LUBBOCK, Texas – The Texas A&M - Corpus Christi men's tennis team fell to No. 36 Texas Tech today, 4-0, at the McLeod Tennis Center in Lubbock, Texas.
The Red Raiders (10-2), who have upset No. 23 Mississippi State 4-2, and have swept East Tennessee State so far this month have three players ranked in the ITA singles rankings.
The Islanders (3-3) fought hard today with senior Peter Nagy and sophomore Kevin Bettendroffer showing strong signs to come in singles play.
"We really came out with a lot of spirit and fight today," Director of Tennis Steve Moore said. "Peter and Kevin were in dog-fight matches at No. 1 and No. 2 against national top-ranked opponents, and I thought Arthur Bedel played an excellent match in his first singles opportunity at No. 6.
"Give credit to Texas Tech. They played like a top-25 team today at home because we really came to battle. There's no other coach I have more respect for than Tim Siegel. I owe a lot to him for all that he taught me about tennis and life."
The Islanders switched things up in doubles play to start the day as Nagy teamed with Bedel for the first time this season at No. 1 doubles, and juniors Guillaume Rauseo and Mitchell Cook paired up for the first time this season at No. 2 doubles. Texas Tech garnered the point after Francisco Zambon and Jolan Caileau defeated Rauseo and Cook, 6-1, and the duo of Nagy and Bedel dropped a 6-3 loss to the No. 22-ranked pair of Felipe Soares and Hugo Dojas.
In singles, the Red Raiders secured three out of the six matches to pick up a 4-0 win. Junior Ricardo Mayagoitia lost a straight-set match to Alex Sendegeya, 6-1, 6-1 in No. 3 singles before Zambon topped junior Javier Pujol, 6-1, 6-1, in No. 5 singles. Texas Tech then clinched the match in the No. 4 slot after Rauseo dropped a tight 6-3, 6-3 loss to No. 125-ranked Caileau.
In the other three singles matches, Nagy was battling No. 35-ranked Soares in the No. 1 spot. Nagy came up short 6-4 in the first set and was trailing 4-3 when the match was clinched. Meanwhile, Bettendroffer secured a huge first-set win over No. 111-ranked Dojas and was leading the second set 4-3. In the final singles match, Bedel, competing for the first time at No. 6 after putting together a 1-0 record at No. 5, was trailing Connor Curry, 6-4, 2-1 when the match was decided.
Moore who was an assistant coach for the Red Raiders from 1995-97 knows this type of match will only prepare the Islanders for the rest of the season.
"This has always been the part of the season where we struggled," Moore added. "The fast, indoor part of the season. Excuses are worthless in Division I, we simply have to get better and find a way. We have to coach better and we have to find a way to dig, fight, scrap and claw, and find some way to win ugly in these matches that are not of our best conditions. I think everyone is committed to extreme hard work to get the job done."
The Islanders will now return home to host Texas-Pan American on Wednesday, Feb. 18, at 2 p.m., at the Thomas J. Henry Tennis Center.
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#36 Texas Tech 4, Texas A&M - Corpus Christi 0
Lubbock, Texas (McLeod Tennis Center)
Singles
1. #35 Felipe Soares (TT) vs. Peter Nagy (AMCC) 6-4, 4-3, unfinished
2. #111 Hugo Dojas (TT) vs. Kevin Bettendroffer (AMCC) 4-6, 3-4, unfinished
3. Alex Sendegeya (TT) def. Ricardo Mayagoitia (AMCC) 6-1, 6-1
4. #125 Jolan Caileau (TT) def. Guillaume Rauseo (AMCC) 6-3, 6-3
5. Francisco Zambon (TT) def. Javier Pujol (AMCC) 6-1, 6-1
6. Connor Curry (TT) vs. Arthur Bedel (AMCC) 6-4, 2-1, unfinished
Doubles
1. #22 Felipe Soares/Hugo Dojas (TT) def. Peter Nagy/Arthur Bedel (AMCC) 6-3
2. Francisco Zambon/Jolan Caileau (TT) def. Guillaume Rauseo/Mitchell Cook (AMCC) 6-1
3. Connor Curry/Alex Sendegeya (TT) vs. Javier Pujol/Ricardo Mayagoitia (AMCC) 5-2, unfinished
Records: Texas A&M-Corpus Christi 3-3; #36 Texas Tech 10-2
Order of finish: Doubles (2,1); Singles (3,5,4)
