Credit to 12thman.com
ATHENS, GA. – The No. 18 Texas A&M men’s tennis team came from behind to defeat the No. 19 Georgia Bulldogs, 4-2, on Monday at the Dan Magill Tennis Complex, which punched its ticket to the 2024 ITA National Indoor Championship.
“It is never easy to win on the road, especially in Athens,” head coach Steve Denton said. “Our guys are thrilled to go to New York in a couple of weeks. I was very impressed again when we got smoked in the doubles that our guys dug in and fought. Especially excited for our seniors to get to continue to compete in the tournament. They showed a lot of grit down the stretch today and were rewarded for their mental toughness.”
The Aggies (4-0) got off to a slow start after losses on court 1 and 3 in doubles play to go down 1-0 heading into singles play.
The Bulldogs (3-1) built on their early momentum by taking the first match of single, making the lead 2-0. However, No. 93 Luke Casper got a spark going for the Maroon & White. Casper dominated Freddy Blaydes on court 6, (6-4, 6-0) and then freshman Tiago Pires built on Casper’s victory and earned the second ranked win of his career, taking down No. 112 Cyrus Mahjoob on court 5, (6-3, 4-6, 6-3).
Tied at 2-2, Raphael Perot took the lead for the Aggies in a three-set battle against No. 41 Thomas Paulsell on court 1, (4-6, 6-3, 6-3). Clinching the match for A&M was Togan Tokac, who got the third ranked win of the day, beating No. 43 Miguel Perez Pena on court 3, (6-4, 3-6, 6-4).
The Maroon & White host SMU Friday, Feb. 2, for the first home match of the season at the Mitchell Tennis Center. Indoor nationals goes from Feb. 16-19 in New York. For more information on the 2024 ITA National Indoor Championship, click here.
TEAM NOTES
With the victory, the Aggies advanced to the ITA National Indoor Championship for the first time since the 2021-22 season.
Texas A&M is 2-0 on the road.
Freshman Tiago Pires earned the second ranked win of his collegiate career.
Raphael Perot secured two ranked wins during ITA Kickoff Weekend.
MATCH STATS
Singles
Perot Def. No. 41 Paulsell (4-6, 6-3, 6-3)
No. 109 Roddick – No. 36 Colby (4-6, 2-6)
Tokac Def. No. 43 Pena (6-4, 3-6, 6-4)
Perego vs. Ratiu (6(6)-7, 6-4, 4-5) UNF
Pires Def. No. 112 Cyrus Mahjoob (6-3, 4-6, 6-3)
No. 93 Casper Def. Blaydes (6-4, 6-0)
Doubles
Perego/Tokac – Blaydes/Ratiu (6-2)
Casper/Roddick vs. Colby/Paulsell (3-3) UNF
Perot/Pires – Mahjoob/Pena (6-1)