COLLEGE STATION – Texas A&M’s ninth-ranked men’s tennis team swept a pair of matches against ranked teams Sunday afternoon at the George P. Mitchell Tennis Center. The Aggies overpowered No. 13 Ole Miss 4-0 to in Sunday’s first match, followed by a 4-3 win over No. 74 UTSA in the night-cap.
With the wins A&M moved to 14-3 on the year and 8-1 in SEC play, the Aggies maintained their stronghold on second place in the SEC standings trailing No. 5 Georgia (16-2, 9-0) and holding a one and a half-match lead over No. 34 Mississippi State (15-5, 6-2) ahead of next month’s SEC Tournament in College Station. Ole Miss falls to 14-6 on the season and 5-3 against league opponents, UTSA falls to 12-7 on the year.
“Obviously we got off to a good start winning the doubles point against Ole Miss,” Texas A&M men’s tennis head coach Steve Denton said. “I thought our guys dealt with some difficult blustery conditions, the guys competed very well against Ole Miss. I was pleased with the effort, especially after having to change our doubles lineup, they made a difference for us. Our doubles teams really made a difference for us and we needed the wins in both matches today.”
For the 13th time this spring the maroon and white opened the match winning the doubles point, sophomore Max Lunkin and junior Shane Vinsant defeated Gustav Hansson and Stefan Lindmark on doubles court two to open play. After the freshman duo of AJ Catanzariti and Arthur Rinderknech suffered just their third loss this spring.
As all eyes shifted to the headliner on court one, seniors Jeremy Efferding and Jordan Szabo did not disappoint, moving to 3-0 on court one and winning their fifth straight overall. The nation’s 32nd-ranked pair overpowered Nik Scholtz and Zvonimir Babic to open scoring.
As the pivotal conference match-up moved into singles play the Aggies deep lineup flexed their muscle. The home-team took four-of-six first sets and quickly put the match away winning on courts four, five and six. Freshman Jordi Arconada put the second point on the board, defeating William Kallberg 6-3, 7-6(1) on court five.
“Jordi is really starting to play some ball, he worked really hard the first month learning how to play college tennis,” Denton said. “He waited his turn and is really coming on lately. He played a really good match against [William] Kallberg, a senior that played two for them most of last season. For Jordi to win the first set that convincingly, then come back and play a really good tiebreaker in the second set was really good for us.”
Shortly thereafter No. 79 Catanzariti put away Babic on court five; winning 6-3, 7-6(3) on court four. Just under 10 minutes later the final nail was put in the coffin for the Rebels as Lunkin defeated Vinod Gowda on court six. The Moscow native improved to 7-1 this spring and 4-1 in league matches.
“Our younger players came through for us pretty well,” Denton added. “With Jordi and AJ both winning tie-breakers in the second set, that really helped us secure that team victory. The man of the match was probably Max Lunkin, he did a really great job in doubles with Shane [Vinsant]. He was the best player on the court and was able to clinch the match for us. I’m really proud of him because he has been working really hard in practice.”
Moving into the day’s second match the Aggies doubles play held form, opening the match with the point for 14th time this spring. Vinsant and Lunkin teamed up for their second doubles win on the day, defeating Jake Rother and Joel Rubio on doubles court three. Efferding and Szabo were tripped up by Tito Moreiras and Tomas Stillman.
With the point in the balance the Aggies freshman duo were put to task. Catanzariti and Rinderknech proved their metal with a 8-6 victory in the doubles tiebreaker. The pair improved to 11-2 this spring and a perfect 2-0 on doubles court two, defeating Yannick Junger and Diogo Casa on court two.
The maroon and white captured the next two point to put the Roadrunners neck to the chopping block. Freshman continued to rule the day, Rinderknech claimed his second win Sunday, defeating Moreiras 6-3, 6-2 on court three followed by Arconada picking up his second win of the day, defeating Rubio 6-4, 6-4 on court four.
UTSA raced back into the match winning the next three points and knotting the score at three points apiece. Casa put the first orange and blue point on the board, defeating sophomore Frankie Colunga 6-3, 6-2 on court six. Szabo was the next to fall, bested by Joao Riquelme 6-1, 7-5 on court five. The final UTA point of the day came from No. 82 Stillman over No. 59 Efferding, 0-6, 6-4, 6-2 on court two.
Catanzariti was the final match standing deep into the third set against Junger on court two. The reigning SEC Freshman of the Week broke the UTSA senior’s serve twice in the pivotal third set and rallied to take the 6-2, 3-6, 6-3 victory to clinch the Aggies sixth win in a row. The Aggies freshman leads the squad with 12 dual wins on the year including an impressive 7-1 record against SEC opponents.
The Aggies will return to the road with a midweek contest at former SWC-foe Rice at the George R. Brown Tennis Center in Houston Wednesday evening at 5 p.m.
Visit 12thMan.com for more information on Texas A&M men’s tennis. Aggie fans also can keep up to date with the A&M men’s tennis team on Twitter by following @AggieMTEN or on Facebook at Facebook.com/AggieMensTennis.
#9 Texas A&M 4, #13 Ole Miss 0
Texas A&M (13-3, 8-1); Ole Miss (13-6, 5-3)
Singles – Order of finish (5, 4, 6)
1. #59 Jeremy Efferding (TAMU) vs. #15 Nik Scholtz (OM) 6-3, 5-3, unfinished
2. #67 Shane Vinsant (TAMU) vs. #84 Stefan Lindmark (OM) 5-7, 3-4, unfinished
3. Arthur Rinderknech (TAMU) vs. Gustav Hansson (OM) 4-6, 5-5, unfinished
4. #79 AJ Catanzariti (TAMU) def. Zvonimir Babic (OM) 6-1, 7-6 (7-3)
5. Jordi Arconada (TAMU) def. William Kallberg (OM) 6-3, 7-6 (7-1)
6. Max Lunkin (TAMU) def. Vinod Gowda (OM) 6-3, 6-4
Doubles – Order of finish (2, 3, 1)
1. #32 Jeremy Efferding/Jordan Szabo (TAMU) def. Nik Scholtz/Zvonimir Babic (OM) 6-2
2. Max Lunkin/Shane Vinsant (TAMU) def. Gustav Hansson/Stefan Lindmark (OM) 6-2
3. William Kallberg/Grey Hamilton (OM) def. AJ Catanzariti/Arthur Rinderknech (TAMU) 6-3
#9 Texas A&M 4, #74 UTSA 3
Texas A&M (14-3, 7-1); UTSA (12-7)
Singles – Order of finish (3, 4, 6, 5, 1, 2)
1. #82 Tomas Stillman (UTSA) def. #59 Jeremy Efferding (TAMU) 0-6, 6-4, 6-2
2. #79 AJ Catanzariti (TAMU) def. Yannick Junger (UTSA) 6-2, 3-6, 6-3
3. Arthur Rinderknech (TAMU) def. Tito Moreiras (UTSA) 6-3, 6-2
4. Jordi Arconada (TAMU) def. Joel Rubio (UTSA) 6-4, 6-4
5. Joao Riquelme (UTSA) def. Jordan Szabo (TAMU) 6-1, 7-5
6. Diogo Casa (UTSA) def. Frankie Colunga (TAMU) 6-3, 6-2
Doubles – Order of finish (3, 1, 2)
1. Tomas Stillman/Tito Moreiras (UTSA) def. #32 Jeremy Efferding/Jordan Szabo (TAMU) 6-3
2. AJ Catanzariti/Arthur Rinderknech (TAMU) def. Yannick Junger/Diogo Casa (UTSA) 7-6 (8-6)
3. Shane Vinsant/Max Lunkin (TAMU) def. Jake Rother/Joel Rubio (UTSA) 6-3
Story courtesy of Texas A&M Athletics