No. 11 Texas A&M Rallies, Downs No. 18 Duke 4-2

Saturday, January 24

Raleigh, N.C.

11:30 a.m.

Duke University

Texas A&M

Duke men's tennis player Pedro Rodenas gets ready for a swing and keeps his eyes on the ball during a match.

Photo by: Duke Athletics

No. 11 Texas A&M Rallies, Downs No. 18 Duke 4-2

1/24/2026 4:05:00 PM | Men's Tennis

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RALEIGH, N.C. – In a fight for an ITA Kickoff Weekend Championship, the No. 18 Duke men's tennis team held a 2-0 lead, but No. 11 Texas A&M proved to be too much in the later singles stages, coming back for a 4-2 victory.

The Blue Devils won the doubles point and Pedro Rodenas took his singles match in straight sets to give Duke a 2-0 advantage before the Aggies ran off four consecutive singles matches to complete the comeback.

How It Happened

Just like Friday, Duke earned a quick first doubles win as Pedro Rodenas and Cooper Williams topped Theo Papamalamis and Togan Tokac, 6-2, on court one. Duke's pair turned a 1-1 tie into a 5-1 lead before closing out the match.
On court two, Texas A&M's 29th-ranked duo of Alex Frusina and Kholo Montsi topped Dylan Long and Gerard Planelles Ripoll, 6-4, to even the doubles action. Duke's pair took a 2-1 lead, but the Aggies answered with four consecutive wins to lead 4-2. The Blue Devils got the set to 5-4 but could not force a tie.
For the second consecutive day, the doubles decision came down to court three. This time, Teddy Truwit and Alexander Visser came away with a 6-4 victory against Tiago Pires and Markus Molder to allow Duke to take the doubles point. Duke's tandem immediately took a 2-0 lead, but Texas A&M rallied to trail just 3-2. The Aggies trailed 4-3 and 5-4, but the Blue Devils closed out the match.
Rodenas pushed the Blue Devils ahead 2-0 with a 6-4, 6-0 victory on court two versus No. 73 Frusina. The two were even at 3-3 in the opening set before Rodenas won nine of the last 10 games to take the match. Rodenas upped his dual match record to 4-0, all on court two.
Texas A&M got its first point with a Papamalamis 7-6 (3), 6-2 triumph against Williams on court one. Papamalamis led 5-2 in the first set before Williams stormed back to force the tiebreaker. Papamalamis hopped ahead 5-1 in the tiebreaker to take control and earn the opening set. In the second, Papamalamis held 2-0 and 4-1 advantages before closing out the match. Williams is now 3-1 on court one this spring.
Pires evened the match at 2-2 with a 6-2, 4-6, 6-4 victory against Planelles Ripoll on court four. After dropping the first game, Pires won six of the next seven to take the opening set. Trailing 3-2 in the second set, Planelles Ripoll responded by winning four of the next five to send the match to a a decisive third set. Planelles Ripoll kept the momentum rolling into the third set by capturing two of the first three for a 2-1 edge. He then led 3-2, but Pires captured three of the final four to take the match.
Tokac gave Texas A&M its first lead of the day with a with a 6-3, 6-4 triumph against Long on court five. Tokac led 2-0 and 4-1 in the opening set. In the second, Tokac turned a 1-1 tie into a 4-2 lead. Long got it to 4-3, but Tokac went up 5-3 before securing the victory.
No. 112 Montsi secured the clinch for the Aggies with a 7-6 (5), 5-7, 6-1 triumph against Visser on court three. Visser led 3-2 in the first set before Montsi rallied to take a 5-4 lead. Visser answered to knot the set at 5-5 and 6-6 to send it to the tiebreaker. The two were close throughout the extra session before Montsi captured the final two points. In the second, the two were even until Visser flipped a 5-5 tie into a 7-5 set win. Montsi bounced back in the third set winning six of seven to send Texas A&M to the team indoor championship.

Up Next

Duke hits the road next weekend for tests at No. 25 Illinois and No. 23 Kentucky. The Blue Devils face the Fighting Illini at 6 p.m. Friday before a 1 p.m. Sunday match at the Wildcats.

Results
Doubles (1,2,3)
1. Pedro Rodenas/Cooper Williams (DU) def. Theo Papamalamis/Togan Tokac (TAMU) 6-2
2. No. 29 Alex Frusina/Kholo Montsi (TAMU) def. Dylan Long/Gerard Planelles Ripoll (DU) 6-4
3. Teddy Truwit/Alexander Visser (DU) def. Tiago Pires/Markus Molder 6-4

Singles (2,1,4,5,3)
1. Theo Papamalamis (TAMU) def. Cooper Williams (DU) 7-6 (3), 6-2
2. Pedro Rodenas (DU) def. No. 73 Alex Frusina (TAMU) 6-4, 6-0
3. No. 112 Kholo Montsi (TAMU) def. Alexander Visser (DU) 7-6 (5), 5-7, 6-1
4. Tiago Pires (TAMU) def. Gerard Planelles Ripoll (DU) 6-2, 4-6, 6-4
5. Togan Tokac (TAMU) def. Dylan Long (DU) 6-3, 6-4
6. Saahith Jayaraman (DU) vs. Markus Molder (TAMU) 6-6 (2-1), unfinished

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