Texas A&M
Vanderbilt
No. 9 Aggies Defend Home Court from No. 11 Commodore Assault
Mar 13, 2015 | Men's Tennis
COLLEGE STATION – The No. 9 Texas A&M men's tennis team defended its home court for the seventh consecutive match, defeating No. 11 Vanderbilt 4-1 at the George P Mitchell Tennis Center Friday evening. The Aggies improved to 8-2 on the year and 4-1 in SEC play, moving into sole possession of second place in the league. The Commodores fell to 13-4 this spring and 3-2 against conference opponents.
“Obviously the night did not start like we wanted to with the doubles, but a win like this when the guys have to gut it out and come from behind is good for their character as a team,” Texas A&M head coach Steve Denton said. “Wins like this are good for our confidence that they can comeback against a quality opponent like Vanderbilt. Give Vanderbilt a lot of credit tonight, they played very well in the doubles and took it to us early.”
For just the second time this spring the Aggies failed to capture the doubles point. The Commodores put forth a gritty effort upsetting both the 22nd and 9th ranked doubles teams to claim the match's first point. Baker Newman and Pen Binet defeated the No. 9 tandem of Harrison Adams and Shane Vinsant to clinch, while Jeffrey Offerdahl and Rhys Johnson bested No. 26 Jeremy Efferding and Jordan Szabo to open play. Sandwiched between the two, the A&M freshman duo of AJ Catanzariti and Arthur Rinderknech picked up their eighth straight victory, 6-4 over Suresh Eswaran and Daniel Valent.
“Matches like tonight where we don't win the doubles point, which we have become accustomed to doing this season, are good for this team,” Denton added. “The first point is still a long way from the finish line and our guys have to just keep battling and good things will happen.”
Despite dropping the match's first point, the Aggies took control of the night winning five of six first sets. No. 88 Catanzariti cruised to his fourth SEC win, defeating Offerdahl 6-1, 6-4 on court six to knot the score at one apiece.
Shortly after Catanzariti's win his doubles partner, Rinderknech, staked the Aggies to their first lead of the evening. The France native swept Eswaran 7-5, 6-3 on court four. The two-time SEC Freshman of the week won his eighth straight singles match, moving to an unblemished 4-0 in league play.
Freshman Jordi Arconada donned the maroon and white for the first time at home and impressed the Aggie faithful with his first collegiate victory. The Puerto Rico native bounced back from a defeat last Sunday at South Carolina to overpower Newman, 7-5 6-3 on court five. A&M's stellar freshman class accounted for the first three points for the Aggies Friday night.
“AJ and Arthur have been playing very well for us this spring,” Denton said. “Both of them have been in a very good rhythm, it helped get the momentum back in our favor. Then Jordi getting his first win as an Aggie is really big for us. I think he is a very big talent and will really help our singles depth moving forward.”
The lone point claimed by a non-freshman was posted by the Aggie's elder statesman, No. 65 Efferding on court one. The Floridian dazzled the stadium club with several impressive shots, defeating Johnson 6-3, 6-4 clinching the victory for Texas A&M.
The Aggies will finish out the weekend within the friendly confines of the Mitchell Tennis Center, hosting No. 4 Illinois at noon on Sunday followed by a 4 p.m. appointment with Abilene Christian.
“Once again it very important for us to hold serve at home in conference play,” Denton said. “I knew this was going to be a close match. I knew our guys would not be looking ahead to a very good Illinois team coming in here on Sunday. They have a tough match with Texas in Austin tomorrow then turnaround and play us here on Sunday. I expect a very high level college tennis match that will be really fun to watch.”
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.
#9 Texas A&M 4, #11 Vanderbilt 1
George P. Mitchell Tennis Center
College Station, TX
Singles competition
1. #65 Jeremy Efferding (TAMU) def. Rhys Johnson (VANDY) 6-3, 6-4
2. #71 Shane Vinsant (TAMU) vs. Daniel Valent (VANDY) 6-4, 4-6, unfinished
3. #48 Harrison Adams (TAMU) vs. Kris Yee (VANDY) 5-7, 5-4, unfinished
4. Arthur Rinderknech (TAMU) def. Suresh Eswaran (VANDY) 7-5, 6-3
5. Jordi Arconada (TAMU) def. Baker Newman (VANDY) 7-5, 6-3
6. #89 AJ Catanzariti (TAMU) def. Jeffrey Offerdahl (VANDY) 6-1, 6-4
Doubles competition
1. Baker Newman/Pen Binet (VANDY) def. #9 Harrison Adams/Shane Vinsant (TAMU) 6-4
2. Jeffrey Offerdahl/Rhys Johnson (VANDY) def. #26 Jeremy Efferding/Jordan Szabo (TAMU) 6-2
3. AJ Catanzariti/Arthur Rinderknech (TAMU) def. Suresh Eswaran/Daniel Valent (VANDY) 6-4
Order of Finish
Doubles (2,3,1); Singles (6,4,5,1)
Players Mentioned
