COLLEGE STATION, Texas – The No. 10 Texas A&M men’s tennis team clinched the 2017 SEC Championship with a 5-2 victory over No. 11 Georgia Saturday afternoon at the George P Mitchell Tennis Center in College Station, Texas. The Aggies (18-5, 11-1 SEC) claimed a share of the regular season title for the second time in the last three season with the Bulldogs (15-7, 11-1).
After honoring the Aggie’s trio of seniors; Frankie Colunga, James Martell and Max Lunkin; the home team came out on fire in doubles action. Jordi Arconada and Hady Habib topped Paul Oosterbaan and Nathan Ponwith for the first half of the Texas A&M doubles victories. AJ Catanzariti and Arthur Rinderknech clinched the day’s first point with the 6-3 triumph over No. 2 Jan Zielinski and Robert Loeb. The win was the highest ranked win for the junior duo, their previous highest win was over No. 13 Fabian Fallert and Grey Hamilton of Ole Miss on the final day of March.
Wayne Montgomery and Walker Duncan topped Aleksandre Bakshi and Max Lunkin, 6-3, on the third doubles court for the lone doubles win for the visitors.
The Maroon & White maintained the pressure in pursuit of the regular season trophy, winning four of the six first sets in singles play. The Aggies doubled their lead as Valentin Vacherot topped Zielinski 6-3, 6-0 on court four, the freshman improved to 18-3 this year and 9-1 in SEC play.
The Aggies waited it out for their next two points, but they came in quick succession. Bakshi defeated Loeb, 6-4, 6-4, on court six to push the advantage 3-0 for the home team. The Tbilisi, Georgia native picked up his 12th dual win of the spring and 18th overall victory this year.
No. 8 Rinderknech clinched the Aggies second SEC regular-season title, topping No. 60 Ponwith 6-0, 6-4 on court one. The Paris, France native improved to 15-7 against ranked foes and 9-2 in league play. The clinch was the second of the year for the junior.
After the team match was decided, Arconada picked up his 17th straight singles victory by defeating No. 32 Montgomery 3-6, 6-3, 6-4 on court two. The win improved the Argentinian to 19-3 this year and 10-0 in league play.
The Bulldogs picked up a pair of wins in consolation, No. 61 Reinberg topped Catanzariti 1-6, 6-3, 6-3 on court three and Duncan bested Habib 6-3, 4-6, 7-6(6) on court five, to make the final score 5-2 in Texas A&M’s favor.
With the victory, the Aggies clinched the top-seed in the upcoming SEC Tournament in Knoxville, Tenn. on April 27-30. Texas A&M will await the bracket as SEC play concludes Sunday afternoon.
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.