Adams rallies Wildcats to 4-3 win vs. Idaho

Sunday, March 12

Abilene

11 a.m.

Abilene Christian

Idaho

Photo by: Shawn Best

3/12/2017 5:27:00 PM | Men's Tennis

ABILENE – Junior Henry Adams rallied from a 5-0 deficit in his second set at No. 6 to pull off an incredible 7-5, 7-5 victory over Guilherme Scarpelli, sending the Abilene Christian men's tennis team to a 4-3 win over Idaho Sunday on the indoor courts of the Teague Events Center.

The Wildcats snapped the Vandals' six-game winning streak and improved to 11-8 with the victory, while Idaho fell to 7-3.

Adams' win was his seventh of the spring, and was nearly pushed to a third set after Scarpelli jumped out to a 5-0 lead. But Adams battled back to win some tough points, and after cutting the deficit to 5-2, he sensed his opposition was beginning to tighten up.

Head coach Hutton Jones was extremely pleased with the end result, and passed along some praise to the crowd for creating an 'electric environment.'

"They had it rocking in here," said Jones, whose team has won its last three matches. "It was just a great competitive match from start to finish and the crowd was really into each and every point. And playing indoors, it creates a different dynamic because we're only playing three matches at a time and that offers more excitement."

The Wildcats started today's dual down a point after the Vandals won doubles. ACU's No. 1 and 2 teams exchanged 6-4 decisions to create a quick deadlock, and then Idaho's No. 3 tandem of Scarpelli and Felipe Fonseca slipped past ACU's Sebastian Langdon and Jonathan Sheehy in a tiebreaker, 7-6 (2).

Following doubles, the top three players for each teams took to the courts and the Wildcats were able to tie the score at 2-2 with Joshua Sheehy and Nico Agritelley winning at No. 1 and 2. Sheehy beat Mark Kovacs, 6-2, 7-6 (5) for his 10th win of the season, and Agritelley bested Fonseca at No. 2, 6-2, 6-4, for his third-straight win that lifted his spring record to 9-7.

Idaho, however, would take the lead once more after Esteban Santibanez defeated Langdon at No. 5, 6-3, 7-5. But Hunter Holman was able to hold off Lucas Coutinho at No. 4, 6-2, 7-6 to tie the score a final time at 3-3, and then Adams scored the clincher.

Holman currently leads the team with 11 victories.

ACU returns to action later this week with a Friday match in Houston vs. Dartmouth. The Wildcats return home next Sunday for a 11:44 a.m. dual vs. their Southland Conference rivals from Nicholls.

Abilene Christian 4, Idaho 3
Mar 12, 2017 at Abilene, Texas (Teague Events Center)

Singles competition
1. Josh Sheehy (ACU) def. Kovacs, Mark (UI) 6-2, 7-6 (7-5)
2. Nico Agritelley (ACU) def. Fonseca, Felipe (UI) 6-2, 6-4
3. Neto, Carlos (UI) def. Jonathan Sheehy (ACU) 6-4, 7-5
4. Hunter Holman (ACU) def. Coutinho, Lucas (UI) 6-2, 7-6
5. Santibanez, Esteban (UI) def. Sebastian Langdon (ACU) 6-3, 7-5
6. Henry Adams (ACU) def. Scarpelli, Guilherme (UI) 7-5, 7-5

Doubles competition
1. Kovacs, Mark/Neto, Carlos (UI) def. Henry Adams/Nico Agritelley (ACU) 6-4
2. Josh Sheehy/Paul M. Domanski (ACU) def. Coutinho, Lucas/Santibanez, Esteban (UI) 6-4
3. Fonseca, Felipe/Scarpelli, Guilherme (UI) def. Sebastian Langdon/Jonathan Sheehy (ACU) 7-6 (7-2)

Match Notes
Idaho 7-3
Abilene Christian 11-8
Order of finish: Doubles (2,1,3); Singles (2,3,1,5,4,6)