COLLEGE STATION, Texas – The No. 7 Texas A&M men’s tennis team defeated Ole Miss, 6-1, Friday evening at the George P Mitchel Tennis Center in College Station, Texas. The Aggies (15-4, 8-0 SEC) avenged a 4-3 defeat at the hands of the Rebels (8-7, 3-5) at the end of January in the ITA Kickoff Consolation Match.
The Aggies opened the day claiming the doubles point for the seventh time this season. After Aleksandre Bakshi and Valentin Vacherot dropped a 6-3 decision on court three to Filip Kraljevic and Tim Sandkaulen, Texas A&M claimed the final two doubles matches to carry the day’s first point. Jordi Arconada and Hady Habib dropped Zvonimir Babic and Ricardo Jorge, 6-3, followed by AJ Catanzariti and Arthur Rinderknech topping No. 13 Fabian Fallert and Grey Hamilton, 6-4, to secure the point.
The Maroon & White carried the momentum into singles match, taking five of six first sets. No. 116 Catanzariti doubled the Texas A&M advantage, bouncing Jorge 6-1, 6-2 on court three. Moments later Habib pushed the Aggies ahead 3-0, besting Hamilton 7-5, 6-1 on court six.
In a race the clinch the match, Arconada was the hero for the seventh time this season. The Buenos Aires, Argentina native, defeated Sandkaulen 6-3, 7-6 to win his 14th straight match and secure the victory for Texas A&M. No. 12 Rinderknech tacked on a fifth point for the Aggies, defeating No. 38 Hansson 6-1, 7-6 on court one. Bakshi added the sixth point onto Texas A&M’s tally, topping Kraljevic 6-3, 6-7, 7-6 on court five. Ole Miss claimed the final point of the night as Fallert outlasted Vacherot 6-4, 3-6, 7-6(6) on court four to make the final score 6-1 in the Aggies favor.
The Maroon & White will host Arkansas Sunday afternoon 1p.m. (CT) in their second to last home match of the regular season. The Aggies will take to the road next weekend, taking on No. 17 Mississippi State next Friday followed by a Sunday match-up at Auburn.
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.
Post Match Quote
Steve Denton, Texas A&M Men’s Tennis Head Coach
About the win…
“We were really pleased with winning the doubles point today. Obviously that helped our confidence and gave us momentum heading into the singles matched. We are doing a good job of competing late in sets and in close games. We are having success there because the guys are doing a good job of fighting through the adversity in these matches and playing good tennis in the big points. That is the difference in these types of matches, look at how many tie-breakers and close sets we won today. We were able to secure those tight points and keep the momentum in our favor.”
About Jordi’s match today…
“Jordi is playing with a lot of confidence and self-belief. He is playing very well in the big points and finding a way to win those close sets. He fought through a tight second set and found a way to just keep battling even when the match got close. He is competing really hard and playing every point. He is keeping his emotions under control and for him to play well he has to find a way to do all of those things. I think he is moving really well on the court and I think that has helped him in these last couple matches. His footwork has bene really good and he is not giving free points away. He is a tough out when he does not give points away, when you play each game to four points and none of them are freebies, he is a tough guy to beat.”
Tennis Match Results
Ole Miss vs Texas A&M
Mar 31, 2017 at College Station, TX
(George P Mitchell Tennis Center)
#7 Texas A&M 6, Ole Miss 1
Singles competition
1. #12 Arthur Rinderknech (TAMU) def. #38 Gustav Hansson (OM) 6-1, 7-6 (13-11)
2. #119 Jordi Arconada (TAMU) def. Tim Sandkaulen (OM) 6-3, 7-6 (7-3)
3. #116 AJ Catanzariti (TAMU) def. Ricardo Jorge (OM) 6-1, 6-2
4. Fabian Fallert (OM) def. Valentin Vacherot (TAMU) 6-4, 3-6, 7-6 (8-6)
5. Aleksandre Bakshi (TAMU) def. Filip Kraljevic (OM) 6-3, 6-7 (7-1), 7-6 (8-6)
6. Hady Habib (TAMU) def. Grey Hamilton (OM) 7-5, 6-1
Doubles competition
1. AJ Catanzariti/Arthur Rinderknech (TAMU) def. #13 Fabian Fallert/Grey Hamilton (OM) 6-4
2. Jordi Arconada/Hady Habib (TAMU) def. Zvonimir Babic/Ricardo Jorge (OM) 6-3
3. Filip Kraljevic/Tim Sandkaulen (OM) def. Aleksandre Bakshi/Valentin Vacherot (TAMU) 6-3
Match Notes:
Ole Miss 8-7, 3-5
Texas A&M 15-4, 8-0; National ranking #7
Order of finish: Doubles (3, 2, 1); Singles (3, 6, 2, 1, 5, 4)
Story courtesy of Texas A&M Athletics