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Texas A&M
No. 5 Men’s Tennis claims outright SEC regular season championship
04.05.2025 | Men's Tennis
The Longhorns win the title in their first year in the Southeastern Conference after a 4-1 victory in the Cotton Holdings Lone Star Showdown at No. 13 Texas A&M.
College Station, Texas – No. 5 Texas Men's Tennis claimed the outright Southeastern Conference regular season championship with a 4-1 win in the Cotton Holdings Lone Star Showdown at No. 13 Texas A&M on Saturday.
The Longhorns secured the title in their first year in the SEC, and it marks the fifth time in the last six opportunities they have won at least a share of a regular-season conference championship, excluding the pandemic-shortened season of 2020 where one was not awarded. It is the fourth outright title in that span, including 2019, 2023 and 2024 in the Big 12, and they shared one in that league in 2021.
"I couldn't be prouder of our team or happier for our players," head coach Bruce Berque said. "They have been consistent all season long in the way they've competed for each other, and with the pride they have in playing for Texas. Starting the SEC season 12-0 is no small accomplishment, and this championship is something they'll be able to cherish forever. There is still a lot more tennis to be played, but we are in a good place and excited about the remainder of the season."
adding a new one to the trophy case 🏆🤘#HookEm pic.twitter.com/riVs4TL6Ya
— Texas Men's Tennis (@TexasMTN) April 5, 2025
In the match, Texas prevailed in a dramatic doubles point with a 6-4 win at No. 3, and a 7-6 (7) victory in the deciding match at No. 2. In between, Texas A&M had won in a tiebreaker, 7-6 (5), at No. 1. The Longhorns followed with singles wins by sophomore Lucas Brown at No. 6, and freshman No. 2 Timo Legout at No. 1 for a 3-0 lead. The Aggies picked up one singles win at No. 4, but junior No. 20 Sebastian Gorzny clinched it at No. 2.
took care of business 🤘#HookEm | @TheCottonWatch pic.twitter.com/WTZ2rIaNBf
— Texas Men's Tennis (@TexasMTN) April 5, 2025
Senior Pierre-Yves Bailly and freshman Sebastian Eriksson had been first off the doubles court with their 6-4 win over Ritesh Patil and Lathan Skrobarcek at No. 3. The Longhorns broke both of the Aggies' first two service games on deuce points to start the match on a 3-0 run. The following two games also went to deuce with Texas A&M grabbing both for a break and a hold to get within, 3-2. However, that would be as close as the Aggies would get, as the rest of the match was on serve to the Texas win.
Texas A&M evened doubles as the No. 6 duo of Legout and Brown came up just short in a tiebreaker, 7-6 (5), to the No. 21 pair of Togan Tokac and Theo Papamalamis at No. 1. The Aggies broke first for a 3-2 lead, but the Longhorns broke right back to tie it. The teams later exchanged breaks again as Texas A&M took a 6-5 lead to serve for the match, but Texas responded, winning the only deuce point of the contest to break and deflect a match point on the way to the tiebreaker. There, the teams alternated the first four points starting with the Longhorns, and even though the Aggies snapped that pattern for a 3-2 lead, Texas answered with three-straight for their own for a 5-3 lead. However, Texas A&M closed on a 4-0 run from there for the match.
That turned all attention to No. 2 where Gorzny and junior Jonah Braswell combined for a 7-6 (7) win over Tiago Pires and Alan Magadan to clinch the point. In a very similar match to No. 1, the teams exchanged deuce-point breaks early, first by the Aggies for a 2-1 lead, then by the Longhorns to even it. They did the same again late with Texas A&M breaking for a 6-5 lead, and Texas staving off a match point to break at deuce for the tiebreaker. In the breaker, the Longhorns served first and eventually collected the first mini-break for a 4-2 lead. They maintained that to the same 5-3 lead as the previous match, and although the Aggies again went on a run, it was just 3-0 to give them a 6-5 lead. This time, Texas held its next two serves to regain the lead, and after Texas A&M tied it, 7-7, Gorzny and Braswell got the mini-break they needed to then win in on their next serve, 9-7.
After doubles, Brown posted an efficient 6-2, 6-1 win over Matthis Ross at No. 6 for a 2-0 overall lead. In a match that had only one game reach deuce the entire way, Brown jumped out to a 4-0 lead and then won that deuce point for a hold and a 5-1 lead. The last two games were then also held for his win. After Brown broke and held to begin the second, Ross registered his only game of the set, and Brown finished it from there on a 4-0 run.
A short time later, Legout was almost as efficient with a 6-2, 6-3 win over No. 33 Theo Papamalamis at No. 1. Legout broke and held to open the match and had a break opportunity in the next game at deuce, but Papamalamis managed to hold and then got the break back for 2-2. However, Legout took the set the rest of the way with a 4-0 run that included a deuce point hold for 4-2. Legout pushed Papamalamis to deuce in the first game of the second set, and although Papamalamis held, Legout broke his next serve for a 2-1 lead that he consolidated for 3-1. The next four games were then on serve, including at deuce for Papamalamis to stay within, 4-3, but his next serve also reached deuce, and this time, Legout broke for the 6-3 win and 3-0 overall lead.
Texas A&M got its lone point as No. 58 Braswell was downed by Luke Casper, 6-4, 6-1, at No. 4. In the first set, Casper pushed out to a 4-0 lead that he capped with a deuce point break. Although Braswell answered it to start a 3-0 run to get back on serve, the final three games of the set were all breaks for Casper's 6-4 win. Casper then collected consecutive deuce points to start the second set as part of a 5-0 run on the way to his 6-1 win.
Not long after that, Gorzny provided the clinch and both the SEC and Cotton Holdings Lone Star Showdown titles with a 7-6 (1), 6-4 victory over Alan Magadan at No. 2. In a back-and-forth first set, Gorzny broke to begin the match, but Magadan broke back to start a 3-0 run. Gorzny then put together consecutive deuce-point wins to start a 4-0 run for a 5-3 lead. However, Magadan got the set back on serve with a 3-0 run, and Gorzny held to send it to a tiebreaker. Gorzny then controlled the breaker, winning the first two and last five points for the 7-1 win. In the second set, the first three games were breaks with Magadan doing so first on a deuce point. He was then the first to hold for a 3-1 lead. After Gorzny got the break back for 3-3, Madagan broke back on a deuce point for 4-3, but Gorzny answered it to start a 3-0 run for the victory.
Two matches were then left unfinished with No. 48 Bailly leading his match against Pires, 7-5, 4-3, at No. 3. The players exchanged breaks to begin the match starting with Bailly, and the set stayed on serve from there all the way to 5-5 when Bailly broke on a deuce point and served out the set. In the second, Bailly broke in the first game and moved out to a 4-1 lead with each player winning a deuce point prior to that on Bailly's two service games. Madagan then won the last two games before play stopped.
Eriksson had been involved in the only three-set match and was even with Tokac, 3-6, 6-4, 1-1, at No. 5. In the first set, Tokac broke first for a 4-2 lead, and even though Eriksson broke back on a deuce point, Tokac broke again and held for the 6-3 win. Tokac then broke and held for a 2-0 lead in the second set, but Eriksson got the break back for 3-3 and later broke again for the 6-4 win. Both players then held their lone serves of the third set, starting with Eriksson, when play concluded.
The Longhorns (21-3, 12-0 SEC) close the regular season with the final two contests of their current four-match road stretch at No. 26 Georgia on Friday, April 11, at 6 p.m. ET/5 p.m. CT, and at No. 18 Tennessee on Sunday, April 13, at 1 p.m. ET/12 p.m. CT.
#5 Texas 4, #13 Texas A&M 1
Singles – Order of Finish (6,1,4,2)
1. #2 Timo Legout (TEX) def. #33 Theo Papamalamis (TAMU) 6-2, 6-3
2. #20 Sebastian Gorzny (TEX) def. Alan Magadan (TAMU) 7-6 (1), 6-4
3. Tiago Pires (TAMU) vs. #48 Pierre-Yves Bailly (TEX) 5-7, 3-4, unf.
4. Luke Casper (TAMU) def. #58 Jonah Braswell (TEX) 6-4, 6-1
5. Togan Tokac (TAMU) vs. Sebastian Eriksson (TEX) 6-3, 4-6, 1-1, unf.
6. Lucas Brown (TEX) def. Matthis Ross (TAMU) 6-2, 6-1
Doubles – Order of Finish (3,1,2)
1. #21 Togan Tokac/Theo Papamalamis (TAMU) def. #6 Timo Legout/Lucas Brown (TEX) 7-6 (5)
2. Jonah Braswell/Sebastian Gorzny (TEX) def. Tiago Pires/Alan Magadan (TAMU) 7-6 (7)
3. Pierre-Yves Bailly/Sebastian Eriksson (TEX) def. Ritesh Patil/Lathan Skrobarcek (TAMU) 6-4
Players Mentioned
