Sunday, March 5
Columbia, S.C.
11:00 AM
Texas A&M
5
at
2
South Carolina
Photo by: Alabama Athletics Photography
Texas A&M Earns Sixth Straight Win, Defeats No. 19 South Carolina
Mar 05, 2017 | Men's Tennis
COLUMBIA, South Carolina – The Texas A&M men's tennis team completed a 2-0 weekend, winning 5-2 at No. 19 South Carolina Sunday afternoon at the Carolina Tennis Center in Columbia, South Carolina after toppling No. 13 Florida on Friday. The Aggies improved to 7-3 on the year and 2-0 in Southeastern Conference action, while the Gamecocks fell to 11-3 overall and 1-1 in league play.
"This was a really good team win for us," Texas A&M men's tennis coach Steve Denton said. "South Carolina was very tough today and I thought our guys answered every challenge. Give South Carolina credit, they jumped on us early in some singles matches but our guys responded again very well and raised their level in the important moments. We are very proud of them."
The Maroon & White jumped out to an early advantage, claiming the doubles point in dramatic fashion. After Jordi Arconada and AJ Catanzariti dropped the first match, 6-3, to Yancy Dennis and Harrison O'Keefe on court two, the Aggies claimed the next two doubles sets to take the 1-0 lead. Cousins, Arthur Rinderknech and Valentin Vacherot, picked up their first SEC doubles win together as they topped Alex Fennell and Sam Swank 6-2 on the top court. Hady Habib and Aleksandre Bakshi overcame a break on their third serve to claim a 7-5 victory over Gabriel Friedrich and Andrew Schafer and secure the point for the visitors.
"Doubles was a big one for us coming from behind to win the point," Denton added. "I thought Hady [Habib] and Aleksandre [Bakshi] were very good down the stretch."
South Carolina took an early lead in several matches as play transitioned to singles action, but the Aggies were able to split first sets across the six court despite falling behind. As singles results started rolling in, the home squad evened the team score at one-all as Andrew Schafer topped Max Lunkin 6-4, 6-2 on court three.
No. 16 Rinderknech pushed the Aggies back out front, 2-1, as the Frenchman topped No. 43 Friedrich 6-3, 6-4 on court one. Shortly thereafter, Arconada increased the Texas A&M advantage to 3-1, as he bested Dennis 7-5, 6-4 on court four. The Gamecocks claimed their final point on the day from O'Keefe on court two over Catanzariti; 6-3, 4-6, 6-4.
In a race to find the clinch point, freshman Habib and Vacherot were neck and neck at the finish. Vacherot edged out Habib to clinch the Aggies sixth straight win, the reigning SEC Freshman of the Week beat Fennel 1-6, 6-3, 6-3 on court five. Seconds later, Habib picked up his second win in a row against a player ranked in the latest ITA singles rankings, defeating No. 105 Thomas Mayronne 6-4, 7-6(5) on court six.
"We told the team before the match to be ready for a big test, South Carolina would be a big challenge on the road especially after Friday night's match against Florida," Denton said." We are happy to get back to work and prepare for another big challenge at home this week against Vanderbilt and Kentucky. As I said Friday, we just have to keep working very hard and keep improving."
The Aggies return to the George P. Mitchell Tennis Center for the SEC home-opened on Friday, scheduled for 6pm against Vanderbilt followed by a 1pm Sunday tilt against No. 15 Kentucky. All Texas A&M students are granted free admission with a valid student ID to the Mitchell Tennis Center. Fans are reminded that the Mitchell Tennis Center adheres to the Texas A&M clear bag policy, visit 12thMan.com/beclear for more details.
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.
Tennis Match Results
Texas A&M vs South Carolina
Mar 05, 2017 at Columbia, SC
(Carolina Tennis Center)
#27 Texas A&M 5, #19 South Carolina 2
Singles competition
1. #16 Arthur Rinderknech (TAMU) def. #43 Gabriel Friedrich (SC) 6-3, 6-4
2. Harrison O'Keefe (SC) def. AJ Catanzariti (TAMU) 6-3, 4-6, 6-4
3. Andrew Schafer (SC) def. Max Lunkin (TAMU) 6-4, 6-2
4. Jordi Arconada (TAMU) def. Yancy Dennis (SC) 7-5, 6-4
5. Valentin Vacherot (TAMU) def. Alex Fennell (SC) 1-6, 6-3, 6-3
6. Hady Habib (TAMU) def. #105 Thomas Mayronne (SC) 6-4, 7-6 (7-5)
Doubles competition
1. Arthur Rinderknech/Valentin Vacherot (TAMU) def. Alex Fennell/Sam Swank (SC) 6-2
2. Yancy Dennis/Harrison O'Keefe (SC) def. Jordi Arconada/AJ Catanzariti (TAMU) 6-3
3. Aleksandre Bakshi/Hady Habib (TAMU) def. Gabriel Friedrich/Andrew Schafer (SC) 7-5
Match Notes:
Texas A&M 7-3, 2-0; National ranking #27
South Carolina 11-3, 1-1; National ranking #19
Order of finish: Doubles (2, 1 ,3); Singles (3, 1, 4, 2, 5, 6)
T-2:41
"This was a really good team win for us," Texas A&M men's tennis coach Steve Denton said. "South Carolina was very tough today and I thought our guys answered every challenge. Give South Carolina credit, they jumped on us early in some singles matches but our guys responded again very well and raised their level in the important moments. We are very proud of them."
The Maroon & White jumped out to an early advantage, claiming the doubles point in dramatic fashion. After Jordi Arconada and AJ Catanzariti dropped the first match, 6-3, to Yancy Dennis and Harrison O'Keefe on court two, the Aggies claimed the next two doubles sets to take the 1-0 lead. Cousins, Arthur Rinderknech and Valentin Vacherot, picked up their first SEC doubles win together as they topped Alex Fennell and Sam Swank 6-2 on the top court. Hady Habib and Aleksandre Bakshi overcame a break on their third serve to claim a 7-5 victory over Gabriel Friedrich and Andrew Schafer and secure the point for the visitors.
"Doubles was a big one for us coming from behind to win the point," Denton added. "I thought Hady [Habib] and Aleksandre [Bakshi] were very good down the stretch."
South Carolina took an early lead in several matches as play transitioned to singles action, but the Aggies were able to split first sets across the six court despite falling behind. As singles results started rolling in, the home squad evened the team score at one-all as Andrew Schafer topped Max Lunkin 6-4, 6-2 on court three.
No. 16 Rinderknech pushed the Aggies back out front, 2-1, as the Frenchman topped No. 43 Friedrich 6-3, 6-4 on court one. Shortly thereafter, Arconada increased the Texas A&M advantage to 3-1, as he bested Dennis 7-5, 6-4 on court four. The Gamecocks claimed their final point on the day from O'Keefe on court two over Catanzariti; 6-3, 4-6, 6-4.
In a race to find the clinch point, freshman Habib and Vacherot were neck and neck at the finish. Vacherot edged out Habib to clinch the Aggies sixth straight win, the reigning SEC Freshman of the Week beat Fennel 1-6, 6-3, 6-3 on court five. Seconds later, Habib picked up his second win in a row against a player ranked in the latest ITA singles rankings, defeating No. 105 Thomas Mayronne 6-4, 7-6(5) on court six.
"We told the team before the match to be ready for a big test, South Carolina would be a big challenge on the road especially after Friday night's match against Florida," Denton said." We are happy to get back to work and prepare for another big challenge at home this week against Vanderbilt and Kentucky. As I said Friday, we just have to keep working very hard and keep improving."
The Aggies return to the George P. Mitchell Tennis Center for the SEC home-opened on Friday, scheduled for 6pm against Vanderbilt followed by a 1pm Sunday tilt against No. 15 Kentucky. All Texas A&M students are granted free admission with a valid student ID to the Mitchell Tennis Center. Fans are reminded that the Mitchell Tennis Center adheres to the Texas A&M clear bag policy, visit 12thMan.com/beclear for more details.
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.
Tennis Match Results
Texas A&M vs South Carolina
Mar 05, 2017 at Columbia, SC
(Carolina Tennis Center)
#27 Texas A&M 5, #19 South Carolina 2
Singles competition
1. #16 Arthur Rinderknech (TAMU) def. #43 Gabriel Friedrich (SC) 6-3, 6-4
2. Harrison O'Keefe (SC) def. AJ Catanzariti (TAMU) 6-3, 4-6, 6-4
3. Andrew Schafer (SC) def. Max Lunkin (TAMU) 6-4, 6-2
4. Jordi Arconada (TAMU) def. Yancy Dennis (SC) 7-5, 6-4
5. Valentin Vacherot (TAMU) def. Alex Fennell (SC) 1-6, 6-3, 6-3
6. Hady Habib (TAMU) def. #105 Thomas Mayronne (SC) 6-4, 7-6 (7-5)
Doubles competition
1. Arthur Rinderknech/Valentin Vacherot (TAMU) def. Alex Fennell/Sam Swank (SC) 6-2
2. Yancy Dennis/Harrison O'Keefe (SC) def. Jordi Arconada/AJ Catanzariti (TAMU) 6-3
3. Aleksandre Bakshi/Hady Habib (TAMU) def. Gabriel Friedrich/Andrew Schafer (SC) 7-5
Match Notes:
Texas A&M 7-3, 2-0; National ranking #27
South Carolina 11-3, 1-1; National ranking #19
Order of finish: Doubles (2, 1 ,3); Singles (3, 1, 4, 2, 5, 6)
T-2:41
Players Mentioned
/ 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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