COLLEGE STATION – The No. 15 Texas A&M Men's Tennis team will face No. 5 Ohio State Saturday at 4 p.m. at the George P. Mitchell Tennis Complex.
Sunday's previously scheduled match against UTPA has been cancelled with a possibility to rescheduled to later in the season.
Aggies and Buckeyes in the Rankings
Texas A&M is paced by a quartet of ranked-singles players, leading the way is No. 29 Harrison Adams, the New Braunfels native is 8-7 this year with a 3-4 record against ranked opponents. No. 45 Shane Vinsant follows Adams in the rankings; the junior is 9-6 this year with a 2-3 record against top-100 opponents. No. 53 AJ Catanzariti is off to an impressive freshman campaign at 18-6 entering Saturday's match, including a 3-2 mark against ranked foes. No. 96 Jeremy Efferding rounds out A&M's ranked singles players at 14-5 on the year and 3-2 against ranked opposition.
In doubles the Aggies have a pair of ranked teams, led by No. No. 18 Efferding and Szabo, the seniors enter the weekend 13-5 on the year and 6-3 against top-100 opponents. No. 25 Adams and Vinsant have played the one-line for the Aggies in both matches this season, 1-0 in dual matches and 7-3 overall. The junior tandem are an unblemished 4-0 against ranked pairs on the year.
The Buckeyes enter the weekend with a trio of ranked singles players; No. 21 Chris Diaz, No. 66 Ralf Steinbach and No. 89 Mikael Torpegaard. The Ohio State also boasts the No. 4 duo of Kevin Metka and Steinbach and the No. 27 tandem of Hunter Callahan and Chris Diaz.
Last Time Out
The Aggies split a pair of home matches last weekend as they hosted the ITA Kick-Off Weekend. A&M fell in the first round to now-No. 18 TCU 4-2, winning the doubles point via wins from Adams/Vinsant and Efferding/Szabo, Efferding earned A&M's only singles win on court three over No. 91 Will Stein. Coach Denton's squad rebounded to defeat No. 33 San Diego 4-1 on Sunday, again winning the doubles point with wins from Efferding/Szabo and Catanzariti/Arthur Rinderknech. Catanzariti, Efferding and Rinderknech clinched the win over the Toreros with straight set singles wins.
History Against Ohio State
The maroon and white faced the scarlet and grey last year in Columbus, the home team prevailed in the top-10 matchup a season ago 4-3. Vinsant and Efferding registered singles wins to go along with the doubles point, secured with wins from Junior Ore and Jackson Withrow and Efferding and Szabo. The Aggies are 4-5 all-time against the Buckeyes.
Highly Ranked Teams at Mitchell
The Buckeyes' visit marks the first top-10 opponent to visit the Mitchell Tennis Center since the Aggies bested No. 7 Georgia last season 4-1, broadcast live on ESPN3.com. Two seasons ago the Aggies hosted a pair of top five teams, splitting the matches against No. 1 Virginia (L, 6-1) and No. 4 Ohio State (W, 4-3). Adams, Vinsant, Withrow earned singles wins while Ore/Withrow and Adams/Vinsant claimed the doubles point in the Aggies favor against the Buckeyes.
Up Next
The Aggies will continue their nine match home stand with No. 2 Oklahoma on Feb. 20 and a double header against No. 37 Tulsa and Incarnate Word on Feb. 22.
Keep Up With the Aggies
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.
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