitive second match, 6-1, 6-4.
But A&M refused to back down, answering right back on Court 6 off the racket of Skrobarcek. It took all three sets for the Helotes native to take down Harazaki, 3-6, 6-4, 6-3. The Aggies kept the momentum on their side of the net, extending their advantage on Court 5, where Tokac beat Melero in three back and fourth sets, 7-5, 3-6, 6-3.
Up 3-1 and just one point away from securing a spot in the semifinals, the Aggies had to wait, as the Sooners went on a run of their own, tying the contest up 3-3. A major upset came in Oklahoma’s favor on Court 1, as No. 35 Alvarez took down No. 10 Papamalamis, 6-3, 7-6 (9-7). The good times didn’t stop for the Sooners, though, as No. 77 sophomore Orel Kimhi outlasted No. 100 Papamalamis in a three-set thriller, 6-7 (8-10), 6-1, 6-3.
Tied 3-3 and with a ticket to the semifinals up for grabs, everything came down to Court 2, where Oklahoma transfer No. 41 Montsi faced off against his former teammate No. 61 Lacides. The South African took the first match 6-4 before losing the second, 6-7 (2-7). With a crowd of more than 300 people watching in anticipation, Montsi proved why he moved from Norman, Oklahoma, to College Station, taking the third 6-3.
“He’s [Montsi] come through for us before, and he knows how to win these close matches,” head coach Steve Denton said. “For him to come out and play like he did in the third set after being a point away from clinching in the second shows me a lot. It takes a lot of mental toughness to turn around and win the third set. He didn’t get rattled.”
With the 4-3 victory, A&M sends itself through to the semifinals, where it will take on century-old rival 1-seed Texas at 10 a.m. on Saturday, April 19. The Longhorns defeated the Aggies in Austin earlier this season, but homecourt advantage now goes to the Maroon and White at the Mitchell Tennis Center.
