COLLEGE STATION – The No. 9 Texas A&M Men's Tennis team will host Kentucky Friday at 2 p.m. at the George P. Mitchell Tennis Complex to open Southeastern Conference Play.
Promotions
Fans can enter to win Texas A&M athletic gear at the marketing table at the entrance of the Mitchell Tennis Center. Fans can also register to take part in Chuck-a-Tennis Ball during the switch from doubles to singles action by stopping by the marketing tables.
Aggies and Wildcats in the Rankings
Texas A&M is paced by a quartet of ranked-singles players, leading the way is No. 39 Harrison Adams, the New Braunfels native is 3-6 this year against ranked opponents. No. 65 Shane Vinsant returns from an All-American junior campaign and is 10-7 this season with all seven losses coming against ranked foes. No. 66 Jeremy Efferding follows Vinsant in the rankings; the senior is 16-6 this year with a 4-3 record against top-100 opposition. No. 88 AJ Catanzariti rounds out A&M's ranked singles players, the freshman is off to an impressive freshman campaign at 19-7 entering Friday's match, including going 4-2 against ranked opponents.
In doubles the Aggies have a pair of ranked teams, led by No. 8 Adams and Vinsant having played the one-line for the Aggies in every dual match this season, 4-0 in dual matches and 10-3 overall. The junior tandem is an unblemished 6-0 against ranked pairs on the year including victories over the then ranked No. 5 duo Kevin Metka and Ralf Steinbach of Ohio State and No. 5 Dane Webb and Axel Alvarez Llamas of Oklahoma. No. 22 Efferding and Jordan Szabo fell a couple spots in the rankings after dropping their first match of the spring to Andrew Harris and Alex Ghilea of OU last Friday. The seniors enter the weekend 15-6 on the year and 6-3 against top-100 opponents
The Wildcats counter with a pair of ranked singles players. No. 83 Beck Pennington leads the charge for UK, featuring at line one and boasting a 6-3 record this spring. No. 122 William Bushamuka is slated to play court three this weekend, heading into this weekend's action with a 6-3 ledger. Pennington also features on Kentucky's lone ranked doubles team at No. 45 alongside Kevin Lai.
Last Time Out
The No. 13 Texas A&M men's tennis team defeated the No. 1 Oklahoma Sooners 4-3 at the George P Mitchell Tennis Center on a blustery Friday evening. The win was the first in the program's 38 year history over the number one ranked team in the country.
For the third time in four spring matches the final result came down to freshman Arthur Rinderknech, the SEC Freshman of the Week did not disappoint for the second straight match, Rinderknech clinched the Aggies upset of then 5th-ranked Ohio State three weeks ago. The Paris, France native bounced back from dropping a first-set tie breaker to win 6-3, 6-1 over Spencer Papa, in set two and three respectively. The Aggies also tallies wins from freshman AJ Catanzariti and sophomore Max Lunkin after winning the doubles point to open the match.
Projected Lineups
#9 Texas A&M vs Kentucky
George P Mitchell Tennis Center
February, 27, 2015
Singles competition
1. #66 Jeremy Efferding (TAMU) vs #83 Beck Pennington (UK)
2. #65 Shane Vinsant (TAMU) vs Jerry Lopez (UK)
3. #39 Harrison Adams (TAMU) vs #122 William Bushamuka (UK)
4. Arthur Rinderknech (TAMU) vs Kevin Lai (UK)
5. #88 AJ Catanzariti (TAMU) vs Trey Yates (UK)
6. Max Lunkin (TAMU) vs Nils Ellefsen (UK)
Doubles competition
1. #8 Shane Vinsant & Harrison Adams (TAMU) vs #45 Beck Pennington & Kevin Lai (UK)
2. #22 Jeremy Efferding & Jordan Szabo (TAMU) vs Jerry Lopez & William Bushamuka (UK)
3. AJ Catanzariti & Arthur Rinderknech (TAMU) vs Nils Ellefsen & Jake Stefanik (UK)
History Against Kentucky
The maroon and white faced the Kentucky last year in Lexington, the home team prevailed in the top-25 matchup a season ago 4-0. The two teams faced off in the second round of the SEC Tournament in April, the Aggies bounced back to defeat No. 12 Kentucky 4-1, en route to the 2014 SEC Tournament Championship in Nashville. The Aggies are 5-2 all-time against the Wildcats.
Up Next
The Aggies will conclude their nine match home stand with a double header against No. 56 Tennessee and Nicholls State on Sunday, at noon and 4 p.m. respectively.
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.