Feb 22, 2019
COLLEGE STATION – The No. 22 Texas A&M men's tennis team defeated Arizona State, 5-2, Friday evening at the Hawkins Indoor Tennis Center after rain in College Station forced the match to be moved. With the win, the Aggies improved to 4-3 this spring while the Sun Devils fell to 3-5 on the year.
The Aggies picked up a tight doubles point to open the match against the Sun Devils. The A&M duo of Valentin Vacherot and Austin Abbrat earned a 6-3 win over ASU's Benjamin Hannestad and Andrea Bolla on court three. The doubles point tightened up as ASU's Makey Rakotomalala and Justin Roberts topped A&M's Hady Habib and Noah Schachter 6-4 on court two. With the point coming down to the top doubles court, A&M's Carlos Aguilar and Barnaby Smith earned a late break to record a 6-3 win over ASU's Nathan Ponwith and Dominik Kellovsky, ranked No. 51 nationally.
The Maroon & White maintained momentum as singles play began as they earned first set triumphs on five of six courts. ASU briefly evened the team score as Rakotomalala bested Abbrat 6-1, 6-0 on court five, but moments later A&M's Schachter defeated ASU's William Kirkman 6-1, 6-1 on court five to restore the A&M advantage.
A&M sophomore Habib posted the third point for the Aggies, winning 6-0, 7-6(5) on court two over Bolla. Habib's classmate, Aguilar, clinched the win for A&M as he defeated Kellovsky 6-0, 1-6, 6-2 on court one. Fellow A&M sophomore, Smith, tacked on the fifth point of the night with a 7-5, 4-6, 1-0(2) win over ASU's No. 97 Roberts on court four. The Sun Devils claimed the final point of the night as Ponwith outlasted A&M's Vacherot 4-6, 7-6(1), 1-0(8) on court three.