The No. 6 Texas A&M men’s tennis team was propelled to victory by trio of singles victories from their vaunted 2017 signing class as they defeated No. 23 Kentucky, 4-3, Sunday afternoon at the Boone Tennis Center in Lexington, Kentucky. The Aggies improved to 16-4 on the year and 8-0 in SEC play while the Wildcats fell to 12-7 overall and 5-3 in league action.
Texas A&M’s 2017 signing class was one of the most decorated groups in program history. The A&M freshman class included the No. 1 ranked American junior player, a wealth of international experience and a Texas state champion from a year ago.
After earning the doubles point to open the match the freshman trio of No. 37 Patrick Kypson, Juan Carlos Aguilar and Barnaby Smith secured the top-25 road win for the Maroon & White. Kypson was the second singles match off the court to give the Aggies a 2-1 advantage after defeating No. 26 Ryotaro Matsumura 2-6, 6-4, 6-3 on the top court. Sunday’s match marked the eighth ranked win for Kypson this spring and fifth victory in SEC play.
Aguilar had to wait for an open court to start singles play, the match was moved indoors due to inclement weather and the Wildcats have four indoor courts. The La Paz, Bolivia native, wasted little time to make his presence known as he topped Kento Yamada 6-4, 6-2 on line five to even the match at three-all. With the victory, Aguilar improved to 15-3 in dual matches and 6-1 in SEC action.
With the team match on the line, Smith came through with all eyes inside the Boone Tennis Center on him. The right-hander clinched the win with a straight set triumph over Austin Hussey, 7-5, 7-5, on the sixth line. Smith picked up his 10th collegiate victory and seventh against league opponents.
The Aggies opened the day by securing the doubles point for the 12th time in 20 matches this spring. No. 19 Jordi Arconada and Aguilar bested No. 31 Cesar Bourgois and Gus Benson, 6-3, followed by No. 48 Kypson and Arthur Rinderknech over Matsumura and Enzo Wallart, 6-2, to secure the point.
The Wildcats claimed their first win on court two as Will Bushamuka topped No. 6 Rinderknech, 6-4, 6-0 to even the match at one-all. Kentucky even the match at two-all after Trey Yates outlasted No. 25 Valentin Vacherot, 6-3, 3-6, 6-4 on court four. The first and only lead for the home team came at 3-2 after Wallart tripped up No. 49 Jordi Arconada 7-6, 3-6, 7-5 on court three.
Texas A&M returns to College Station for the final four homes matches over the next two weekends, hosting No. 10 Florida, No. 26 South Carolina, No. 12 Mississippi State and Auburn to round out the regular season.
