Moving on! No. 16 seed A&M topples Baylor in Round of 32 thriller
Survive and advance!
No. 16 Texas A&M came out on top of the Battle of the Brazos at Mitchell Tennis Center, defeating Baylor 4-3 in a thriller on Sunday afternoon.
After a dogfight with Rice on Saturday, that included a loss in doubles, Steve Denton’s Aggies came out on fire against the Bears.
“I thought our energy was different today,” Denton said. “We were really energetic in the doubles, and that started us off. As it turns out, that was the difference in the match with how well we played at one and two doubles today.”
Theo Papamalamis and Togan Tokac dominated on Court 1, and Alan Magadan and Tiago Pires handled their business on Court 3, winning 6-1 and 6-3, respectively, to clinch the doubles point for the Aggies.
Heading into singles with a 1-0 lead, A&M needed just three points to advance to the Sweet 16.
For the second day in a row, Denton made a late change to insert Damien Salvestre into the singles lineup on Court 6, and for the second day in a row, Salvestre made Denton look like a genius.
The senior from France made quick work of his opponent once again, winning in straight sets 6-2, 6-4 to put the Aggies up 2-0.
“I’ve wanted to play him, and thankfully, he got healthy at the right time,” Denton said. “Obviously, that was a very important point for us to be able to go up 2-0.”
The Bears fought back with a win in straight sets on Court 5 over Tokac, 6-4, 6-2, to get on the board. The visitors continued that momentum on Court 4 with a win in straight sets over Luke Casper, 7-6, 6-4, to tie it at two apiece.
Needing an immediate response, Magadan delivered, winning a thriller in straight sets 7-5, 7-5 to put the Aggies one point away from a Sweet 16 berth.
The Bears, determined to hang around, took down Pires on Court 3 in three sets, 3-6, 6-0, 7-5 to tie it 3-3 as both teams and the crowd gathered towards the north end of Mitchell Tennis Center.
“The atmosphere was unbelievable,” Papamalamis said. “I try to stay focused and not pay attention to what goes on, but when the whole team is cheering for you, it’s a good feeling.”
All attention turned to Court 1 for the ongoing duel between Papamalamis and Devin Badenhorst for a winner-takes-all match in the third set.
“He’s a freshman, but he’s played at a pretty high level,” Denton said of Papamalamis. “That’s not the first time he’s done that for us this year, where he’s been able to come through big in a three-all match.”
The freshman from France took matters into his own hands, pulling away to win the third set 6-1 to clinch the win for the Aggies.
“He’s the guy for that,” Magadan said about Papamalamis. “He’s a fighter. The longer the match goes, the more he stays on top. We knew if he had to play three sets, that he would win.”
“I was trying to stay locked in the whole match,” Papamalamis said. “I was more aggressive than him in the third set, so I broke him early and stayed solid in every point.”
Papamalamis put the finishing touches on an exhilarating weekend at Mitchell Tennis Center, punching the Aggies’ ticket to the Sweet 16.
“Our expectations are high,” Denton remarked. “When you come here to play at Texas A&M, we expect to be deep in the NCAA Tournament. We’ve always been in that position, but this was a tough year with all the injuries and difficulties we’ve had, but it feels pretty good right now getting through all that adversity.”
The Aggies will travel to Winston-Salem, NC, to face the No. 1 seed Wake Forest in a super regional match next weekend.
