TAMPA, Florida – The Texas A&M men’s tennis team stormed back from a 3-1 deficit to defeat South Florida, 4-3, Friday afternoon at the USF Varsity Tennis Courts in Tampa, Florida. Junior AJ Catanzariti clinched the win for the Aggies, winning in three-sets on court two over Justin Roberts.
In addition to Catanzariti’s do-or-die victory, the Maroon & White picked up wins from Valentin Vacherot and Jordi Arconada. Vacherot tallied the Aggies’ second point with a 6-4, 6-4 win over Pierre Luquet on court five, while Arconada claimed his second ranked win of the year. The Buenos Aires native, topped No. 83 Albert Barroso 2-6, 6-4, 6-4 on court four.
“I am very happy for Valentin, Jordi and AJ; who laid it all out there today,” Texas A&M men’s tennis head coach Steve Denton said. “Our guys just kept hanging around and found a way to get the team victory. That was an awesome tennis match today. USF was really tough today and I know they are going to have a great season. There were no losers today, the players on both side gave their all.”
No. 16 Arthur Rinderknech jump started the Texas A&M comeback with a 7-6(3), 6-0 win on court one. South Florida picked up singles wins by Vadym Kalyuzhnyy over Hady Habib on court six and Peter Bertran on court three over Max Lunkin.
The Bulls owned a 1-0 advantage to begin the match after picking up the doubles point, Kalyuzhnyy and Nile Heimer topped Arconada and Lunkin and Gozun and Barroso defeated Rinderknech and Vacherot, both by a 6-4 score line.
The Maroon & White will be back in action Sunday afternoon at Florida State. The match will be broadcast on the WatchESPN app and online at http://es.pn/2kosx17, first serve is set for 12pm (CT) at the Scott Speicher Tennis Center in Tallahassee, Florida.
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.
Texas A&M vs University of South Florida
Feb 24, 2017 at Tampa, Fla.
(USF Varsity Tennis Courts)
Texas A&M 4, University of South Florida 3
Singles competition
1. #16 Arthur Rinderknech (TAMU) def. Sasha Gozun (USF) 7-6 (7-3), 6-0
2. AJ Catanzariti (TAMU) def. Justin Roberts (USF) 5-7, 6-1, 7-5
3. Peter Bertran (USF) def. Max Lunkin (TAMU) 6-3, 7-6 (7-3)
4. Jordi Arconada (TAMU) def. #83 Alberto Barroso (USF) 2-6, 6-4, 6-4
5. Valentin Vacherot (TAMU) def. Pierre Luquet (USF) 6-4, 6-4
6. Vadym Kalyuzhnyy (USF) def. Hady Habib (TAMU) 6-2, 6-3
Doubles competition
1. Sasha Gozun/Alberto Barroso (USF) def. Arthur Rinderknech/Valentin Vacherot (TAMU) 6-4
2. Peter Bertran/Justin Roberts (USF) vs. AJ Catanzariti/Hady Habib (TAMU) 5-5, unfinished
3. Vadym Kalyuzhnyy/Nils Heimer (USF) def. Jordi Arconada/Max Lunkin (TAMU) 6-4
Match Notes:
Texas A&M 4-3
University of South Florida 2-4
Order of finish: Doubles (3, 1); Singles (6, 1, 3, 5, 4, 2)
T-3:00 A-124
Story courtesy of Texas A&M Athletics