Sunday, January 17
College Station
12:00 PM
Texas A&M
6
vs
1
UTSA
Aggies Sweep Opening Day Doubleheader
Jan 17, 2016 | Men's Tennis
COLLEGE STATION, Texas – The No. 5 Texas A&M men's tennis team swept UTSA and Lamar on spring season opening day at the Mitchell Tennis Center. The Aggies defeated the Roadrunners 6-1 before sweeping the Cardinals 7-0 in College Station.
In the day's first match, the Aggies claimed the doubles point in relatively swift fashion. The newly formed pair of senior Jackson Withrow and sophomore Arthur Rinderknech held serve until 3-2 and claimed a break to help secure the 6-3 win over Diogo Casa and Fabian Brand. One court over, sophomore AJ Catanzariti and senior Shane Vinsant stayed on serve until winning a break at 4-3, holding serve on the next point to post a 6-3 win over Mark Ginting and Eric Buchalter and put the day's first point on the board.
As play transitioned to singles action the Aggies maintained the momentum, winning the first set on all six courts. In a race to put point number two on the board, junior James Martell made quick work of Ginting on court four, winning 6-1, 6-2 and putting the Aggies ahead 2-0. Moments later the maroon and white tacked on the third point as junior Max Lunkin defeated Jake Rother 6-2, 6-2.
The win over the Roadrunners was clinched as freshman Sam Giammalva defeated Brand 6-2, 6-2 on court six, the victory marked the first dual-victory for Giammalva in the maroon and white. The Aggies tacked on points through wins by No. 29 Vinsant over Casa (6-3, 6-4) and sophomore AJ Catanzariti over Christian Carillo (6-3, 7-5). Buchalter delivered the lone Roadrunners' point of the day, defeating freshman Kevin Lam 4-6, 7-5 1-0[8] on court five.
Following an hour break the Aggies and Cardinals took to the courts to settle the night-cap. Rinderknech and Withrow maintained their winning ways, defeating Jeandre Hoogenboezem and Nikita Lis 6-1. The Aggies claimed the doubles point as Vinsant and Catanzariti moved to 2-0 on the day, besting Michael Feucht and Benny Schweizer, 6-3, on court two.
Despite a line change in the singles flight, the Aggies held serve in the first set, winning all six first sets against the Cardinals. Freshman Aleksandre Bakshi made his A&M debut defeating Sebastian Santibanez 6-1, 6-3. The lead grew to 3-0 as Withrow topped Schweizer 6-3, 6-2. The match was clinched as No. 5 Rinderknech topped Feucht, 6-1, 6-4, on the first court.
The sweep was completed as junior Frankie Colunga beat Hoogenboezem (6-1, 6-4), sophomore Jordi Arconada topped Lis (6-4, 6-4) and freshman Henry Gordon bested Steven McMullan (7-6(5), 6-4).
The Aggies continue play at the Mitchell Tennis Center next weekend hosting the ITA Kick-off Weekend as Boise State, San Francisco and Fresno State are set to compete for a place in the ITA National Indoor Championship. To learn more about the men's tennis team, visit 12thMan.com and follow @AggieMTEN on Twitter.
Post-match Quotes
Steve Denton, Texas A&M Head Coach
Thoughts on the opening matches…
"I was pleased with today's matches. I knew that the first matches of the season would be good for us, both of these teams have good players and I knew it would be a test for us. I was pleased with the way our guys responded from the first serve of the day. I thought we played better in the second match than in the first, but I was pleased with everyone's effort and fitness. I am sure the guys were happy to play somebody else and it showed today that they were excited and competitive."
Seeing Henry Gordon play for the first time collegiately…
"He had a couple ESPN type moments, with the great cross court shot in the doubles followed by a winner from his back in the last set of the second match. This is exactly why we recruited Henry to play at Texas A&M. We knew he would do anything he could to be successful, he really thrives in the team format. He is coming back from a major injury and is not 100% yet, but you can see his competitive nature. I was really proud and happy for him to get that first win under his belt."
On the competitiveness and depth in this year's team…
"Depth is our biggest issue and possibly our biggest strength as a team. We have to find a way to get all of our guy's court time and be smart about getting our guys matches. We have to find a way to get matches for both the group that will be playing going forward, but also rotating in guys when we can to get them acclimated and ready for college tennis. I am happy with our depth, especially the younger guys like [Aleksandre] Bakshi. He seems to be a real prime-time type player. Throughout practice the last week or so he has been telling us that he plays better in matches and he showed that today. Sam [Giammalva] really served out of a mountain today in his first collegiate dual match, I was really impressed with his game and how well he played. We have a lot of guys that I am comfortable to put in the lineup. We had a lot of positives today and that makes for a great team win."
Results
#5 Texas A&M (1-0) 6, #66 UTSA (0-1) 1
Singles competition
1. #29 Shane Vinsant (TAMU) def. Diogo Casa (UTSA) 6-3, 6-4
2. Max Lunkin (TAMU) def. Jake Rother (UTSA) 6-2, 6-2
3. AJ Catanzariti (TAMU) def. Christian Carrillo (UTSA) 6-3, 7-5
4. James Martell (TAMU) def. Mark Ginting (UTSA) 6-1, 6-2
5. Eric Buchalter (UTSA) def. Kevin Lam (TAMU) 4-6, 7-5, 1-0 (10-8)
6. Sam Giammalva (TAMU) def. Fabian Brand (UTSA) 6-2, 6-2
Doubles competition
1. Arthur Rinderknech/Jackson Withrow (TAMU) def. Diogo Casa/Fabian Brand (UTSA) 6-3
2. Shane Vinsant/AJ Catanzariti (TAMU) def. Mark Ginting/Eric Buchalter (UTSA) 6-3
3. James Martell/Henry Gordon (TAMU) vs. Jake Rother/Christian Carrillo (UTSA) 5-5, unfinished
Order of finish: Doubles (1,2); Singles (4,2,6,3,1,5)
#5 Texas A&M (2-0) 7, Lamar (1-2) 0
Singles competition
1. #5 Arthur Rinderknech (TAMU) def. Michael Feucht (LAMAR) 6-1, 6-4
2. Jordi Arconada (TAMU) def. Nikita Lis (LAMAR) 6-4, 6-4
3. Jackson Withrow (TAMU) def. Benny Schweizer (LAMAR) 6-3, 6-2
4. Aleksandre Bakshi (TAMU) def. Sebastian Santibanez (LAMAR) 6-1, 6-3
5. Frankie Colunga (TAMU) def. Jeandre Hoogenboezem (LAMAR) 6-1, 6-4
6. Henry Gordon (TAMU) def. Steven McMullan (LAMAR) 7-6 (7-5), 6-4
Doubles competition
1. Arthur Rinderknech/Jackson Withrow (TAMU) def. Jeandre Hoogenboezem/Nikita Lis (LAMAR) 6-1
2. Shane Vinsant/AJ Catanzariti (TAMU) def. Michael Feucht/Benny Schweizer (LAMAR) 6-3
3. Jordi Arconada/Max Lunkin (TAMU) vs. Juuso Laitinen/Sebastian Santibanez (LAMAR) 4-3, unfinished
Order of finish: Doubles (1,2); Singles (4,3,1,5,2,6)
In the day's first match, the Aggies claimed the doubles point in relatively swift fashion. The newly formed pair of senior Jackson Withrow and sophomore Arthur Rinderknech held serve until 3-2 and claimed a break to help secure the 6-3 win over Diogo Casa and Fabian Brand. One court over, sophomore AJ Catanzariti and senior Shane Vinsant stayed on serve until winning a break at 4-3, holding serve on the next point to post a 6-3 win over Mark Ginting and Eric Buchalter and put the day's first point on the board.
As play transitioned to singles action the Aggies maintained the momentum, winning the first set on all six courts. In a race to put point number two on the board, junior James Martell made quick work of Ginting on court four, winning 6-1, 6-2 and putting the Aggies ahead 2-0. Moments later the maroon and white tacked on the third point as junior Max Lunkin defeated Jake Rother 6-2, 6-2.
The win over the Roadrunners was clinched as freshman Sam Giammalva defeated Brand 6-2, 6-2 on court six, the victory marked the first dual-victory for Giammalva in the maroon and white. The Aggies tacked on points through wins by No. 29 Vinsant over Casa (6-3, 6-4) and sophomore AJ Catanzariti over Christian Carillo (6-3, 7-5). Buchalter delivered the lone Roadrunners' point of the day, defeating freshman Kevin Lam 4-6, 7-5 1-0[8] on court five.
Following an hour break the Aggies and Cardinals took to the courts to settle the night-cap. Rinderknech and Withrow maintained their winning ways, defeating Jeandre Hoogenboezem and Nikita Lis 6-1. The Aggies claimed the doubles point as Vinsant and Catanzariti moved to 2-0 on the day, besting Michael Feucht and Benny Schweizer, 6-3, on court two.
Despite a line change in the singles flight, the Aggies held serve in the first set, winning all six first sets against the Cardinals. Freshman Aleksandre Bakshi made his A&M debut defeating Sebastian Santibanez 6-1, 6-3. The lead grew to 3-0 as Withrow topped Schweizer 6-3, 6-2. The match was clinched as No. 5 Rinderknech topped Feucht, 6-1, 6-4, on the first court.
The sweep was completed as junior Frankie Colunga beat Hoogenboezem (6-1, 6-4), sophomore Jordi Arconada topped Lis (6-4, 6-4) and freshman Henry Gordon bested Steven McMullan (7-6(5), 6-4).
The Aggies continue play at the Mitchell Tennis Center next weekend hosting the ITA Kick-off Weekend as Boise State, San Francisco and Fresno State are set to compete for a place in the ITA National Indoor Championship. To learn more about the men's tennis team, visit 12thMan.com and follow @AggieMTEN on Twitter.
Post-match Quotes
Steve Denton, Texas A&M Head Coach
Thoughts on the opening matches…
"I was pleased with today's matches. I knew that the first matches of the season would be good for us, both of these teams have good players and I knew it would be a test for us. I was pleased with the way our guys responded from the first serve of the day. I thought we played better in the second match than in the first, but I was pleased with everyone's effort and fitness. I am sure the guys were happy to play somebody else and it showed today that they were excited and competitive."
Seeing Henry Gordon play for the first time collegiately…
"He had a couple ESPN type moments, with the great cross court shot in the doubles followed by a winner from his back in the last set of the second match. This is exactly why we recruited Henry to play at Texas A&M. We knew he would do anything he could to be successful, he really thrives in the team format. He is coming back from a major injury and is not 100% yet, but you can see his competitive nature. I was really proud and happy for him to get that first win under his belt."
On the competitiveness and depth in this year's team…
"Depth is our biggest issue and possibly our biggest strength as a team. We have to find a way to get all of our guy's court time and be smart about getting our guys matches. We have to find a way to get matches for both the group that will be playing going forward, but also rotating in guys when we can to get them acclimated and ready for college tennis. I am happy with our depth, especially the younger guys like [Aleksandre] Bakshi. He seems to be a real prime-time type player. Throughout practice the last week or so he has been telling us that he plays better in matches and he showed that today. Sam [Giammalva] really served out of a mountain today in his first collegiate dual match, I was really impressed with his game and how well he played. We have a lot of guys that I am comfortable to put in the lineup. We had a lot of positives today and that makes for a great team win."
Results
#5 Texas A&M (1-0) 6, #66 UTSA (0-1) 1
Singles competition
1. #29 Shane Vinsant (TAMU) def. Diogo Casa (UTSA) 6-3, 6-4
2. Max Lunkin (TAMU) def. Jake Rother (UTSA) 6-2, 6-2
3. AJ Catanzariti (TAMU) def. Christian Carrillo (UTSA) 6-3, 7-5
4. James Martell (TAMU) def. Mark Ginting (UTSA) 6-1, 6-2
5. Eric Buchalter (UTSA) def. Kevin Lam (TAMU) 4-6, 7-5, 1-0 (10-8)
6. Sam Giammalva (TAMU) def. Fabian Brand (UTSA) 6-2, 6-2
Doubles competition
1. Arthur Rinderknech/Jackson Withrow (TAMU) def. Diogo Casa/Fabian Brand (UTSA) 6-3
2. Shane Vinsant/AJ Catanzariti (TAMU) def. Mark Ginting/Eric Buchalter (UTSA) 6-3
3. James Martell/Henry Gordon (TAMU) vs. Jake Rother/Christian Carrillo (UTSA) 5-5, unfinished
Order of finish: Doubles (1,2); Singles (4,2,6,3,1,5)
#5 Texas A&M (2-0) 7, Lamar (1-2) 0
Singles competition
1. #5 Arthur Rinderknech (TAMU) def. Michael Feucht (LAMAR) 6-1, 6-4
2. Jordi Arconada (TAMU) def. Nikita Lis (LAMAR) 6-4, 6-4
3. Jackson Withrow (TAMU) def. Benny Schweizer (LAMAR) 6-3, 6-2
4. Aleksandre Bakshi (TAMU) def. Sebastian Santibanez (LAMAR) 6-1, 6-3
5. Frankie Colunga (TAMU) def. Jeandre Hoogenboezem (LAMAR) 6-1, 6-4
6. Henry Gordon (TAMU) def. Steven McMullan (LAMAR) 7-6 (7-5), 6-4
Doubles competition
1. Arthur Rinderknech/Jackson Withrow (TAMU) def. Jeandre Hoogenboezem/Nikita Lis (LAMAR) 6-1
2. Shane Vinsant/AJ Catanzariti (TAMU) def. Michael Feucht/Benny Schweizer (LAMAR) 6-3
3. Jordi Arconada/Max Lunkin (TAMU) vs. Juuso Laitinen/Sebastian Santibanez (LAMAR) 4-3, unfinished
Order of finish: Doubles (1,2); Singles (4,3,1,5,2,6)
Players Mentioned
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
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