Aggies Look to Tame Lions at ITA Indoors

Friday, February 12

Charlottesville, Va.

11:00 AM

Texas A&M

Columbia

Feb 11, 2016 | Men's Tennis

By: Texas A&M Media Relations

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – With the field set at the ITA National Indoor Team Championships, 2^nd-seeded Texas A&M will take on No. 15 Columbia Friday at 11a.m. (CT) at the Boars Head Club in Charlottesville, Va.

The Aggies (9-0) look stay hot as they put their nine-match winning streak on the line against the Lions (4-0). Texas A&M claimed five wins last week including wins over then 4^th-ranked Baylor, No. 13 South Florida and No. 28 Florida State. The maroon and white advanced to the ITA Indoor Champions by sweeping both Fresno State and Boise State last month at the Mitchell Tennis Center. Columbia advanced to this weekend's event after topping No. 22 Minnesota and No. 18 Stanford in the ITA Kick-Off, which took place Jan. 24-25.

For updated draws, complete results, live scoring and video links, head to the ITA Indoors Championship Central page. On social media, live updates can be found at @ITATennis and @AggieMTEN on twitter, and use the hashtag #ITAIndoors.

Players in the ITA Rankings
Texas A&M enters the match with a pair of ranked singles players, led by No. 8 Arthur Rinderknech. Rinderknech earned the highest initial spring ranking for an Aggie on record, additionally he is the highest-ranked player in the SEC. The Frenchman stands at 16-4 this year, including a team-best five wins over ranked opponents.

Senior Shane Vinsant brings a No. 39 ranking into the top-15 matchup. The Keller native is currently 11-6 on the season, including an impressive 4-4 record against ranked foes. 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.

In addition to the two ranked singles players, the Aggies enlist a pair of ranked doubles teams in the initial spring rankings. No. 26 Rinderknech and Vinsant and the 33^rd ranked pair of Jordi Arconada and Max Lunkin. Arconada and Lunkin are 8-1 this season, with a 5-0 dual record and one win over a ranked doubles team under their belt.

Columbia counters with a pair of ranked singles players; No. 108 Richard Pham and No. 124 Eric Rubin. Pham and senior Mike Vermeer lead the team with a 4-0 mark in singles play this season. Additionally, the Lions feature a pair of top-20 doubles teams, Pham and junior Shawn Hadavi came in at No. 15 in the latest ITA doubles rankings, while Vermeer and sophomore Michal Rolski are No. 20 in doubles.

Last Time Out
The No. 3 Texas A&M men's tennis team defeated No. 13 South Florida, 4-3, and St. Edward's, 7-0, at the Mitchell Tennis Center last Sunday. The Aggies claimed the double points in both matches Sunday afternoon, the maroon and white have started every match this season winning the doubles point. Against South Florida, the Aggies carried the point with 6-4 wins from Arthur Rinderknech and Jackson Withrow on court two and No. 29 Jordi Arconada and Max Lunkin on court three. The point against St. Edward's was clinched by wins from Aleksandre Bakshi and AJ Catanzariti, 6-0, on court two along with Kevin Lam and Oscar Janglin, 6-2, on court three.

Catanzariti turned in one of the most impressive performances on the day putting the Aggies ahead of the Bulls 2-0, winning 6-1, 6-4 over USF's Justin Roberts on court four. Arconada defeated Sasha Gozun 6-3, 6-3 to stake A&M to a 3-0 lead against the Bulls. The match was clinched by Withrow on court six, the Omaha native topped Ignacio Gonzalez 6-2, 7-5.

Against the Hilltoppers, No. 29 Vinsant put A&M ahead 2-0 with a 6-0, 6-1 win on court two over Logan Buignet. Senior Harrison Adams pushed out the Aggie lead to 3-0 as he defeated Ricardo Pineda 6-1, 6-0 on court one. Freshman Sam Giammalva defeated Jared Fellows 6-0, 6-2 on court six and junior James Martell topped Mateus de Col 6-4, 6-2 on court five. Junior Frankie Colunga bested Maximo Agoglia on court four and Bakshi completed the sweep by defeating Charlie Shin on court three.

Up Next
The Aggies will continue play at the 2016 ITA Division I National Men's Team Indoor Championship, taking place in Charlottesville, Va. from February 12-15. Following the ITA Indoors the maroon and white remain on the road, as they travel to face No. 8 Ohio State and No. 12 Illinois next weekend followed by the SEC opener at Auburn on March 4. The Aggies will return to the Mitchell Tennis Center No. 22 Florida on March 6.

Keep Up With the Aggies
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.

#ITAIndoors First Round Matches (All Times Eastern)
No. 1 Virginia vs. No. 16 San Diego, 6:30 pm
No. 8 Oklahoma vs. No. 9 Wake Forest, 6:30 pm
No. 4 USC vs. No. 13 South Florida, 3:30 pm
No. 5 TCU vs. No. 12 Illinois, 3:30 pm
No. 6 Ohio State vs. No. 11 Baylor, 9 am
No. 3 North Carolina vs. No. 14 Texas Tech, 9 am
No. 7 UCLA vs. No. 10 Georgia, 12 pm
No. 2 Texas A&M vs. No. 15 Columbia, 12 pm