Saturday, January 21
Houston, Texas
1:00 PM
Texas A&M
4
at
3
Rice
Photo by: Sam Craft/Texas A&M Athletics
Rinderknech Clinches 4-3 Win at Rice
Jan 21, 2017 | Men's Tennis
HOUSTON, Texas – No. 16 Texas A&M men's tennis opened the spring season with a thrilling 4-3 victory over Rice at the George R. Brown Tennis Center in Houston, Texas Saturday afternoon. The Aggies were propelled to victory by a quartet of singles wins, including the match clinching victory by sophomore Arthur Rinderknech.
No. 16 Rinderknech bounced back from dropping his first set to Tommy Bennett, winning the second and third sets to clinch the win for Texas A&M. With the win the Aggies (1-0) improved to 36-4 all-time against Rice and 9-2 under head coach Steve Denton while Rice fell to 2-1 on the season.
"As expected I knew this would be a nail biter especially on the road," Denton said. "I am very proud of how our guys fought back and you have to give Rice a lot of credit for how well they played today. They were well prepared and fed off a huge crowd today. I believe they will have a very good season as they are solid in singles and doubles, top to bottom."
The Aggies were behind the eight-ball early as they fell behind 1-0, losing the doubles point to open the season. The Aggies claimed the first doubles match as Aleksandre Bakshi and AJ Catanzariti dominated Jamie Malik and Oscar Janglin 6-2 on the second court. Unfortunately that was the only doubles victory on the day for the Maroon & White as Rice picked up the matches first point through a 6-4 win by No. 9 David Warren and Bennett over No. 7 Rinderknech and Max Lunkin on the top court and a 7-6(5) victory by Eric Rutledge and Jake Hansen over Jordi Arconada and James Martell on the third court.
Despite the setback in doubles play, Texas A&M flipped the script in the first set of singles action. The Maroon & White claimed the first set on four of six courts, but Rice was able to build the lead at 2-0 as Malik topped Catanzariti 6-3, 6-3 on court two. The Aggies got on the board as Lunkin claimed a 7-5 first set win over Hansen. The Moscow, Russia native, made quick work of the second set winning 6-0 to earn the Aggies first point on the day.
Bakshi put the match back on level terms as the lefty topped Rutledge 6-3, 6-4 on court four before freshman Valentin Vacherot gave the Aggies their first advantage of the day. Vacherot claimed a win in his first career appearance in the Maroon & White, topping Janglin 6-4, 2-6, 6-3 on court six. The hosts would not go away easy as Warren leveled the match at three-all, defeating Arconada 4-6, 6-3, 6-4 on court five. With only the match on court one left to finish, the Aggies relied upon Rinderknech to deliver the victory again, the stringy Frenchman came through in the clutch yet again.
"At the break, we talked about focusing on the man across the net and just winning with a lot of heart. We were really pleased with Max and Aleksandre today. They really gave us a lot of momentum putting points on the board in straight sets. The French connection [Rinderknech & Vacherot] both came through for us when we needed the most. Great start to the season for our team. Couldn't be prouder!"
The Aggies return to the courts next Saturday, hosting the ITA Kick-Off Weekend. Texas A&M will host Ole Miss, Baylor and SMU in College Station with a place at the ITA Indoor Championship on the line.
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.
#16 Texas A&M 4, Rice 3
Doubles Results
1. No. 9 David Warren & Tommy Bennett (Rice) def. No. 7 Arthur Rinderknech & Max Lunkin (TAMU), 6-4
2. Aleksandre Bakshi & AJ Catanzariti (TAMU) def. Jamie Mailk & Oscar Janglin (Rice), 6-2
3. Eric Rutledge & Jake Hansen (Rice) def. Jordi Arconada & James Martell (TAMU), 7-6(5)
Singles Results
1. No. 16 Arthur Rinderknech (TAMU) def. Tommy Bennett (Rice) 4-6, 6-3, 6-4
2. Jamie Malik (Rice) def. AJ Catanzariti (TAMU) 6-3, 6-3
3. Max Lunkin (TAMU) def. Jake Hansen (Rice) 7-5, 6-0
4. Aleksandre Bakshi (TAMU) def. Eric Rutledge (Rice) 6-3, 6-4
5. David Warren (Rice) def. Jordi Arconada (TAMU) 4-6, 6-3, 6-4
6. Valentin Vacherot (TAMU) def. Oscar Janglin (Rice) 6-4, 2-6, 6-3
Match Notes:
Rice: 2-1
Texas A&M 1-0; National ranking #16
Order of finish: Doubles (2, 1, 3); Singles (2, 3, 4, 6, 5, 1)
No. 16 Rinderknech bounced back from dropping his first set to Tommy Bennett, winning the second and third sets to clinch the win for Texas A&M. With the win the Aggies (1-0) improved to 36-4 all-time against Rice and 9-2 under head coach Steve Denton while Rice fell to 2-1 on the season.
"As expected I knew this would be a nail biter especially on the road," Denton said. "I am very proud of how our guys fought back and you have to give Rice a lot of credit for how well they played today. They were well prepared and fed off a huge crowd today. I believe they will have a very good season as they are solid in singles and doubles, top to bottom."
The Aggies were behind the eight-ball early as they fell behind 1-0, losing the doubles point to open the season. The Aggies claimed the first doubles match as Aleksandre Bakshi and AJ Catanzariti dominated Jamie Malik and Oscar Janglin 6-2 on the second court. Unfortunately that was the only doubles victory on the day for the Maroon & White as Rice picked up the matches first point through a 6-4 win by No. 9 David Warren and Bennett over No. 7 Rinderknech and Max Lunkin on the top court and a 7-6(5) victory by Eric Rutledge and Jake Hansen over Jordi Arconada and James Martell on the third court.
Despite the setback in doubles play, Texas A&M flipped the script in the first set of singles action. The Maroon & White claimed the first set on four of six courts, but Rice was able to build the lead at 2-0 as Malik topped Catanzariti 6-3, 6-3 on court two. The Aggies got on the board as Lunkin claimed a 7-5 first set win over Hansen. The Moscow, Russia native, made quick work of the second set winning 6-0 to earn the Aggies first point on the day.
Bakshi put the match back on level terms as the lefty topped Rutledge 6-3, 6-4 on court four before freshman Valentin Vacherot gave the Aggies their first advantage of the day. Vacherot claimed a win in his first career appearance in the Maroon & White, topping Janglin 6-4, 2-6, 6-3 on court six. The hosts would not go away easy as Warren leveled the match at three-all, defeating Arconada 4-6, 6-3, 6-4 on court five. With only the match on court one left to finish, the Aggies relied upon Rinderknech to deliver the victory again, the stringy Frenchman came through in the clutch yet again.
"At the break, we talked about focusing on the man across the net and just winning with a lot of heart. We were really pleased with Max and Aleksandre today. They really gave us a lot of momentum putting points on the board in straight sets. The French connection [Rinderknech & Vacherot] both came through for us when we needed the most. Great start to the season for our team. Couldn't be prouder!"
The Aggies return to the courts next Saturday, hosting the ITA Kick-Off Weekend. Texas A&M will host Ole Miss, Baylor and SMU in College Station with a place at the ITA Indoor Championship on the line.
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.
#16 Texas A&M 4, Rice 3
Doubles Results
1. No. 9 David Warren & Tommy Bennett (Rice) def. No. 7 Arthur Rinderknech & Max Lunkin (TAMU), 6-4
2. Aleksandre Bakshi & AJ Catanzariti (TAMU) def. Jamie Mailk & Oscar Janglin (Rice), 6-2
3. Eric Rutledge & Jake Hansen (Rice) def. Jordi Arconada & James Martell (TAMU), 7-6(5)
Singles Results
1. No. 16 Arthur Rinderknech (TAMU) def. Tommy Bennett (Rice) 4-6, 6-3, 6-4
2. Jamie Malik (Rice) def. AJ Catanzariti (TAMU) 6-3, 6-3
3. Max Lunkin (TAMU) def. Jake Hansen (Rice) 7-5, 6-0
4. Aleksandre Bakshi (TAMU) def. Eric Rutledge (Rice) 6-3, 6-4
5. David Warren (Rice) def. Jordi Arconada (TAMU) 4-6, 6-3, 6-4
6. Valentin Vacherot (TAMU) def. Oscar Janglin (Rice) 6-4, 2-6, 6-3
Match Notes:
Rice: 2-1
Texas A&M 1-0; National ranking #16
Order of finish: Doubles (2, 1, 3); Singles (2, 3, 4, 6, 5, 1)
Players Mentioned
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
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