Knocking down Kentucky, the No. 12 Texas A&M men’s tennis beat the Wildcats 4-1, picking up another Southeastern Conference win. The Aggies are now 9-3 in SEC play heading into the final few matches of the season.
Beginning the match with doubles points, the Aggies easily clutched to start the day with a lead. The first duo to win on Court 1 for the Aggies was senior Alan Magadan and sophomore Tiago Pires defeating Kentucky’s pairing of junior Martin Breysach and junior Charlelie Cosnet, 6-2.
Finalizing the doubles win on Court 1 for the Aggies was No. 30 freshman Theo Papamalamis and junior Togan Tokac scoring 6-3 over No. 21 sophomore Jack Loutit and sophomore Eli Stephenson. In the unfinished match, senior Luke Casper and redshirt freshman Ritesh Patil played freshman Antoine Ghobaudo and junior Jaden Weekes.
“Getting the doubles point after losing it the other night was a huge boost to us,” coach Steve Denton said.
In singles play, the first Aggie to strike was Casper on Court 4 defeating No. 121 Cosnet, 6-3, 6-1. This is Casper’s 10th win of the season in his final year playing for the Maroon and White.
The Wildcats had a flicker of hope on Court 2 when Tokac fell to Stephenson, 7-6, 4-1. It didn’t last long, though, as the Aggies secured a strong finish.
Next, Pires took down No. 74 Weekes 6-4, 6-2 in a dominant performance. The Frenchman grabbed his first win in five matches, as the previous four have been unfinished or losses. This is his sixth SEC win, and he is undefeated in both of his matches against Kentucky this season.
Securing the victory for the Aggies was No. 32 Papamalamis against Ghibaudo in a freshman battle to the end. The first set was a tight 7-5 tussle, but Papamalamis took charge in the second set, taking it home 6-2. The freshman has had a dominant season with only one loss in singles play against other SEC teams.
Graduate student Matthias Ross also played sophomore Matt Rankin in an unfinished match 3-6, 6-3, 0-1. Ross has zero losses to his name this season, with four wins and three unfinished matches.
“I thought our energy today was really good,” Denton said. “We were positive as a team, and that translated in the doubles which got us off to a good start. I was happy with the guy’s performance.”
The Aggies are back in action for more SEC play on Thursday, April 3, at A.J. Pitts Tennis Centre in Starkville, Mississippi against Mississippi State.
