TULSA, Oklahoma – Texas A&M men's tennis advanced Senior Shane Vinsant and Sophomore Arthur Rinderknech to the second round of the ITA All-American Main Draw held Thursday afternoon at the Michael D. Case Tennis Center in Tulsa, Oklahoma.
Vinsant was the first Aggie on the court and the nation's 35th ranked player proved his mettle taking down No. 17 Austin Smith of Georgia in straight sets. The Keller, Texas native, will take on No. 37 Naoki Takeda of Arizona Friday.
"I am happy to get the first round out of the way against a good player," Vinsant said. "I need these tough matches because I feel like my level was not where I wanted it last week. It is always tough playing Austin (Smith) because he has some big weapons, but at the same time, I feel like I know what to expect because I've played him a bunch of times."
Joining Vinsant in the second round will be No. 53 Rinderknech, the Frenchman defeated No. 44 Stefan Lindmark, of Ole Miss Thursday. The stringy sophomore dropped just three points against the Rebel senior and will face No. 8 Thai-Son Kwiatkowski of Virginia in Friday's Round of 32.
"I feels great to compete here in the biggest tournament of the fall and of course even better when you have the luck to win your first match," Rinderknech said. "When I saw I was (Stefan) Lindmark, I knew that two of my teammates played him last year so obviously I asked them about his game. Knowing a little bit about him helped me at the beginning of the match to figure out a strategy to play."
Rinderknech's doubles partner and fellow sophomore No. 55 AJ Catanzariti fell in two sets to No. 30 Uros Petronijevic of San Diego. The Pittsburgh native will move into the Consolation Draw Friday.
Sophomore Jordi Arconada and junior Max Lunkin saw their run in Tulsa come to an end after advancing to the doubles Main Draw with a trio of wins in the Qualifying Draw. The maroon and white pair put up a fight against No. 26 Matthew Kirby & Dylan McCloskey of Tulsa but came up short in a third set super tiebreaker.
Singles quarterfinalists, doubles finalists and consolation champions from the ITA All-American will receive an automatic entry into the USTA/ITA National Indoor Intercollegiate Championships on Nov. 12-15, held at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in Flushing Meadows, New York.
For more information about Texas A&M men's tennis log on to 12thMan.com or follow the Aggies on twitter at @AggieMTEN or facebook.com/AggieMensTennis.
ITA All-American Main Draw Round of 64
No. 35 Shane Vinsant, Texas A&M def. No. 17 Austin Smith, Georgia 7-6(3), 6-1
No. 53 Arthur Rinderknech, Texas A&M def. No. 44 Stefan Lindmark, Ole Miss 6-2, 6-1
No. 30 Uros Petronijevic, San Diego def. No. 55 AJ Catanzariti, Texas A&M 6-2, 6-4
ITA All-American Main Draw Round of 32
No. 35 Shane Vinsant, Texas A&M vs. No. 37 Naoki Takeda, Arizona
No. 53 Arthur Rinderknech, Texas A&M vs. No. 8 Thai-Son Kwiatkowski, Virginia
ITA All-American Doubles Main Draw Round of 32
No. 26 Matthew Kirby & Dylan McCloskey, Tulsa def. Jordi Arconada & Max Lunkin, Texas A&M 2-6, 6-4, 1-0(8)
Vinsant was the first Aggie on the court and the nation's 35th ranked player proved his mettle taking down No. 17 Austin Smith of Georgia in straight sets. The Keller, Texas native, will take on No. 37 Naoki Takeda of Arizona Friday.
"I am happy to get the first round out of the way against a good player," Vinsant said. "I need these tough matches because I feel like my level was not where I wanted it last week. It is always tough playing Austin (Smith) because he has some big weapons, but at the same time, I feel like I know what to expect because I've played him a bunch of times."
Joining Vinsant in the second round will be No. 53 Rinderknech, the Frenchman defeated No. 44 Stefan Lindmark, of Ole Miss Thursday. The stringy sophomore dropped just three points against the Rebel senior and will face No. 8 Thai-Son Kwiatkowski of Virginia in Friday's Round of 32.
"I feels great to compete here in the biggest tournament of the fall and of course even better when you have the luck to win your first match," Rinderknech said. "When I saw I was (Stefan) Lindmark, I knew that two of my teammates played him last year so obviously I asked them about his game. Knowing a little bit about him helped me at the beginning of the match to figure out a strategy to play."
Rinderknech's doubles partner and fellow sophomore No. 55 AJ Catanzariti fell in two sets to No. 30 Uros Petronijevic of San Diego. The Pittsburgh native will move into the Consolation Draw Friday.
Sophomore Jordi Arconada and junior Max Lunkin saw their run in Tulsa come to an end after advancing to the doubles Main Draw with a trio of wins in the Qualifying Draw. The maroon and white pair put up a fight against No. 26 Matthew Kirby & Dylan McCloskey of Tulsa but came up short in a third set super tiebreaker.
Singles quarterfinalists, doubles finalists and consolation champions from the ITA All-American will receive an automatic entry into the USTA/ITA National Indoor Intercollegiate Championships on Nov. 12-15, held at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in Flushing Meadows, New York.
For more information about Texas A&M men's tennis log on to 12thMan.com or follow the Aggies on twitter at @AggieMTEN or facebook.com/AggieMensTennis.
ITA All-American Main Draw Round of 64
No. 35 Shane Vinsant, Texas A&M def. No. 17 Austin Smith, Georgia 7-6(3), 6-1
No. 53 Arthur Rinderknech, Texas A&M def. No. 44 Stefan Lindmark, Ole Miss 6-2, 6-1
No. 30 Uros Petronijevic, San Diego def. No. 55 AJ Catanzariti, Texas A&M 6-2, 6-4
ITA All-American Main Draw Round of 32
No. 35 Shane Vinsant, Texas A&M vs. No. 37 Naoki Takeda, Arizona
No. 53 Arthur Rinderknech, Texas A&M vs. No. 8 Thai-Son Kwiatkowski, Virginia
ITA All-American Doubles Main Draw Round of 32
No. 26 Matthew Kirby & Dylan McCloskey, Tulsa def. Jordi Arconada & Max Lunkin, Texas A&M 2-6, 6-4, 1-0(8)