COLLEGE STATION – The No. 8 Texas A&M men's tennis team traveled to the Sunshine state to take on No. 16 Florida at 11 a.m. (CT) Sunday at the Alfred A. Ring Tennis Complex in Gainesville. Both the Aggies (16-3, 9-1) and the Gators (11-6, 6-3) are looking to finish the regular season strong ahead of the SEC Tournament hosted in College Station beginning on April 15.
Setting the Scene
The Aggies are looking stay hot as they put an eight-match winning streak on the line, winning seven straight in league play. Following Mississippi State's (10-2, 7-2) upset of Georgia (16-3, 8-1) the Aggies moved into a half-match lead in the SEC standings, holding a win percentage advantage over the Bulldogs. The have Gators have won two straight including a 4-2 win over No. 25 LSU Friday evening in Gainesville.
Inside the Numbers
13 – During A&M's current win streak freshman (Arconada, Catanzariti, Rinderknech) have gone a perfect 13-0
10 – Freshman AJ Catanzariti has won 10 straight singles matches
8 – The Aggies are on an eight-match winning streak overall
7 – A&M has won seven straight SEC matches
5 – Senior Jeremy Efferding is a perfect 5-0 in SEC matches
5 – Sophomore Max Lunkin is riding a five-match win streak in singles play
4 – Catanzariti and Rinderknech have teamed up to win four SEC Freshman of the Week Honors this spring
Players in the ITA Rankings
The maroon and white are one of just seven teams to boast four or more ranked singles players, joining No. 2 Baylor, No. 3 Illinois, No. 6 Southern Cal, No. 8 Virginia, No. 11 Ohio State and No. 14 North Carolina. Junior Harrison Adams continues to pace the Aggie attack, ranking No. 51 in the latest ITA ranking. Rounding out the Aggie contingent are senior Jeremy Efferding, junior Shane Vinsant and freshman AJ Catanzariti at 59th, 67th and 79th respectively.
In addition to the four ranked singles players, the Aggies enlist a pair of ranked doubles teams in last week's poll. No. 13 Adams and Vinsant have been ranked within the top-25 every poll this season. Efferding partners with fellow Senior Jordan Szabo to rank 33rd, the senior duo matches Adams and Vinsant with a team-high seven wins over ranked duos.
The Gators counter the Aggie lineup with a trio of ranked singles players and a couple ranked doubles teams. Leading the charge for the bunch out of the swamp is No. 71 Diego Hidalgo, with No. 115 Elliott Orkin and No. 118 Maxx Lipman rounding out the ranked Gators. Hidalgo and Gordon Watson come in at No. 42 in the latest doubles poll with Josh Wardell and Oliver Landert landing 20 places behind their teammates at No. 62.
Last Time Out
The No. 8 Texas A&M men's tennis team took care of business Friday afternoon winning their eighth straight match sweeping Auburn 4-0 at the George P. Mitchell Tennis Center. The Aggies improved to 16-3 on the year and 9-1 in Southeastern Conference play, while the Tigers fell to 14-9 and 2-7 against league opponents.
For the sixth straight match the maroon and white kicked off play capturing the doubles point. Marko Krickovic and Lukas Ollert struck first defeating No. 13 Harrison Adams and Shane Vinsant on court one. Just moments later freshman AJ Catanzariti and Arthur Rinderknech outplayed Oliver Plaskett and Petar Tomic 6-3 on court three. The A&M freshman duo improved to 13-2 this spring and 8-2 in SEC play.
Seniors Jeremy Efferding and Jordan Szabo took advantage of being the last doubles court on, putting on a show breaking Maxime Hinnisdaels and Joseph Van Dooren in their final two serves to capture the match's first point. The nation's 33rd-ranked doubles team improved to 13-4 on the season and 6-2 against league opposition.
In between doubles and singles play, A&M honored the four seniors on this year's roster. Efferding, Szabo, Max Montague and Jackson Withrow were presented with a framed jersey as a token of appreciation for representing the Aggies so well in their time in Aggieland.
Following the ceremony, the Aggies were back on the offensive taking the first set on four courts in rapid succession. The race was on to capture the final three points and clinch the team victory.
Rinderknech raced through his opposition winning for 10th time this spring, dispatching of Hinnisdaels 6-3, 6-2 on court three. The French freshman remained a perfect 5-0 against SEC opponents. Moments later his classmate and doubles partner, No. 79 Catanzariti, pushed the A&M lead to 3-0 with a 6-3, 6-3 victory on court five over Van Dooren. The back-to-back SEC Freshman of the week is on a 10 match win streak, going 8-1 in the SEC and 14-3 in dual matches.
No. 67 Vinsant clinched the match for Texas A&M, winning 6-2, 6-4 on court two over Krickovic. The All-American from a season ago improved to 6-2 in duals and 5-1 in league play with his fourth straight victory.
History Against Florida
In eight all-time meetings between the two schools the Aggies hold a 5-3 advantage, including winning a pair of matches last season. A&M opened and closed SEC competition with a victory over Florida, winning 4-2 in College Station for both team's SEC opener. A couple months later the two teams faced off again in the SEC Tournament final, as the Aggies captured their first SEC title 4-2 in Nashville.
Up Next
The Aggies will keep to the road for their final two regular season matches, facing No. 25 LSU in Baton Rouge Thursday at 3 p.m. followed a trip to Fort Worth to take on No. 10 TCU Saturday at 1 p.m.
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.