COLLEGE STATION – The No. 6 Texas A&M men's tennis team takes on No. 25 LSU at 9 a.m. (CT) Friday at the George P. Mitchell Tennis Center. The 2nd-seeded Aggies will face off against the 7th-seeded Tigers in the SEC Tournament Quarterfinals.
Setting the Scene
The Aggies (18-4) look to defend their SEC Tournament Championship from a season ago. Last spring Texas A&M captured their first SEC crown, defeating South Carolina, Kentucky and Florida in Nashville.
The maroon and white are looking stay hot as they aim to win their 11th match in their last 12 outings, including nine straight against SEC foes. The Tigers (17-7) have won six of their last 10 matches, including a 4-1 win over South Carolina Thursday morning to advance to the quarterfinals.
Inside the Numbers
18 – The Aggies have claimed the doubles point in 18 of their 22 duals this spring
9 – A&M has won nine straight matches against SEC foes
6 – Freshman Jordi Arconada has won six straight singles matches
5 – Senior Jeremy Efferding finished the regular season a perfect 5-0 in SEC matches
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
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 61st, 69th and 93rd respectively.
In addition to the four ranked singles players, the Aggies enlist a pair of ranked doubles teams in this week's poll. No. 11 Adams and Vinsant have been ranked within the top-25 every poll this season. Efferding partners with fellow Senior Jordan Szabo to rank 46th, the senior duo are 7-3 against ranked pairs this year.
The Tigers counter the Aggie lineup with a lone ranked singles player and a ranked doubles pair.
Leading the charge for the bunch out of the swamp is No. 74 Jordan Daigle. Daigle and Boris Arias come in at No. 20 in the latest doubles poll.
History Against LSU
In 29 all-time meetings between the two schools A&M holds a 15-14 edge. The Aggies evened the all-time ledger with a 4-0 win last season in Baton Rouge. After the Aggies claimed the doubles point to open the match, Harrison Adams, Jordan Szabo and Shane Vinsant took singles wins to defeat the Bayou Bengals. Last week the Aggies clinched a share of the SEC regular season championship, the first in program history, just seven days ago in Baton Rouge. After taking the doubles point, freshman Arthur Rinderknech, AJ Catanzariti and Jordi Arconada clinched the victory for the maroon and white.
Up Next
Should A&M advance, the Aggies' semifinal match is slated for Saturday at noon. The championship match will be played Sunday at noon.
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.