COLLEGE STATION, Texas – The No. 7 Texas A&M men’s tennis team waited out a three hour rain delay to sweep Arkansas, 4-0, at the George P. Mitchell Tennis Center in College Station, Texas Sunday afternoon. The Aggies (15-4, 9-0 SEC) remained undefeated in conference play to keep pace with No. 12 Georgia (13-6, 9-0) atop the SEC rankings, while the Razorbacks fell to 13-10 overall and 4-5 in league play.
The Maroon & White earned the doubles point for the second straight match and eighth time this season. Jordi Arconada and Hady Habib were the first pair off the court in doubles play, topping Oscar Mesquida and Adam Sanjurjo 6-3 on the second court. A few minutes later the Aggies secured the point as Aleksandre Bakshi and Max Lunkin bested Johan den Toom and Juan Marino on the third court, 7-5.
Texas A&M maintained the pressure on the Fayetteville group, claiming first sets on five of six singles courts. Habib doubled the home team’s advantage by claiming his 11th straight win, defeating Marino 6-1, 6-4 on court six. The Aggies lead crept up to 3-0 as No. 116 AJ Catanzariti topped Sanjurjo 6-3, 6-4 on court three.
For the eighth time this season, No. 119 Arconada secured the Aggies’ fourth point of the match. The Buenos Aires, Argentine native, picked up his 15thstraight win, topping No. 26 Jose Salazar 6-4, 6-3 on court two. The win was the second highest ranked victory of Arconada’s career, previously topping then No. 16 Hugo Di Feo of Ohio State in February 2016.
Texas A&M will take to the road next weekend, taking on No. 17 Mississippi State 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 Quotes
Steve Denton, Texas A&M Men’s Tennis Head Coach
About the match against Arkansas…
“From start to finish that was a pretty good match for us. We looked good in the doubles and we carried over that energy into the singles, so I’m pleased with where we are going right now with this team. It’s a luxury to start with that doubles point and it’s the same for the guys as well. This weekend we did a little better in the doubles and got those doubles points. If we can continue to be successful there I feel really good about where this team is going to go and who knows maybe we are hitting our stride right now.”
About the doubles point…
“I think it was pretty good move, to have Max [Lunkin] in with Aleksandre [Bakshi] at No. 3 doubles and I felt like they did a good job there, they came through at the end and there was good energy there. Max is a senior and knows what it’s like to be in these matches. He stepped up and I was really proud of him coming in there after not playing for a week or two and then being in a pressure cooker and coming through.
On the team’s mindset this season…
“We’ve set different goals this year. We wanted to be a hard working tenacious mentally tough team and just take them one at a time. After we started the season and got hit in the nose a couple of times, I’ve been proud of how our guys responded to that and we’ve been building momentum and getting better. All throughout this season, I haven’t felt like we have hit our stride, but I think this weekend we are getting closer and like I said it needs to happen in the singles and doubles and it needs to happen on every court. We are getting pretty close to hitting that level we are looking for and the timing of that is good.”
Tennis Match Results
Arkansas vs Texas A&M
Apr 02, 2017 at College Station, TX
(George P Mitchell Tennis Center)
#7 Texas A&M 4, Arkansas 0
Singles competition
1. #12 Arthur Rinderknech (TAMU) vs. #10 Mike Redlicki (AR) 6-2, 4-2, unfinished
2. #119 Jordi Arconada (TAMU) def. #26 Jose Salazar (AR) 6-4, 6-3
3. #116 AJ Catanzariti (TAMU) def. Adam Sanjurjo (AR) 6-3, 6-4
4. Valentin Vacherot (TAMU) vs. Oscar Mesquida (AR) 6-4, 6-5, unfinished
5. Aleksandre Bakshi (TAMU) vs. Johan den Toom (AR) def. 7-5, 4-5
6. Hady Habib (TAMU) def. Juan Marino (AR) 6-1, 6-4
Doubles competition
1. AJ Catanzariti/Arthur Rinderknech (TAMU) vs. #37 Mike Redlicki/Jose Salazar (AR) 5-6, unfinished
2. Jordi Arconada/Hady Habib (TAMU) def. Oscar Mesquida/Adam Sanjurjo (AR) 6-3
3. Aleksandre Bakshi/Max Lunkin (TAMU) def. Johan den Toom/Juan Marino (AR) 7-5
Match Notes:
Arkansas 13-10, 4-5
Texas A&M 16-4, 9-0; National ranking #7
Order of finish: Doubles (2,3); Singles (6,3,2)
T-2:10 A-220
Story courtesy of Texas A&M Athletics