HOUSTON – Alejandro Jacome and Kristof Minarik each dropped their opening singles match at the 2024 AAC Individual Championships on Thursday afternoon at George R. Brown Tennis Center.
 
Jacome fell in his match to Temple's Martim Marujo in straight sets, 6-2, 7-6 (5). In the second set, Jacome battled back from down 4-1 to force a tiebreak at six games all but could not convert in the pivotal breaker.
 
Minarik fell in a very tight match to Florida Atlantic's John Bernard, 6-2, 4-6, 7-6 (3). After dropping the first set, Minarik battled back to win the second and was up 5-4 in the third, but could not complete the comeback, ultimately falling in a third-set tiebreak to the Owl from Boca Raton, Florida.
 
The two Shockers will pair up tomorrow to compete in the main draw doubles bracket after having a first-round bye. They are slated to play the Memphis duo of Pablo Alemany and Harry Rock at 10:00 AM Central Time for a spot in the doubles semifinals.
 
In singles, both will play until they lose in the back draw of the tournament. Tomorrow, Minarik will play either Rice's Emir Sendogan or Alemany of Memphis at 2:30 PM and Jacome will play Charlotte's Vasco Prata at 11:30 AM. If Jacome wins, he will play either UAB's Noah Malige or South Florida's Francisco Llanes at 2:30 PM later that day.