COLLEGE STATION, Texas — Texas A&M’s Valentin Vacherot claimed the 85th dual match singles win of his career to match a program record, but the No. 8 Aggies fell 4-3 to No. 1 Florida in the 2021 SEC Tournament at the Billingsley Tennis Center Thursday afternoon. The Aggies will await their postseason seeding after the defeat as they hold a 16-8 record on the year, with the win Florida improves to 20-1 this season.
No. 4 Vacherot improved to 85-20 all-time in the Maroon & White in dual matches, thing the program record for wins with Kimmio Alkio (1982-86) and Greg Hill (1982-85). The senior bested No. 3 Duarte Vale 6-2, 6-4 on the cop court to push the Aggies ahead for the second time on the day.
A&M opened the match by securing the doubles point behind strong performances on courts one and two. Vacherot and Pierce Rollins topped Vale and Josh Goodger 6-3 on the middle court before No. 6 Carlos Aguilar and Bjorn Thomson clinched the point with a 6-4 triumph over No. 25 Johannes Ingildsen and Will Grant.
In singles action, Florida evened the match with a 6-1, 6-2 win on court six by No. 104 Goodger over A&M’s Raphael Perot before Vacherot put the Aggies ahead 2-1. The advantage did not last too long as No. 6 Sam Riffice tripped up No. 5 Hady Habib 6-3, 3-6, 6-3 on court two to even the match at two-all.
Florida took their first lead of the match as Ben Shelton topped No. 123 Rollins 6-1, 6-7(3), 6-0 on court five. The match was leveled for the final time at three-all as No. 42 Aguilar secured a 6-4, 7-6(5) win over No. 14 Andy Andrade on court three. Florida advanced to the finals with a 4-6, 6-2, 6-4 win by No. 56 Blaise Bicknell over A&M’s No. 98 Noah Schachter on court three.
TEXAS A&M AT THE SEC TOURNAMENT
A&M earned a top-four seed in the SEC Tournament for the sixth straight year. Texas A&M holds an all-time 12-6 record at the SEC Tournament, claiming the trophy in the 2014 and 2015 seasons. The Aggies have advanced to the SEC Semifinals in seven of the eight SEC tournaments that they have participated in since joining the league for the 2013 season.
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POST MATCH QUOTES
Steve Denton, Texas A&M Head Coach
On the match…
“This was a really great college tennis match with many momentum swings throughout. I thought we really had our chances today, but give Florida a lot of credit for fighting back in the third set of a couple matches. We are very happy with how we competed. All you can ask is that give yourself a chance at the end and we absolutely did that today. A little rest this weekend to decompress and then time to go back to work next week in preparation for the NCAA tournament. This team has so much still to play for and accomplish. This is the most exciting time of the season.”
RESULTS
Tennis Match Results
Texas A&M vs Florida Gators
Apr 22, 2021 at Fayetteville, Ark.
(Billingsley Tennis Center)
#1 Florida Gators 4, #8 Texas A&M 3
Singles competition
1. #4 Valentin Vacherot (TAMU) def. #3 Duarte Vale (UF) 6-2, 6-4
2. #6 Sam Riffice (UF) def. #5 Hady Habib (TAMU) 6-3, 3-6, 6-3
3. #42 Carlos Aguilar (TAMU) def. #14 Andy Andrade (UF) 6-4, 7-6 (7-5)
4. #56 Blaise Bicknell (UF) def. #98 Noah Schachter (TAMU) 4-6, 6-2, 6-4
5. Ben Shelton (UF) def. #123 Pierce Rollins (TAMU) 6-1, 6-7 (3-7), 6-0
6. #104 Josh Goodger (UF) def. Raphael Perot (TAMU) 6-1, 6-2
Doubles competition
1. #6 Carlos Aguilar/Bjorn Thomson (TAMU) def. #25 Johannes Ingildsen/Will Grant (UF) 6-4
2. #70 Valentin Vacherot/Pierce Rollins (TAMU) def. Duarte Vale/Josh Goodger (UF) 6-3
3. #15 Sam Riffice/Ben Shelton (UF) def. Pranav Kumar/Noah Schachter (TAMU) 6-2
Match Notes:
Texas A&M 16-8; National ranking #8
Florida Gators 20-1; National ranking #1
Order of finish: Doubles (3,2,1); Singles (6,1,2,5,3,4)
