Michigan
Texas A&M
Michigan Upsets No. 7 Texas A&M to Advance at ITA Indoors
2/14/2020 2:00:00 PM | Men's Tennis
» Michigan and Texas A&M were tied, 3-3, with the team match coming down to the No. 2 position where Ondrej Styler won in three sets.
» Andrew Fenty and Nick Beaty also earned singles wins.
» Michigan has won nine straight matches, including three against top-10 teams.
Site: Madison, Wis. (Nielsen Tennis Stadium)
Event: ITA National Team Indoor Championship
Result: #13 Michigan 4, #7 Texas A&M 3
Records: U-M (9-1), Texas A&M (4-2)
Next U-M Event: Saturday, Feb.15 -- vs. No. 4 Texas - ITA National Team Indoor Championship (Madison, Wis.)
MADISON, Wis. -- All eyes were on No. 2 singles where the Wolverines' No. 43-ranked Ondrej Styler and Texas A&M's Juan Carlos Aguilar were battling it out to decide the winner of the team match that was tied at 3-3.
Styler rallied after dropping the first set to win his match and claim victory for the No. 13-ranked University of Michigan men's tennis team in a 4-3 upset victory over the No. 7 Red Raiders in the first round of the ITA National Team Indoor Championship at Nielsen Tennis Stadium.
After Aguilar claimed a 6-1 win in set one, Styler answered with a 6-4 win, rallying from 4-0 deficit. In the third and final set, Aguilar took a 4-3 lead, but Styler nailed the final three points for a 6-4 victory.
The victory is the second match-clinching triumph for Styler this season; he also claimed a win over Ole Miss in the ITA Kick-Off which advanced the Wolverines here to the ITA indoors.
Michigan is on a nine-match win streak that includes wins over three top-10 teams.
"It's been while since we've been here," head coach Adam Steinberg said. "We didn't just want to make it here, though. Our goal was to advance and make a statement. It's another step for us towards that Elite Eight. The team deserves it and matches have been incredible. The guys have shown so much heart and character.
"We are happy but we want to keep going and getting better not just be satisfied."
Texas A&M took No. 2 doubles, 6-3, while Nick Beaty and Harrison Brown claimed No. 3 with a 7-5 victory while the No. 4-ranked team of Andrew Fenty and Mattias Siimar were in a tiebreaker at No. 1. Throughout the match, Fenty and Siimar trailed by one or were even with Barnaby Smith and Juan Carlos Aguilar. Fenty and Siimar jumped out to a 5-2 advantage in the tiebreak before the Aggies hit the next three points to make it 5-5. Fenty and Siimar finished off the duo winning the final two points to clinch the doubles point.
Texas A&M evened the team score, 1-1, with a win at No. 4, but Beaty made quick work of Stefan Storch, 6-2, 6-3 at No. 5 to push Michigan back on top, 2-1.
No. 48 Fenty claimed his fourth win over a ranked opponent as he defeated No. 14 Hady Habib at No. 1 singles in straight sets, 6-3, 6-2.
But just as Michigan found itself one win away from the team point, Texas A&M's No. 3 Valentin Vacherot claimed a win at No. 3.
The Aggies tied score at 3-3 with a win at No. 6 singles leaving the No. 2 singles between Styler and Aguilar as the decisive match.
Michigan will face No. 4 Texas on Saturday (Feb. 15) at 9 a.m. CST in the second round of the ITA National Indoor Championships. The Longhorns defeated UCLA, 4-3, on Friday morning.
"We are playing the defending national champion in the quarterfinals of the of the ITA Indoors, so it doesn't get any better," Steinberg said. "We are very excited."
Following are match-by-match results
Singles
No. 1 -- No. 48 Andrew Fenty (U-M) d. No. 14 Hady Habib (Texas A&M), 6-3, 6-2
No. 2 -- No. 43 Ondrej Styler (U-M) d. No. 34 Juan Carlos Aguilar (Texas A&M), 1-6, 6-4, 6-4
No. 3 -- No. 3 Valentin Vacherot (Texas A&M) d. Mattias Siimar (U-M), 6-4, 6-3
No. 4 -- Noah Schachter (Texas A&M) d. Connor Johnston (U-M), 6-2, 6-2
No. 5 -- Nick Beaty (U-M) d. Stefan Storch (Texas A&M), 6-2, 6-3
No. 6 -- Guido Marson (Texas A&M) d. Harrison Brown (U-M), 6-3, 6-3
Doubles
No. 1 -- No. 4 Mattias Siimar/Andrew Fenty (U-M) d. Barnaby Smith/Juan Carlos Aguilar (Texas A&M), 7-6 (5)
No. 2 -- Valentin Vacherot/Noah Schachter (Texas A&M) d. No. 42 Connor Johnston/Ondrej Styler (U-M), 6-3
No. 3 -- Nick Beaty/Harrison Brown (U-M) vs. Pierce Rollins/Stefan Storch (Texas A&M), 7-5
Order of Completion: Doubles 2-3-1, Singles 4-5-1-3-6-2
Players Mentioned
