Tennis: Men bounce back, women fall flat to cap ITA Weekend
If Saturday was Opening Day for the Texas A&M tennis teams, Sunday must have been Opposite Day. The Aggie men's and women's teams each did an about-face after their season-opening matches, for better and worse.
The 11th-ranked women, coming off of a dominant performance against North Texas, floundered their way through a 4-2 loss to TCU.
The girls started slowly, and the teams #3 doubles tandem, Anna Mamalat and Stefania Hristov, lost the first match of the day, 4-6. The other two doubles matches were tight, until late breaks on courts one and three allowed the home team to take the first point of the day.
Much like the Aggie men yesterday, the women won the doubles point, but were unable to capitalize on it. Ines Deheza, coming off of a knee injury, was the first Aggie to go down, losing 4-6, 4-6. The other 5 matches each went into pivotal third sets, but TCU jumped out to an early lead in four of them.
Anna Mamalat redeemed her doubles loss with a victory at the 5 spot, but TCU was just too much for Texas A&M to handle. The Horned Frogs easily took the third sets at spots 1, 2, and 6, to clinch the victory.
Head Coach Howard Joffe was clearly unhappy with the loss, but got some positives out of it.
"Very disappointing," he said, "and yet, this was an excellent match for us, because it's going to put a little good mileage on us, competitively."
The Aggie girls looked like a different team than the one that took down North Texas yesterday. Here's hoping they can make another 180 and bounce back next week.
Coming off of their own loss to the TCU Horned Frogs on Saturday, the Texas A&M men's tennis team, ranked 10th nationally, needed a pick-me-up. Matched up with #33 San Diego, the Ags got just that.
The Aggies breezed through the doubles point. A.J. Catanzariti and Aruhur Rinderknech, the hosts' #3 doubles team, were the first to finish, winning 6-2. They were shortly followed by the duo of Jeremy Efferding and Jordan Szabo, who secured the point for the Aggies.
Once singles started, the Aggies kept their collective foot on the gas pedal. Efferding came through with the first win at the 3 spot, which was quickly followed up by two more wins from Catanzariti and Rinderknech.
Rinderknech's win was particularly satisfying, as the freshman from Paris lost his first collegiate match against TCU the day before. The positive outcome will play a big role in his confidence moving forward. Head Coach Steve Denton commented on his freshman's performance:
"These boys need a taste of victory," Denton said. "Losing yesterday, you either get better from it or learn from it, and I think they learned from it. And I think they'll be better players, as a result."
The Aggie men got a much-needed win on Sunday and hope to carry that trend into next week.
Texas A&M's tennis teams return to the court next Sunday. The women will take on the #3 North Carolina Tar Heels in Houston, while the men match up with Ohio State in College Station.
The 11th-ranked women, coming off of a dominant performance against North Texas, floundered their way through a 4-2 loss to TCU.
The girls started slowly, and the teams #3 doubles tandem, Anna Mamalat and Stefania Hristov, lost the first match of the day, 4-6. The other two doubles matches were tight, until late breaks on courts one and three allowed the home team to take the first point of the day.
Much like the Aggie men yesterday, the women won the doubles point, but were unable to capitalize on it. Ines Deheza, coming off of a knee injury, was the first Aggie to go down, losing 4-6, 4-6. The other 5 matches each went into pivotal third sets, but TCU jumped out to an early lead in four of them.
Anna Mamalat redeemed her doubles loss with a victory at the 5 spot, but TCU was just too much for Texas A&M to handle. The Horned Frogs easily took the third sets at spots 1, 2, and 6, to clinch the victory.
Head Coach Howard Joffe was clearly unhappy with the loss, but got some positives out of it.
"Very disappointing," he said, "and yet, this was an excellent match for us, because it's going to put a little good mileage on us, competitively."
The Aggie girls looked like a different team than the one that took down North Texas yesterday. Here's hoping they can make another 180 and bounce back next week.
Coming off of their own loss to the TCU Horned Frogs on Saturday, the Texas A&M men's tennis team, ranked 10th nationally, needed a pick-me-up. Matched up with #33 San Diego, the Ags got just that.
The Aggies breezed through the doubles point. A.J. Catanzariti and Aruhur Rinderknech, the hosts' #3 doubles team, were the first to finish, winning 6-2. They were shortly followed by the duo of Jeremy Efferding and Jordan Szabo, who secured the point for the Aggies.
Once singles started, the Aggies kept their collective foot on the gas pedal. Efferding came through with the first win at the 3 spot, which was quickly followed up by two more wins from Catanzariti and Rinderknech.
Rinderknech's win was particularly satisfying, as the freshman from Paris lost his first collegiate match against TCU the day before. The positive outcome will play a big role in his confidence moving forward. Head Coach Steve Denton commented on his freshman's performance:
"These boys need a taste of victory," Denton said. "Losing yesterday, you either get better from it or learn from it, and I think they learned from it. And I think they'll be better players, as a result."
The Aggie men got a much-needed win on Sunday and hope to carry that trend into next week.
Texas A&M's tennis teams return to the court next Sunday. The women will take on the #3 North Carolina Tar Heels in Houston, while the men match up with Ohio State in College Station.
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