COLLEGE STATION – Texas A&M's ninth ranked men's tennis team will host its third top-five opponent this spring as No. 4 Illinois comes to Aggieland for a top-10 matchup Sunday at noon followed by a 4 p.m. match against Abilene Christian at the George P Mitchell Tennis Center.
Setting the Scene
The Aggies enter Sunday's doubleheader with an 8-2 record, while the Illini are 14-2 and the Wildcats are 6-12 on the year. The maroon and white are an impressive 7-1 at home this year. Illinois comes to town with a perfect 4-0 mark on the road, including a 4-2 win at Texas Saturday afternoon. Abilene Christian enters at 1-5 away from home, winning 5-2 at Murray State at the end of January.
Players in the ITA Rankings
The Aggies sport a quartet of ranked singles players in this week's ITA rankings. Leading the charge is junior Harrison Adams at No. 48 followed by No. 65 Jeremy Efferding, No. 71 Shane Vinsant and No. 89 AJ Catanzariti. A&M enlists the services of a pair of ranked doubles teams; No. 9 Harrison Adams and Shane Vinsant along with No. 26 Jeremy Efferding and Jordan Szabo.
Illinois matches the Aggies with four ranked players of their own. No. 18 Jared Hiltzik, No. 32 Tim Kopinski, No. 49 Aleks Vukic and No. 61 Farris Gosea represent the blue and orange in the latest poll. Kopinski and Ross Guignon are the 12th-ranked doubles team in the country, the only Illinois doubles team in the rankings.
Last Time Out
 The No. 9 Texas A&M men's tennis team defended its home court for the seventh consecutive match, defeating No. 11 Vanderbilt 4-1 at the George P Mitchell Tennis Center Friday evening. The Aggies improved to 8-2 on the year and 4-1 in SEC play, moving into sole possession of second place in the league. The Commodores fell to 13-4 this spring and 3-2 against conference opponents.
For just the second time this spring the Aggies failed to capture the doubles point. The Commodores put forth a gritty effort upsetting both the 22nd and 9th ranked doubles teams to claim the match's first point. Baker Newman and Pen Binet defeated the No. 9 tandem of Harrison Adams and Shane Vinsant to clinch, while Jeffrey Offerdahl and Rhys Johnson bested No. 26 Jeremy Efferding and Jordan Szabo to open play. Sandwiched between the two, the A&M freshman duo of AJ Catanzariti and Arthur Rinderknech picked up their eighth straight victory, 6-4 over Suresh Eswaran and Daniel Valent.
Despite dropping the match's first point, the Aggies took control of the night winning five of six first sets. No. 88 Catanzariti cruised to his fourth SEC win, defeating Offerdahl 6-1, 6-4 on court six to knot the score at one apiece.
Shortly after Catanzariti's win his doubles partner, Rinderknech, staked the Aggies to their first lead of the evening. The France native swept Eswaran 7-5, 6-3 on court four. The two-time SEC Freshman of the week won his eighth straight singles match, moving to an unblemished 4-0 in league play.
Freshman Jordi Arconada donned the maroon and white for the first time at home and impressed the Aggie faithful with his first collegiate victory. The Puerto Rico native bounced back from a defeat last Sunday at South Carolina to overpower Newman, 7-5 6-3 on court five. A&M's stellar freshman class accounted for the first three points for the Aggies Friday night.
The lone point claimed by a non-freshman was posted by the Aggie's elder statesman, No. 65 Efferding on court one. The Floridian dazzled the stadium club with several impressive shots, defeating Johnson 6-3, 6-4 clinching the victory for Texas A&M.
History Against Illinois/Abilene Christian
The Aggies are 6-11 all-time against Illinois, but won the most recent showdown last season at the ITA National Indoor Championships in Houston. The maroon and white claimed the win through wins from Harrison Adams, Jackson Withrow and Junior Ore after winning the doubles point with wins from Adams and Shane Vinsant along with Jeremy Efferding and Jordan Szabo. Illinois bested A&M nine days prior last season in Urbana-Champagne.
A&M holds an 11-0 advantage in the series with Abilene Christian. The Aggies and Wildcats last faced off in 2012 as the maroon and white claimed a 6-1 victory. Junior Ore, John Lewis, Niall Angus, Jackson Withrow and Jordan Szabo tallied points for A&M to go along with the doubles point as Colin Hoover/Lewis, Angus/Jeremy Efferding and Szabo/Withrow swept all three doubles matches.
Up Next
The Aggies will hit the road for the second time in SEC play next weekend, travelling to take on No. 42 Mississippi State Friday in Starkville followed by a Sunday date with No. 66 Alabama in Tuscaloosa.
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.