COLLEGE STATION – The No. 7 Texas A&M men's tennis team wraps up regular season play with an in-state showdown with No. 10 TCU Saturday at 1 p.m. at the Bayard H. Friedman Tennis Center in Fort Worth.
Setting the Scene
The Aggies (18-3) are fresh off clinching at a least a share of the SEC regular season championship Thursday. The maroon and white defeated LSU 4-0 finishing 11-1 in league play, No. 8 Georgia (18-3, 10-1) can clinch a share of the regular season title with a win against No. 14 Ole Miss (16-6, 8-3) Saturday afternoon.
The Steve Denton coached squad is looking remain one of the hottest teams in the country having won 10 straight matches. The Horned Frogs (18-6) have won four straight and nine of 10 overall, including win over four top-25 squads in that stretch.
A&M and TCU faced off at the ITA Kick-Off Weekend in College Station on January 24. The Horned Frogs spoiled the Aggie home opener winning 4-2 through four singles victories. The maroon and white opened play with the doubles point and were able to put a second point on the board through a straight-set victory from senior Jeremy Efferding on court three.
Inside the Numbers
18 – The Aggies have claimed the doubles point in 18 of their 21 duals this spring
18 – During A&M's current win streak, Aggie rookies (Arconada, Catanzariti, Rinderknech) have gone a perfect 18-0
12 – Freshman AJ Catanzariti has won 12 straight singles matches
10 – The Aggies are on an 10-match winning streak overall
9 – A&M won their final nine SEC matches of the year
8 – The maroon and white have won eight straight doubles points
6 – Freshman Arthur Rinderknech finished his first year in the SEC at 6-0 against conference opponents
6 – Freshman Jordi Arconada wasted little time figuring out collegiate tennis, riding a six match winning streak
5 – Two-time All-SEC team member Senior Jeremy Efferding finished his final season 5-0 against league foes
5 – Sophomore Max Lunkin is riding a five-match win streak in singles play
5 – Catanzariti and Rinderknech have teamed up to win five SEC Freshman of the Week Honors this spring
4 – Junior All-American Shane Vinsant is currently riding a four match win streak
Players in the ITA Rankings
The maroon and white are one of just eight teams to boast four or more ranked singles players, joining No. 1 Oklahoma, No. 2 Baylor, No. 3 Illinois, No. 4 Virginia, No. 5 Southern Cal, No. 12 Virginia Tech and No. 16 North Carolina. Junior Harrison Adams continues to pace the Aggie attack, ranking No. 55 in the latest ITA ranking. Rounding out the Aggie contingent are senior Jeremy Efferding, junior Shane Vinsant and freshman AJ Catanzariti at 60th, 64th and 78th respectively.
In addition to the four ranked singles players, the Aggies enlist a pair of ranked doubles teams in this 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 41st, the senior duo are 7-3 against ranked pairs this year.
The Horned Frogs counter the Aggie lineup with a trio of ranked singles players and a couple of ranked doubles Teams. Leading the charge for the Cowtown crew is No. 48 Nick Chappell, with No. 50 Cameron Norrie and No. 63 Guillermo Nuñez rounding out the ranked Panther City players. Chappell and Will Stein come in at No. 18 in the latest doubles poll, with Norrie and Trevor Johnson coming in at No. 29 in the latest poll.
Last Time Out
Thursday afternoon the No. 7 Texas A&M men's tennis team captured the third conference championship in program history, defeating No. 25 LSU 4-0 in the final match at the Tiger's historic W.T. 'Dub' Robinson Stadium.
The Aggies added the 2015 Southeastern Conference trophy to regular-season crowns from the 1994 Southwest Conference and 2001 Big 12. Last spring A&M captured their first SEC trophy winning the conference tournament in Nashville. Thursday's win was the10th straight for Denton's squad and ninth straight in SEC play.
For the 18th time this season the Aggies opened play capturing the doubles point, improving to 16-2 in those matches. The senior duo of Jordan Szabo and Jeremy Efferding opened play with a 6-2 victory on the second doubles court over Tam Trinh and Eric Perez. The nation's 41st-ranked duo improved to 14-4 this spring and 7-2 in SEC matches. No. 13 Harrison Adams and Shane Vinsant clinched the point for the maroon and white with a 6-4 victory on doubles court one over No. 23 Boris Arias and Jordan Daigle. The junior pair is a team-best 9-2 against ranked duos this year.
Freshman Jordi Arconada cruised through a straight set victory on court six putting the Aggies ahead 2-0 on the team scoreboard. The Puerto Rico native topped Justin Butsch 6-2, 6-1 to improve to 7-2 this spring and 5-1 in SEC competition.
The College Station crew piled up an insurmountable 3-0 lead as Rinderknech defeated Arias 6-0, 6-4 on court three. The Frenchman won his third straight match moving to 11-2 overall and 6-0 against conference foes.
The championship clinching point was secured by No. 78 Catanzariti on court five, defeating Andrew Korinek 7-5, 6-2. The back-to-back-to-back SEC freshman of the week won his 12th straight match as the right-hander now stands at team-best 16-3 in dual matches and 10-1 in SEC play.
History Against TCU
TCU and Texas A&M will be taking each other on for the 54th time in program history, with the Frogs leading the series with a 35-18 advantage. The teams met earlier this season, with TCU coming away with a 4-2 win for the team's first victory over Texas A&M since 2006. This will be the 20th time the two teams have faced off in Fort Worth with the Frogs holding a 12-7 series advantage.
Up Next
The Aggies will return to College Station to host the SEC Tournament beginning Wednesday at noon. The Aggies first opponent and full bracket and will be available on 12thMan.com after SEC play concludes this weekend.
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.