No. 13 Texas A&M men’s tennis finished the homestand undefeated as the Aggies dominated the No. 21 Alabama Crimson Tide. At the end of the afternoon, the Maroon and White emerged from Mitchell Tennis Center with a 4-0 victory.
The Crimson Tide entered College Station 2-4 in conference play. The Aggies entered on a three straight win streak. Unfortunately for the visitors, neither team deviated from their recent form.
Texas A&M’s doubles lineup started proceedings well. On Court 1, the No. 52 duo of junior Togan Tokac and freshman Theo Papamalamis got the Aggies on the board, defeating the No. 42 pair of freshman Matic Kriznik and senior Filip Planinsek, 6-3. Next, the senior duo of Luke Casper and Giulio Perego narrowly defeated fellow seniors Enzo Aguiard and Zach Foster, 7-6. The clutch performance secured the all-important doubles point for the Maroon and White.
The Maroon and White came out of the gates hot during singles play. First, Casper continued his momentum from doubles and flattened senior Andrii Zimnokh, 6-1, 6-3. The Aggies, up 2-0 in the match, would have to wait for the next change in score. However, the breakthrough came eventually as Tokac defeated Kriznak 6-3, 6-2. Tokac’s win brought the home team within one point of the sweep.
Initially, an Aggie sweep seemed imminent as senior Alan Magadan battered No. 91 junior Matias Ponce de Leon, 6-2, in the first set. Unfortunately for the Maroon and White, the Spain native did not allow a comfortable Aggie sweep. A tied second set saw Magadan and Ponce de Leon enter a tiebreaker.
With results on other courts still in the balance, the point could represented the cherry on top of a dominating win for A&M, or a turning point in a ferocious comeback from the Tide. Fortunately for the Aggies, the man from McAllen was not wearing Crimson. Alan Magadan won the tiebreaker and the game for A&M, ultimately defeating Matias Ponce de Leon 6-2, 7-6 (2).
As a result, Texas A&M was able to defend their home court without a single blemish. This is impressive for two reasons. First, sweeping any team in the South Eastern Conference is difficult. The Alabama lineup is extremely talented, so sending them to the airport without a single point is an accomplishment. Secondly, the Aggies managed a sweep even with fierce resistance. Alabama fought hard and, at several points, looked poised to gain meaningful points. However, the home team prevented this, proving that they can dominate even if everything does not go exactly as planned.
The Aggies are back in action on Friday, Mar. 21, traveling to Nashville to take on Vanderbilt at Lummis Family Tennis Center.
