Texas A&M
South Carolina
Efferding Clinches Texas A&M win over South Carolina
Mar 08, 2015 | Men's Tennis
COLLEGE STATION – The 10th-ranked Texas A&M men's tennis team fended off a valiant upset effort by South Carolina Sunday afternoon, winning 4-2 at the Carolina Tennis Center in Columbia. The Aggies improved to 7-2 on the year and 3-1 in SEC play, the Gamecocks fell to 9-8 overall and 1-3 in league action.
The maroon and white opened the scoring with the doubles point for the eighth time in nine matches this spring. The Aggies carried the point despite Kyle Koch and Thiago Pinheiro upsetting No. 8 Harrison Adams and Shane Vinsant. A&M's freshman duo of AJ Catanzariti and Arthur Rinderknech moved to 6-0 in dual matches, defeating Andrew Adams and Andrew Schafer 6-3 on court three.
The crucial doubles point was riding on the tightly contested second doubles court. The A&M senior pair of Jeremy Efferding and Jordan Szabo did not disappoint as they bested the 44th-ranked duo of Thomas Maryonne and Harrison O'Keefe. The 22nd-ranked A&M tandem moved to 6-2 in duals and 2-1 in SEC play.
As play transitioned to singles play, the Gamecocks controlled much of the action across all six courts as the home team claimed the four first sets. The Aggies found themselves in a 2-1 hole as South Carolina won points from Adams and Schafer over Vinsant and Jordi Arconada, respectively.
Despite the 2-1 deficit, the Aggies regained control winning the next three points. Catanzariti continued his impressive freshman campaign winning 6-4, 6-7(5), 6-0 on court five over O'Keefe to tie the match at two points apiece.
The Aggies regained their one point advantage as Rinderknech came out on top of a third-set tiebreaker over Pinheiro on court three. The Frenchman improved to 7-1 in dual matches and 3-0 in SEC play.
The clinch point came from No. 66 Efferding on court two over Koch. The Boca Raton native bounced back from dropping the first set 6-2 to win 6-4, 6-4 in set two and three and clinch the win for his team.
The Aggies will return home Friday to face No. 14 Vanderbilt at the George P Mitchell Tennis Center at 6 p.m. The maroon and white will host a non-conference doubleheader Sunday at noon vs No. 3 Illinois and at 4 p.m. versus Abilene Christian.
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.
South Carolina vs Texas A&M
Mar 08, 2015 at Columbia, SC
#10 Texas A&M 4, #40 South Carolina 2
Singles competition
1. Andrew Adams (SC) def. #65 Shane Vinsant (TAMU) 6-3, 6-0
2. #66 Jeremy Efferding (TAMU) def. Kyle Koch (SC) 2-6, 6-4, 6-4
3. Arthur Rinderknech (TAMU) def. Thiago Pinheiro (SC) 6-1, 1-6, 7-6 (7-2)
4. #101 Andrew Schafer (SC) def. Jordi Arconada (TAMU) 6-0, 6-4
5. #88 AJ Catanzariti (TAMU) def. Harrison O'Keefe (SC) 6-4, 6-7 (5-7), 6-0
6. Max Lunkin (TAMU) vs. Thomas Maryonne (SC) 2-6, 7-5, 4-1, unfinished
Doubles competition
1. Kyle Koch/Thiago Pinheiro (SC) def. #8 Harrison Adams/Shane Vinsant (TAMU) 6-2
2. #22 Jeremy Efferding/Jordan Szabo (TAMU) def. #44 Thomas Maryonne/Harrison O'Keefe (SC) 6-4
3. AJ Catanzariti/Arthur Rinderknech (TAMU) def. Andrew Adams/Andrew Schafer (SC) 6-3
Order of finish: Doubles (1,3,2); Singles (1,4,5,3,2)
Players Mentioned
