Gamecocks Fall at No. 10 Texas A&M 6-1
COLLEGE STATION, TEXAS – No. 18 South Carolina men’s tennis dropped its first SEC road match 6-1 to No. 10 Texas A&M. The Aggies took the doubles point in a tiebreak and carried that momentum into singles and through to the victory.
In doubles, the Gamecocks gained an early advantage with No. 59 Raphael Lambling and Phillip Jordan winning in the No. 2 spot 6-4. After No. 44 Daniel Rodrigues and Connor Thomson dropped their match 2-6, duo Jake Beasley and Toby Samuel fought hard and forced their match to a tiebreak but were topped by Texas A&M’s Valentin Vacherot and Pierce Rollins 7-6 (5).
In singles, the Aggies took all six first sets against the Gamecocks. The Nos. 6 and 1 matches were the first to finish, respectively, with both points going to A&M. On court five, Jordan went up 4-1 in the second set, but could not fend off A&M’s Guido Marson who sealed the win for the Aggies in a 6-2, 6-4 decision. In the No. 3 spot, Thomson faced a similar outcome with No. 33 Juan Carlos Aguilar of A&M winning 6-4, 6-2.
Matches in the No. 2 and No. 4 spots went to three sets each, with Samuel’s match on court four bringing in the sole point for the Gamecocks. The true freshman faced his second ranked opponent of the season in No. 116 Noah Schachter, who took the first set 6-4. Samuel battled back with commanding 6-0, 6-3 scores in the next two sets for the first ranked win of his career.
The Gamecocks continue their weekend of SEC play when they travel to Baton Rouge to take on LSU on Sun., Feb. 28.
For all the latest South Carolina men’s tennis information, continue to follow GamecocksOnline.com or the team on social media (@GamecockMTennis).
(10) Texas A&M def. (18) South Carolina 6-1
Doubles (Order of Finish: 2, 1, 3*)
1. (48) Juan Carlos Aguilar / Bjorn Thomson (TAMU) def. (44) Daniel Rodrigues / Connor Thomson (SC) 6-2
2. (59) Raphael Lambling / Phillip Jordan (SC) def. Noah Schachter / Hady Habib (TAMU) 6-4
3. Valentin Vacherot / Pierce Rollins (TAMU) def. Toby Samuel / Jake Beasley (SC) 7-6 (5)
Singles (Order of Finish: 6, 1, 5*, 3, 4, 2)
1. (13) Hady Habib (TAMU) def. (32) Daniel Rodrigues (SC) 6-1, 6-4
2. (4) Valentin Vacherot (TAMU) def. (81) Raphael Lambling (SC) 6-4, 3-6, 6-4
3. (33) Juan Carlos Aguilar (TAMU) def. (118) Connor Thomson (SC) 6-4, 6-2
4. Toby Samuel (SC) def. (116) Noah Schachter (TAMU) 4-6, 6-0, 6-3
5. Guido Marson (TAMU) def. Phillip Jordan (SC) 6-2, 6-4
6. Raphael Perot (TAMU) def. Jake Beasley (SC) 6-1, 6-2
