LOS ANGELES, Calif. – The 14th-ranked Texas A&M men’s tennis team dropped a tough contest to second-ranked USC, 6-1, Monday evening at Marks Stadium in Los Angeles. The Aggies fall to 13-8 while the Trojans improve to 17-2.

 

“I thought we competed well in singles,” Texas A&M head coach Steve Denton said. “We showed considerable improvement from our last match with Southern Cal. We have to continue to do the little things to get better. Shane had a great win today. I’m extremely proud of him. That’s the best tennis he’s played so far this spring.”

 

The Aggies failed to claim the doubles point for only the fifth time this season. The duo of Emilio Gomez and Robert Quiroz upset the 13th-ranked freshmen pair of Harry Adams and Shane Vinsant, 8-5, at the No. 2 doubles position to secure the first doubles match for the Trojans. USC clinched the doubles point when Michael Grant and Eric Johnson downed Jeremy Efferding and Jordan Szabo, 8-6, at the No. 3 doubles line.

 

The Trojans carried their momentum from winning the doubles into singles, winning four-of-six first sets. 52nd-ranked Efferding couldn’t upset his second top-five opponent of the season, falling to second-ranked Gomez, 6-0, 6-1 at the No. 1 line to push the Trojans lead to 2-0. Ninth-ranked Ray Sarmiento downed Junior Ore, 6-3, 6-1, at the No. 2 line to stake USC a 3-0 lead. 77th-ranked Vinsant upset 23rd-ranked Quiroz, 6-3, 6-3, at the No. 4 line to put the Aggies on the board, trailing 3-1. The Trojans would waste no time in clinching the match, however. 90th-ranked Jonny Wang bested Szabo, 6-2, 7-5, at the No. 6 line to clinch the match for the men of Troy. 61st-ranked Johnson defeated 117th-ranked Jackson Withrow, 6-4, 6-4, at the No. 5 line to extend the Trojans lead to 5-1. To close out the match, 65th-ranked Yannick Hanfmann beat 118th-ranked Adams at the No. 3 line, 3-6, 6-3, 1-0 (10-8).

 

The Maroon and White will look to rebound from the loss this weekend when they travel to Tennessee to try and avenge a 4-3 loss suffered at the ITA Indoor Championships to the Volunteers. To learn more about the men’s tennis team, visit AggieAthletics.com and follow @AggieMTEN on Twitter.

 

No. 2 USC def. No. 14 Texas A&M, 6-1

Singles

No. 1 – No. 2 Emilio Gomez, USC def. No. 52 Jeremy Efferding, A&M 6-0, 6-1

No. 2 – No. 9 Ray Sarmiento, USC def. Junior Ore, A&M 6-3, 6-1

No. 3 – No. 65 Yannick Hanfmann, USC def. No. 118 Harry Adams, A&M 3-6, 6-3, 1-0 (10-8)

No. 4 – No. 77 Shane Vinsant, A&M def. No. 23 Robert Quiroz, USC 6-3, 6-3

No. 5 – No. 61 Eric Johnson, USC def. No. 117 Jackson Withrow, A&M 6-4, 6-4

*No. 6 – No. 90 Jonny Wang, USC def. Jordan Szabo, A&M 6-2, 7-5

Doubles

No. 1 – No. 15 Withrow/Ore, A&M vs. No. 26 Hanfmann/Sarmiento, USC 8-8 unfinished

No. 2 – Gomez/Quiroz, USC def. No. 13 Adams/Vinsant, A&M 8-5

No. 3 – Grant/Johnson, USC def. Efferding/Szabo, A&M 8-6

Order of Finish: Doubles 2, 3; Singles 1, 2, 4, 6*, 5, 3

*clinched the match

Texas A&M (13-8, 4-2 SEC); USC (17-2)