Aggies Among Elite in Initial Spring Rankings
Jan 05, 2016 | Men's Tennis
COLLEGE STATION, Texas – The Texas A&M men's tennis team opens the 2016 season ranked No. 5 in the ITA Division I Tennis announced Tuesday afternoon. Sophomore Arthur Rinderknech and senior Shane Vinsant are among the ranked singles players along with tandems Rinderknech and Vinsant and junior Max Lunkin and sophomore Jordi Arconada amongst the ranked doubles pairs.
"The charge for the team this fall was for our guys to work on their game individually and get better," said Texas A&M Head Coach Steve Denton. "I have seen some marked improvement from the team, especially from a player like Arthur (Rinderknech). He has really stepped it up, playing three and four for us last season he will be expected to play a higher line and help lead this team into a very challenging schedule. He really made his mark this fall and will enter the season as one of the highest ranked players in our conference and even the country."
The Aggies were among five teams in the Southeastern Conference to crack the top-25 with Georgia (7), Ole Miss (19), Florida (24) and Vanderbilt (25) also in the initial poll. Other ranked squads on the 2016 schedule for the Aggies include TCU (3), Baylor (4), Illinois (6), Ohio State (10), South Florida (15), Mississippi State (27), LSU (30), Florida State (31), Tennessee (44), South Carolina (50), San Francisco (55), Rice (58), Boise State (59), Auburn, (61), Alabama (65), Fresno State (67) and Arkansas (72). In total the Aggies are scheduled to play 21 matched against opponents in the ITA Top-75.
Rinderknech earned the highest initial spring ranking for an Aggie on record, additionally he is the highest-ranked player in the SEC. The right-hander made headlines around college tennis early last spring, clinching the upset of then-No. 5 Ohio State and the Aggies first ever defeat of the nation's number one team, No. 1 Oklahoma on February 20. The stringy right-hander earned All-SEC Second team and All-Freshman accolades for his efforts in maroon and white. As impressive as the Frenchman's freshman campaign was, the sophomore turned in a 13-2 fall resume including four wins over ranked opponents, his only two losses this fall came to the currently ranked No. 2 and No. 3 ranked players.
"This is a testament to Arthur's hard work over the summer along with his success this fall that has catapulted him up in the rankings," added Denton, the 2014 and 2015 SEC Coach of the Year. "He is playing with a lot of confidence right now and to have the success that he has had early has made him very excited to play this spring. He has really worked on the areas of his game that he needed to improve on. As physical and athletic as he is for his size, he is a hard match up for a lot of players. He will play some tough matches against some of the best players in the country, I look forward to seeing him compete both physically and mentally."
All-American Vinsant begins the spring season ranked No. 29 in the ITA singles rankings. Vinsant finished the fall season at 7-4 with a trio of wins over ranked opponents. Vinsant has earned All-SEC recognition each of the last two seasons, along with the 2014 SEC Tournament MVP honors. A season ago Vinsant was named an All-American alongside classmate Harrison Adams after earning a final No. 10 ranking in the doubles poll.
"I think we have one of the deepest teams in the country, we have two things that stand out for our squad this year in depth and experience," Denton said. "Bob (McKinley) and I are lucky to have a very deep roster that will help us go through the challenging schedule we have in addition to playing in one of the best conferences for collegiate tennis in the SEC. Both of those things will be important for us to be successful this year. We were also lucky to get Jackson Withrow back this year, he will add depth and a tremendous amount of leadership for this team both on and off the court."
The highest ranked A&M doubles team was Rinderknech and Vinsant at No. 12. The duo was 5-1 this fall with an impressive 2-1 mark against ranked pairs. Lunkin and Arconada earned their first doubles ranking of their career at No. 29. The duo were 3-1 in the fall, going 1-1 against ranked pairs.
"We have a lot of guys that are good singles players, but they also excel in the doubles game," Denton added. "Max Lunkin and AJ Catanzariti are both good doubles players, in addition to Jordi (Arconada) who went and won a couple doubles tournaments this summer. We have a couple other younger players that are accomplished doubles players as well. I see Harry (Adams) and Shane along with Arthur and Jackson as four really good doubles players are interchangeable, that should translate to a lot of doubles success this spring."
Texas A&M is one of five teams in the nation with both its men's and women's programs ranked in the top 10 in the nation as the Aggie women's team enters the spring at No. 10.
The Aggies open the spring season with a doubleheader against UTSA and Lamar on Jan. 17 at the Mitchell Tennis Center. To learn more about the men's tennis team, visit 12thMan.com and follow @AggieMTEN on Twitter.
"The charge for the team this fall was for our guys to work on their game individually and get better," said Texas A&M Head Coach Steve Denton. "I have seen some marked improvement from the team, especially from a player like Arthur (Rinderknech). He has really stepped it up, playing three and four for us last season he will be expected to play a higher line and help lead this team into a very challenging schedule. He really made his mark this fall and will enter the season as one of the highest ranked players in our conference and even the country."
The Aggies were among five teams in the Southeastern Conference to crack the top-25 with Georgia (7), Ole Miss (19), Florida (24) and Vanderbilt (25) also in the initial poll. Other ranked squads on the 2016 schedule for the Aggies include TCU (3), Baylor (4), Illinois (6), Ohio State (10), South Florida (15), Mississippi State (27), LSU (30), Florida State (31), Tennessee (44), South Carolina (50), San Francisco (55), Rice (58), Boise State (59), Auburn, (61), Alabama (65), Fresno State (67) and Arkansas (72). In total the Aggies are scheduled to play 21 matched against opponents in the ITA Top-75.
Rinderknech earned the highest initial spring ranking for an Aggie on record, additionally he is the highest-ranked player in the SEC. The right-hander made headlines around college tennis early last spring, clinching the upset of then-No. 5 Ohio State and the Aggies first ever defeat of the nation's number one team, No. 1 Oklahoma on February 20. The stringy right-hander earned All-SEC Second team and All-Freshman accolades for his efforts in maroon and white. As impressive as the Frenchman's freshman campaign was, the sophomore turned in a 13-2 fall resume including four wins over ranked opponents, his only two losses this fall came to the currently ranked No. 2 and No. 3 ranked players.
"This is a testament to Arthur's hard work over the summer along with his success this fall that has catapulted him up in the rankings," added Denton, the 2014 and 2015 SEC Coach of the Year. "He is playing with a lot of confidence right now and to have the success that he has had early has made him very excited to play this spring. He has really worked on the areas of his game that he needed to improve on. As physical and athletic as he is for his size, he is a hard match up for a lot of players. He will play some tough matches against some of the best players in the country, I look forward to seeing him compete both physically and mentally."
All-American Vinsant begins the spring season ranked No. 29 in the ITA singles rankings. Vinsant finished the fall season at 7-4 with a trio of wins over ranked opponents. Vinsant has earned All-SEC recognition each of the last two seasons, along with the 2014 SEC Tournament MVP honors. A season ago Vinsant was named an All-American alongside classmate Harrison Adams after earning a final No. 10 ranking in the doubles poll.
"I think we have one of the deepest teams in the country, we have two things that stand out for our squad this year in depth and experience," Denton said. "Bob (McKinley) and I are lucky to have a very deep roster that will help us go through the challenging schedule we have in addition to playing in one of the best conferences for collegiate tennis in the SEC. Both of those things will be important for us to be successful this year. We were also lucky to get Jackson Withrow back this year, he will add depth and a tremendous amount of leadership for this team both on and off the court."
The highest ranked A&M doubles team was Rinderknech and Vinsant at No. 12. The duo was 5-1 this fall with an impressive 2-1 mark against ranked pairs. Lunkin and Arconada earned their first doubles ranking of their career at No. 29. The duo were 3-1 in the fall, going 1-1 against ranked pairs.
"We have a lot of guys that are good singles players, but they also excel in the doubles game," Denton added. "Max Lunkin and AJ Catanzariti are both good doubles players, in addition to Jordi (Arconada) who went and won a couple doubles tournaments this summer. We have a couple other younger players that are accomplished doubles players as well. I see Harry (Adams) and Shane along with Arthur and Jackson as four really good doubles players are interchangeable, that should translate to a lot of doubles success this spring."
Texas A&M is one of five teams in the nation with both its men's and women's programs ranked in the top 10 in the nation as the Aggie women's team enters the spring at No. 10.
The Aggies open the spring season with a doubleheader against UTSA and Lamar on Jan. 17 at the Mitchell Tennis Center. To learn more about the men's tennis team, visit 12thMan.com and follow @AggieMTEN on Twitter.
| Rank | School | 2014-15 Final Rank |
| 1 | Virginia | 1 |
| 2 | Oklahoma | 2 |
| 3 | TCU | 4 |
| 4 | Baylor | 3 |
| 5 | Texas A&M | 5 |
| 6 | Illinois | 6 |
| 7 | Georgia | 8 |
| 8 | USC | 7 |
| 9 | North Carolina | 11 |
| 10 | Ohio State | 12 |
| 11 | Wake Forest | 13 |
| 12 | Texas | 9 |
| 13 | Duke | 10 |
| 14 | UCLA | 15 |
| 15 | South Florida | 16 |
| 16 | Virginia Tech | 18 |
| 17 | Texas Tech | 19 |
| 18 | Columbia | 14 |
| 19 | Mississippi | 17 |
| 20 | Stanford | 20 |
| 21 | California | 26 |
| 22 | San Diego | 22 |
| 23 | Minnesota | 21 |
| 24 | Florida | 25 |
| 25 | Vanderbilt | 24 |
Players Mentioned
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