CORPUS CHRISTI – Playing on the home courts of perennial Southland Conference juggernauts Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, Abilene Christian men's tennis came up a point short of upsetting the Islanders whose 4-3 victory Saturday at the Thomas J. Henry Tennis Center sent them to their eighth NCAA Championship.
The loss curbed ACU's magnificent season at 22-5 (.815) while the Islanders (19-8) will await the reveal of their NCAA first-round opponent Monday at 5 p.m.
The Wildcats defeated Texas A&M-Corpus Christi 5-2 at home earlier this month, but ran into difficulty trying to replicate those results. For starters, ACU won the doubles point at the Eager Tennis Center on April 6 with the No. 1 and 3 lines each winning, 7-5, but today top-line brothers Joshua and
Jonathan Sheehy were beaten, 6-1, by Okkie Kellerman and Francois Kellerman and the No. 2 all-conference duo of
Cole Lawson and
Jackson Fine lost a 7-6 (3) decision to William Mottet and Thomas Rodrigues.
Losing the doubles point put the Wildcats in the unenviable position of having to win four of six singles matches in front of a relentless and raucous pro-Islander crowd, but ACU did everything it could to ensure no one left early as it was only the second of 10 tournament duals played this weekend to go the distance.
A&M-Corpus Christi moved out to a 3-0 lead with the first two singles matches off the court. Kellerman first reversed a three-set loss in Abilene to
Riley Tran by posting a 6-4, 6-0 triumph over the Wildcats' freshman at No. 5, and then the recently returned
Sebastian Langdon fell, 6-2, 6-3 to Kyohei Yamanaka at No. 6.
But the Wildcats would rally.
Jonathan Sheehy – winner of six-straight matches – got his team on the scoreboard with a No. 2 line win over Francois Kellerman, 6-4, 6-3, and then his brother, Josh, battled back to defeat William Mottet for a second time this month, 6-4, 3-6, 6-2, for his 20th win of the season, tying his career high. Josh, who has been nationally ranked in several ITA polls this season, has a strong chance of qualifying for the NCAA Singles Championship, which will be released Tuesday night.
The match-tying point was earned by junior
Nikolas Moceanu, who bested Thomas Rodrigues, 1-6, 6-2, 7-6 (4) for his 14th win of the spring. His record in three-set matches is a solid 8-3.
The deciding point was left between the Islander senior Carlos Pedrosa and ACU's Southland Conference Freshman of the Year
Dimitris Azoides. Pedrosa won their first meeting in Abilene, 6-3, 6-3, but today he lost the first set, 6-1 before rallying to win the next two 7-6 (4), 6-3. The Islander veteran scored the final three points of the third set after Azoides tied their score at 3-3. Even with the loss Azoides finished second on the team with 18 victories, a majority of which were earned between the No. 3 and 4 positions.
ACU's final singles record this season as a team stands at 102-53 (.658), while its doubles record is 40-26 (.606).
Texas A&M-Corpus Christi 4, Abilene Christian 3
04/27/19 at Corpus Christi, TX (Thomas J Henry Tennis Center)
Singles competition
1.
Josh Sheehy (ACU) def. William Mottet (AMCC) 6-4, 3-6, 6-2
2.
Jonathan Sheehy (ACU) def. Francois Kellerman (AMCC) 6-4, 6-3
3.
Nikolas Moceanu (ACU) def. Thomas Rodrigues (AMCC) 1-6, 6-2, 7-6 (7-4)
4. Carlos Pedrosa (AMCC) def.
Dimitris Azoides (ACU) 1-6, 7-6 (7-4), 6-3
5. Okkie Kellerman (AMCC) def.
Riley Tran (ACU) 6-4, 6-0
6. Kyohei Yamanaka (AMCC) def.
Sebastian Langdon (ACU) 6-2, 6-3
Doubles competition
1. Okkie Kellerman/Francois Kellerman (AMCC) def.
Jonathan Sheehy/
Josh Sheehy (ACU) 6-1
2. William Mottet/Thomas Rodrigues (AMCC) def.
Cole Lawson/
Jackson Fine (ACU) 7-6 (7-3)
3.
Nikolas Moceanu/
Riley Tran (ACU) def. Thibault Frumholz/Kyohei Yamanaka (AMCC) 6-3
Match Notes
Texas A&M-Corpus Christi 19-8
Abilene Christian 22-5
Order of finish: Doubles (1,3,2); Singles (5,6,2,1,3,4)
