No. 15 Texas A&M’s men’s tennis exited the Southeastern Conference Tournament after losing in the quarterfinals to No. 14 Tennessee, 4-2. Despite starting hot, the Aggies failed to capitalize on a strong doubles performance and ultimately failed to advance to the semifinals.
The Aggies’ trip to Columbia, South Carolina, started well as A&M’s doubles slate contributed a stellar performance. Redshirt freshman Ritesh Patil and senior Giulio Perego started the proceedings, dispatching sophomore James Newton and freshman Lance Nisbet, 6-2.
What followed was not as fruitful for the Fightin’ Farmers, as Sophomore Tiago Pires and senior Alan Magadan failed to secure the doubles point for A&M. Seniors Alan Jesudason and Shunsuke Mitsui leveled the score for the men in orange with a 6-2 victory of their own.
Due to this stalemate, the all-important doubles point was up for grabs on court one. A heavyweight clash saw the Maroon and White No. 5 duo of junior Togan Tokac and freshman Theo Papamalamis take on the No. 11 duo of graduate Alex Kotzen and junior Alejandro Moreno.
The men from Rocky Top started well, battling their way to a 5-4 lead. Unfortunately for the Volunteers, the Aggies stormed back and eventually were victorious, 7-5. This herculean effort secured an early lead for A&M, 1-0.
However, this defeat did not derail the Volunteers, as No. 31 Kotzen leveled the score by defeating No. 24 Papamalamis. The Fightin’ Farmer from Lessy, France, battled hard but ultimately fell victim to the vastly more experienced Kotzen in two sets, 4-6, 2-6.
Things were now tied up 1-1, but fortunately for the Aggies, this stalemate did not last long. The McAllen Magician, Magadan, once again came through for his team. As a result of a 7-6(2) tie-breaking win in the first set and a dominant 6-2 beatdown in the second, the senior defeated No. 21 Mitsui.
Now leading 2-1, this was the high-water mark of the match for the Maroon and White. What followed was a collapse of epic proportions. First, senior Luke Casper was defeated by freshman Jose Garcia. In a heavily contested match, the inexperienced Garcia was able to get the better of his A&M counterpart 7-5, 4-6, 6-2.
Shortly after things were tied back up 2-2, another Aggie failed to capitalize. In another three-set match, Perego was ultimately defeated by senior Ian Cruz, 6-7, 6-2, 3-6. While trailing 3-2 certainly hurt the Aggies’ chances of a semi-finals berth, it did not eliminate the Fightin’ Farmers.
At this point the duel that was closest to a result was on Court 5, where Tokac and freshman Jan Kobierski were level at 4-4 in a pivotal fourth set. The next two points would decide the match and the Aggies’ SEC Tournament fate. Regrettably for Tokac and his teammates, the Turkey native did not fare well. At the end of the contest, Kobierski stood victorious, 3-6, 6-4, 6-4.
A disappointing afternoon in Columbia resulted in the Aggies being eliminated in the quarterfinals. A strong doubles performance followed by a disastrous singles collapse ultimately resulted in a 4-2 defeat at the hands of the Volunteers.
Coach Steve Denton and his team will now await their seeding for the NCAA Tournament. The tournament will culminate with the NCAA Championship in Waco, Texas, on May 15-18.
