COLLEGE STATION – The No. 15 Texas A&M men's tennis team prevailed over two days of action and a trio of rain delays to defeat No. 5 Ohio State at the George P. Mitchell Tennis Center Sunday afternoon. The Aggies claimed a pair of must-win three set wins from No. 45 Shane Vinsant and freshman Arthur Rinderknech to dispatch the Buckeyes. The Aggies improved to 2-1 this spring with the 4-3 win over the 8-1 Buckeyes.
As play resumed the Buckeyes wasted little time to tie the match at one apiece as No. 89 Mikael Torpegaard defeated No. 29 Harrison Adams on court two. Texas A&M regained the one point cushion via a dominating win from No. 96 Jeremy Efferding over Ralf Steinbach on court three. Efferding captured the final 10 points in the match to win 6-2, 6-0.
Once again the visitors tied the match as Hunter Callahan defeated No. 53 AJ Catanzariti on court four. The Buckeyes went on to take a 3-2 advantage with a three set victory on court six. Senior Jordan Szabo failed to regain his Saturday form, falling to Matt Mendez 3-6, 6-4, 6-3.
No. 45 Vinsant pushed the match to the brink with a three-set thriller over No. 21 Chris Diaz on court one. The maroon and white clad victor dispatched of his scarlet and grey opponent in gritty fashion, despite dropping a first tiebreaker, Vinsant prevailed in three winning 12 of the final 18 points.
Rinderknech fought throughout the day, forcing a third set in a tiebreaker against Kevin Metka on court five. The A&M freshman split tiebreakers in sets one and two to require a last match standing duel. The France native traded points with Metka throughout the third set before securing the point and clinching the match for Texas A&M.
The maroon and white began the day with a point in hand via the doubles decision from Saturday afternoon. The No. 25 duo of Adams and Vinsant claimed the first win of the night with a 6-4 victory over No. 5 Metka and Steinbach. The point was clinched with a 6-4 win from No. 18 Efferding and Szabo over No. 27 Callahan and Diaz.
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.
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.
No. 5 Ohio State vs No. 15 Texas A&M
Jan 31, 2015 at College Station, TX
George P Mitchell Tennis Center
Texas A&M 4, Ohio State 3
Singles Results
1. #45 Shane Vinsant (TAMU) def. #21 Chris Diaz (OSU) 6-7(3), 6-4, 6-2
2. #89 Mikael Torpegaard (OSU) def. #29 Harrison Adams (TAMU) 6-2, 6-1
3. #96 Jeremy Efferding (TAMU) def. #66 Ralf Steinbach (OSU) 6-2, 6-0
4. Hunter Callahan (OSU) def. #53 AJ Catanzariti (TAMU) 6-3, 6-2
*5. Arthur Rinderknech (TAMU) def. Kevin Metka (OSU) 6-7(5), 7-6(7), 7-5
6. Matt Mendez (OSU) def. Jordan Szabo (TAMU) 3-6, 6-4, 6-3
Doubles Results
1. #25 Harrison Adams/Shane Vinsant (TAMU) def. #5 Kevin Metka/Ralf Steinbach (OSU) 6-4
2. #18 Jeremy Efferding/Jordan Szabo (TAMU) def. Mikael Torpegaard/Herkko Pollanen (OSU) 6-4
3. AJ Catanzariti/Arthur Rinderknech (TAMU) vs. #27 Hunter Callahan/Chris Diaz (OSU) 4-5, unfinished
Order of finish: Doubles (1,2); Singles (2,3,4,6,1,5)
*-Clinched Match