FORT WORTH, Texas – The No. 19 Texas A&M men’s tennis team fell in the second round of the NCAA Tournament to the Big 12 Champions No. 2 overall seed TCU (4-0) Saturday at Bayard H. Freidman Tennis Center.
A season highlighted with clutch wins, an improved finish in the regular season and an upset run in the SEC Tournament comes to an end as the No. 19 Aggies season fell to the hands of reigning Big 12 Champions No. 2 TCU.
A&M pushed the Horned Frogs to the bitter end in doubles, with the Aggies claiming at least four games in all three matches. No. 46 Noah Schachter/Trey Hilderbrand were pushing TCU’s Sebastian Gorzny/Pedro Vives to the limit, as the match was left unfinished at 5-5 when the point was claimed.
The Aggies were in some battles in singles. Team captain No. 46 Schachter faced No. 71 Jack Pinnington, narrowly losing a first set tiebreaker that went the distance (7-6(9), 1-1) and was locked at one game each in the second set. Pierce Rollins was fighting on court 3 as he refused to give in versus No. 62 Sander Jong (4-6, 3-5). Finally, sophomore Luke Casper went down early, but was clawing for every point in the second set as he and Lui Maxted were knotted at five all.
COACH’S QUOTES
Head Coach Steve Denton on today’s match …
“I Think the guys competed hard today, as they have all season. I’m Proud of their efforts, I think TCU was one of the tougher teams that we faced all season, and they were just better on the day.”
Coach Denton on the season as a whole …
“I think that our team continued to get better as the season progressed. We were getting better as the season went on and it’s always difficult when it comes to an end. This senior class has done a great job of upholding our legacy of being one of the top teams in the country, and we look to continue to raise the level of our program next season.”
UP NEXT
Schachter and Raphael Perot will represent the Maroon & White at the NCAA Individual Championships held at the USTA National Campus in Orlando, Florida. The individual portion of the championships is slated to begin Sunday, May 21.
MATCH RESULTS
Singles Matches
(TCU) No. 21 Jake Fearnley Def. (TAMU) No. 53 Raphael Perot (6-2, 6-1)
(TAMU) No. 46 Noah Schachter – (TCU) No. 71 Jack Pinnington (6-7(9), 1-1) unfinished
(TAMU) Pierce Rollins – (TCU) No. 62 Sander Jong (4-6, 3-5)…
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