Rinderknech Advances at USTA/ITA National Indoors

FLUSHING, New York – Texas A&M sophomore Arthur Rinderknech advanced to the second round of the 2015 USTA/ITA National Indoor Intercollegiate Championships, defeating Dovydas Sakinis of Dartmouth Thursday afternoon at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in Flushing, NY.
 
Rinderknech defeated Sakinis in straight sets (6-3, 6-4), winning his seventh straight match this fall, all seven have been in straight sets. The stringy right hander has not dropped a set in over a month, falling in three-sets to No. 8 Thai-Son Kwiatkowski of Virginia at the ITA All-American in Tulsa at the beginning of October.  
 
As the only tournament on the ITA calendar to showcase elite players from every level of college tennis, the USTA/ITA National Indoor Intercollegiate Championships serves as the culmination of the fall season. Hosted by Columbia University, this prestigious event features a 32-player singles draw and a 20-team doubles draw for men and women.
 
Gaining automatic entry into the tournament were champions from the USTA/ITA Division I Regional Championships held across the country in October, winners of the USTA/ITA National Small College Super Bowl, and the consolation champions, doubles finalists, men's singles quarterfinalists and women's singles semifinalists from the ITA Men's All-American Championships.
 
Rinderknech will face Austin Smith of Georgia Friday, marking the second straight season that the Aggies have been represented in the second round. Last year, then-junior Harrison Adams fell to Yannick Hanfmann of USC in the round of 16.
 
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.
 
Post-Match Quotes
Steve Denton, Texas A&M Men's Tennis Head Coach
"I thought Arthur served very well today and did a good job of stepping up on the big points. That is a sign of a confident player. Everyone is good here so he will have to keep it rolling tomorrow."
 
Arthur Rinderknech, Texas A&M Sophomore
On today's match…
"It was my first match in the tournament which is never easy to play, but I think I started the match pretty solid on my serve which helped me through the match to hold serve. Dovydas (Sakinis) played better on the second set, but after I saved a couple break points on my serve I was able to finish 6-4 in the second set."
 
On tomorrow's match…
"Austin Smith is a really good player and I'm going to have to be ready and play well to beat him. He has pretty big weapons, but I know a little bit about his game and I will try to play my best tennis tomorrow."
 
2015 USTA/ITA National Indoor Intercollegiate Championships
Results
 
First Round
Arthur Rinderknech, Texas A&M def. Dovydas Sakinis, Dartmouth 6-3, 6-4
 
Second Round
Arthur Rinderknech, Texas A&M vs. Austin