Men's Tennis: #9 Aggies sink Commodores, top #11 Vanderbilt 4-1
Texas A&M's men's tennis team has done it again.
With a 4-1 win over #11 Vanderbilt on Friday night, the Aggies (8-2, 4-1 SEC) notched their third victory over a top-15 team in the 2015 season. It wasn't your typical A&M men's tennis match, however.
Normally, Texas A&M would come out of the gates hot, forcing the opponent to surrender the crucial doubles point before heading to singles. That didn't happen on Friday.
The Aggies started slow, and two out of three doubles teams dropped their first service game. The early deficit continued as Jeremy Efferding and Jordan Szabo lost a 2-6 decision. A.J Catanzariti and Arthur Rinderknech slowed the bleeding with a 6-4 win, but it wasn't enough.
Harrison Adams and Shane Vinsant, the #9 duo in the nation, climbed back into their set after an early break, but weren't able to keep the momentum and ended up falling 4-6.
That gave Vanderbilt the point and an early 1-0 lead. Things were beginning to look sour for a Texas A&M team that usually relies on doubles as its strength.
Then singles started, and everything changed.
The Ags responded wonderfully to the unfamiliar situation, and five out of six singles players won their first set. A.J. Catanzariti controlled his opponent from the get-go and waltzed through a 6-1, 6-4 win while most courts were just starting the second set.
He wasn't alone. Across the board, the Aggies woke up.
Freshman Arthur Rinderknech was the second Ag to clinch. After a grueling first set, he pounced on the Commodore across the net and didn't let up until he emerged with a 7-5, 6-3 victory.
A few minutes later, Jordi Arconada, a freshman in just his second match for the Maroon and White, dispatched his opponent 7-5, 6-2 and nabbed his first collegiate win. Jeremy Efferding followed him, capping off the flurry of points with a 6-3, 6-4 win on court 1.
Head Coach Steve Denton was pleased with his team's response to adversity after the match.
"I think those kind of matches where this team has to kind of gut it out and come from behind a little bit -- it's good for them," he said. "It's good for their character as a team; it's good for their confidence -- that they can come back in matches. If we get this kind of pressure in these kinds of matches, I think it'll help us to be better."
The Aggies will take the courts again on Sunday at noon against another big test in #4 Illinois.
With a 4-1 win over #11 Vanderbilt on Friday night, the Aggies (8-2, 4-1 SEC) notched their third victory over a top-15 team in the 2015 season. It wasn't your typical A&M men's tennis match, however.
Normally, Texas A&M would come out of the gates hot, forcing the opponent to surrender the crucial doubles point before heading to singles. That didn't happen on Friday.
The Aggies started slow, and two out of three doubles teams dropped their first service game. The early deficit continued as Jeremy Efferding and Jordan Szabo lost a 2-6 decision. A.J Catanzariti and Arthur Rinderknech slowed the bleeding with a 6-4 win, but it wasn't enough.
Harrison Adams and Shane Vinsant, the #9 duo in the nation, climbed back into their set after an early break, but weren't able to keep the momentum and ended up falling 4-6.
That gave Vanderbilt the point and an early 1-0 lead. Things were beginning to look sour for a Texas A&M team that usually relies on doubles as its strength.
Then singles started, and everything changed.
The Ags responded wonderfully to the unfamiliar situation, and five out of six singles players won their first set. A.J. Catanzariti controlled his opponent from the get-go and waltzed through a 6-1, 6-4 win while most courts were just starting the second set.
He wasn't alone. Across the board, the Aggies woke up.
Freshman Arthur Rinderknech was the second Ag to clinch. After a grueling first set, he pounced on the Commodore across the net and didn't let up until he emerged with a 7-5, 6-3 victory.
A few minutes later, Jordi Arconada, a freshman in just his second match for the Maroon and White, dispatched his opponent 7-5, 6-2 and nabbed his first collegiate win. Jeremy Efferding followed him, capping off the flurry of points with a 6-3, 6-4 win on court 1.
Head Coach Steve Denton was pleased with his team's response to adversity after the match.
"I think those kind of matches where this team has to kind of gut it out and come from behind a little bit -- it's good for them," he said. "It's good for their character as a team; it's good for their confidence -- that they can come back in matches. If we get this kind of pressure in these kinds of matches, I think it'll help us to be better."
The Aggies will take the courts again on Sunday at noon against another big test in #4 Illinois.
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