No. 9 Texas A&M Tops South Alabama to Advance to ITA Kickoff Final

Saturday, January 25

College Station

1:00 PM

Texas A&M

South Alabama

Photo by: Sam Craft/Texas A&M Athletics

Jan 25, 2020 | Men's Tennis

Box Score

By: Matt Callaway, Texas A&M Athletics Communications

COLLEGE STATION – The No. 9 Texas A&M men's tennis team defeated South Alabama, 4-0, at the 2020 ITA Kickoff Weekend at the George P. Mitchell Tennis Center on Saturday. The Aggies (1-0) advanced to face Georgia Tech (3-0) in the ITA Kickoff final, Sunday at 1 p.m., while the Jaguars (0-2) will square off against Oregon (3-2) at 10 a.m. in the consolation match.

"I was pleased with our effort today with some tough conditions to open the season," Texas A&M men's tennis head coach Steve Denton said. "Our guys handled some adversity well today, but I know we will have to come out ready to play again tomorrow when we face off against a very good Georgia Tech team."

The Maroon & White captured the first point of the day through doubles victories on courts two and three. The freshman duo of Stefan Storch and Pierce Rollins topped South Alabama's Louis Delcour and Sebastian Collard, 6-2, before A&M's Noah Schachter and Valentin Vacherot clinched the point with a 7-5 win over Leon Pet'ko and Jordan Coutinho.

The Aggies dominated singles action, winning five of six first sets. Junior Hady Habib, ranked No. 10, posted a 6-0, 6-1 win on court three over Delcour to push the Aggies ahead 2-0. Moments after Habib's victory, freshman Stefan Storch defeated Sebastien Collard 6-3, 6-1 on court five. A&M sophomore Guido Marson clinched the 4-0 A&M win with a 6-1, 6-2 triumph over Leon Petko on court six.

The winner of Sunday's ITA Kickoff Weekend final will advance to the 2020 Oracle ITA Division I National Men's Team Indoor Championship to be held at the Nielsen Tennis Stadium in Madison, Wisc., hosted by the University of Wisconsin.

Admission to tennis this season is free for all fans, but fans wishing to be a part of the Stadium Club can visit https://www.12thmanfoundation.com/tickets/tennis/index.html to secure their place for the upcoming men's and women's tennis season. Fans unable to make it the Mitchell Tennis Center can follow live scoring at tamustats.com or watch live video at 12thman.com/livetennis.

Visit 12thMan.com for more information on Texas A&M men's tennis. Aggie fans also can keep up to date with the A&M men's tennis team on Twitter by following @AggieMTEN or on Facebook at Facebook.com/AggieMensTennis.

Tennis Match Results
South Alabama vs Texas A&M
1/25/2020 at College Station, TX
(George P Mitchell Tennis Center)

#9 Texas A&M 4, South Alabama 0

Singles competition
1. #3 Valentin Vacherot (TAMU) vs. Clement Marzol (USA) 5-7, 2-1, unfinished
2. #27 Juan Carlos Aguilar (TAMU) vs. #113 Loic Cloes (USA) 6-1, 4-4, unfinished
3. #10 Hady Habib (TAMU) def. Louis Delcour (USA) 6-0, 6-1
4. #74 Pierce Rollins (TAMU) vs. Martin Bugaj (USA) 6-1, 4-4, unfinished
5. Stefan Storch (TAMU) def. Sebastien Collard (USA) 6-3, 6-1
6. Guido Marson (TAMU) def. Leon Petko (USA) 6-1, 6-2

Doubles competition
1. Hady Habib/Juan Carlos Aguilar (TAMU) vs. #30 Clement Marzol/Loic Cloes (USA) 5-5, unfinished
2. Noah Schachter/Valentin Vacherot (TAMU) def. Leon Petko/Jordan Coutinho (USA) 7-5
3. Pierce Rollins/Stefan Storch (TAMU) def. Louis Delcour/Sebastien Collard (USA) 6-2

Match Notes:
South Alabama 0-2
Texas A&M 1-0; National ranking #9
Order of finish: Doubles (3,2); Singles (3,5,6)