Apr 19, 2019
GAINESVILLE – The No. 11 Texas A&M men's tennis team fell 4-2 in the SEC Tournament quarterfinals against No. 22 South Carolina Friday morning at the Alfred A. Ring Tennis Complex. The Aggies (20-7) and Gamecocks (17-8) played in blustery conditions and an hour early due to inclement weather in the forecast.
"I thought that South Carolina was better prepared today to handle the tough conditions and that is on me," Texas A&M head coach Steve Denton said. "They won the important points on a few key courts. We need to use this time to get better in several areas for each player and that is what we will focus on."
The Aggies dropped the doubles point to open the match despite the 6-3 win by Hady Habib and Pranav Kumar on court three over South Carolina's Beau Pelletier and Jake Beasley. SC followed with a 6-2 win on court two and a 6-4 win on court one to clinch the point.
A&M got back into the match with wins on court four and five to take a 2-1 advantage. Freshman Noah Schachter posted the first point for the Aggies with a 6-1, 7-5 win over Thomas Brown on court five. A&M sophomore Barnaby Smith followed with a 6-2, 7-5 victory over Pelletier on court four.
The Gamecocks earned the next three points with wins on courts one, two and three to earn the 4-2 victory. No. 6 Paul Jubb outlasted A&M's Carlos Aguilar 1-6, 6-0, 6-3 on court one followed by No. 119 Daniel Rodrigues winning 6-3, 2-6, 6-0 on court two over A&M's Habib. South Carolina clinched the win on court three by Raphael Lambling over Valentin Vacherot 6-3, 7-6(5).