Friday, February 12
Charlottesville, Va.
11:00 AM
Texas A&M
4
vs
2
Columbia
Photo by: ITA Tennis
Arconada Clinches Texas A&M Victory Over Columbia
Feb 12, 2016 | Men's Tennis
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – Sophomore Jordi Arconada clinched the opening round victory for the 2nd-seeded Texas A&M men's tennis team over No. 15 Columbia, 4-2, Friday afternoon at the Boars Head Club in Charlottesville, Va. The Aggies advanced to face No. 7 UCLA Saturday at 11 a.m. (CT), with the victory the Aggies improved to 10-0 while the Lions fell to 4-1 on the season.
The maroon and white have started 10-0 for the first time since the1994 season, the '94 squad started the season 15-0. With the win, the Aggies improved to 181-86 under 10th year head coach Steve Denton.
For the 10th straight match Texas A&M open the scoring by capturing the doubles point, all three matches Friday afternoon finished 6-4. A&M and Columbia split the first two matches, No. 33 Jordi Arconada and Max Lunkin defeated Eric Rubin and Christopher Grant while No. 15 Richard Pham and Shawn Hadavi topped Arthur Rinderknech and Jackson Withrow. With the match's first point in the balance, returning All-Americans Harrison Adams and Shane Vinsant were up to the task. The senior pair picked up an early break and claimed four deuce-points to best No. 20 Mike Vermeer and Michal Rolski.
The match tightened up as play transitioned to singles play as each team claimed three first sets, but the Aggies were able to reclaim momentum forcing a third set on two of the courts that they dropped the first set on. Sophomore AJ Catanzariti continues to dominate pace-of-play as he was off the court first, pushing A&M's lead to 2-0. The reigning SEC Player of the Week won his sixth straight match as he topped No. 108 Victor Pham 6-2, 6-1 on court five.
Columbia loosened A&M's grasp on the match with a 6-2, 6-4 win on court four by Vermeer over Adams. The match squared up at 2-all as Hadavi bested No. 8 Rinderknech 6-2, 1-6, 6-2 on the top court. No. 39 Vinsant restored the Aggie lead with a determined 6-4, 7-5 victory on court two. The two-time All-SEC honoree topped Richard Pham to improve to 5-2 this spring and 12-6 on the year.
As the match hinged on a pair of tense matches on court three and six, the Aggies once again flexed their depth as Withrow won a second-set tie-breaker to force a third set against Timothy Wang. Arconada suffered a set-back in a second-set tie-breaker, but the sophomore bounced back to clinch the win 6-3 in the third over No. 124 Rubin. The Puerto Rico native won his second straight match to improve to 4-2 this spring and 11-6 overall.
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.
Post Match Quotes
Steve Denton, Texas A&M Head Coach
On the match…
"As expected, I knew Columbia would play with a lot of energy against us. They are good indoor team and I thought today would play out much like it did, with a well-played tight match. Columbia played well, but give our guys a lot of credit. They started out a little slow after we won the doubles point. It looked like it took our guys a little bit of time to get acclimated to fast indoor courts. Once they started to get a feel for the courts we started to take a little control of a couple matches. Our guys really competed hard from there on out."
On Harry and Shane clinching the doubles point…
"I think that kind of a win will really help their confidence moving forward. To get a win under their belt, especially with the way they won the match as Harry hit a half-volley that barely trickles over the net. Obviously we were really fortunate in that situation, but you have to feel good that maybe a little bit of luck will start going their way and will translate to more success throughout the rest of the season."
On AJ continuing to play well…
"He has really been playing well with a lot of confidence, he got up early on his guy and played at a really high level from start to finish today. We are pleased with the level he has been playing at the beginning of this season, he has been a rock in the lineup for us that we can really depend on to play well. It's tough not playing doubles and having to get into a singles match right away and be ready to play."
On Shane's match…
"It seemed like it took Shane a little bit of time to acclimate to the match. As he got into the sets he played better and better, that really helped him close out that first set after being down a break early. Then again in the second set after going down he a break, but he was able to get back to even he really elevated his game and did a great job to close out the match. He served his best game of the match to close out the second set and win 7-5 over a good opponent.
On Jordi's clinch…
"Jordi came out and won the first set then he had his chances in the second set, but his opponent played a really high level tie-breaker. Then Jordi did not allow that to rattle him shows a lot of mettle, getting back on track and getting up a break in the third. In these matches a lot of times it comes down to who wins those deuce points and we were able to squeak out a couple more than they were today."
On tomorrow's match with UCLA…
"They have one of the best players in college tennis in Matthew McDonald, he is a really good player and the rest of their team really rally around him. They will be a tough match up, they played an extra match here playing Virginia earlier this week. They have had a chance to get used to the courts. Their match today came down to a third-set on court one against Georgia. It will be great getting to play them again in the regular season, we haven't had the chance to play them in a while."
#3 Texas A&M 4, #15 Columbia 2
Singles competition
1. Hadavi, Shawn (COL) def. #8 Arthur Rinderknech (TAMU) 6-2, 1-6, 6-2
2. #39 Shane Vinsant (TAMU) def. Pham, Richard (COL) 6-4, 7-5
3. Jordi Arconada (TAMU) def. #124 Rubin, Eric (COL) 6-4, 6-7, 6-3
4. Vermeer, Mike (COL) def. Harrison Adams (TAMU) 6-2, 6-4
5. AJ Catanzariti (TAMU) def. #108 Pham, Victor (COL) 6-2, 6-1
6. Jackson Withrow (TAMU) vs. Wang, Timothy (COL) 4-6, 7-6, 4-3, unfinished
Doubles competition
1. #15 Pham, Richard/Hadavi, Shawn (COL) def. Arthur Rinderknech/Jackson Withrow (TAMU) 6-4
2. Harrison Adams/Shane Vinsant (TAMU) def. #20 Vermeer, Mike/Rolski, Michal (COL) 6-4
3. #33 Max Lunkin/Jordi Arconada (TAMU) def. Rubin, Eric/Grant, Christopher (COL) 6-4
Match Notes:
Columbia 4-1; National ranking #15
Texas A&M 10-0; National ranking #3
Order of finish: Doubles (3, 1, 2); Singles (5, 4, 1, 2, 3)
ITA National Team Indoor Championship
First Round
The maroon and white have started 10-0 for the first time since the1994 season, the '94 squad started the season 15-0. With the win, the Aggies improved to 181-86 under 10th year head coach Steve Denton.
For the 10th straight match Texas A&M open the scoring by capturing the doubles point, all three matches Friday afternoon finished 6-4. A&M and Columbia split the first two matches, No. 33 Jordi Arconada and Max Lunkin defeated Eric Rubin and Christopher Grant while No. 15 Richard Pham and Shawn Hadavi topped Arthur Rinderknech and Jackson Withrow. With the match's first point in the balance, returning All-Americans Harrison Adams and Shane Vinsant were up to the task. The senior pair picked up an early break and claimed four deuce-points to best No. 20 Mike Vermeer and Michal Rolski.
The match tightened up as play transitioned to singles play as each team claimed three first sets, but the Aggies were able to reclaim momentum forcing a third set on two of the courts that they dropped the first set on. Sophomore AJ Catanzariti continues to dominate pace-of-play as he was off the court first, pushing A&M's lead to 2-0. The reigning SEC Player of the Week won his sixth straight match as he topped No. 108 Victor Pham 6-2, 6-1 on court five.
Columbia loosened A&M's grasp on the match with a 6-2, 6-4 win on court four by Vermeer over Adams. The match squared up at 2-all as Hadavi bested No. 8 Rinderknech 6-2, 1-6, 6-2 on the top court. No. 39 Vinsant restored the Aggie lead with a determined 6-4, 7-5 victory on court two. The two-time All-SEC honoree topped Richard Pham to improve to 5-2 this spring and 12-6 on the year.
As the match hinged on a pair of tense matches on court three and six, the Aggies once again flexed their depth as Withrow won a second-set tie-breaker to force a third set against Timothy Wang. Arconada suffered a set-back in a second-set tie-breaker, but the sophomore bounced back to clinch the win 6-3 in the third over No. 124 Rubin. The Puerto Rico native won his second straight match to improve to 4-2 this spring and 11-6 overall.
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.
Post Match Quotes
Steve Denton, Texas A&M Head Coach
On the match…
"As expected, I knew Columbia would play with a lot of energy against us. They are good indoor team and I thought today would play out much like it did, with a well-played tight match. Columbia played well, but give our guys a lot of credit. They started out a little slow after we won the doubles point. It looked like it took our guys a little bit of time to get acclimated to fast indoor courts. Once they started to get a feel for the courts we started to take a little control of a couple matches. Our guys really competed hard from there on out."
On Harry and Shane clinching the doubles point…
"I think that kind of a win will really help their confidence moving forward. To get a win under their belt, especially with the way they won the match as Harry hit a half-volley that barely trickles over the net. Obviously we were really fortunate in that situation, but you have to feel good that maybe a little bit of luck will start going their way and will translate to more success throughout the rest of the season."
On AJ continuing to play well…
"He has really been playing well with a lot of confidence, he got up early on his guy and played at a really high level from start to finish today. We are pleased with the level he has been playing at the beginning of this season, he has been a rock in the lineup for us that we can really depend on to play well. It's tough not playing doubles and having to get into a singles match right away and be ready to play."
On Shane's match…
"It seemed like it took Shane a little bit of time to acclimate to the match. As he got into the sets he played better and better, that really helped him close out that first set after being down a break early. Then again in the second set after going down he a break, but he was able to get back to even he really elevated his game and did a great job to close out the match. He served his best game of the match to close out the second set and win 7-5 over a good opponent.
On Jordi's clinch…
"Jordi came out and won the first set then he had his chances in the second set, but his opponent played a really high level tie-breaker. Then Jordi did not allow that to rattle him shows a lot of mettle, getting back on track and getting up a break in the third. In these matches a lot of times it comes down to who wins those deuce points and we were able to squeak out a couple more than they were today."
On tomorrow's match with UCLA…
"They have one of the best players in college tennis in Matthew McDonald, he is a really good player and the rest of their team really rally around him. They will be a tough match up, they played an extra match here playing Virginia earlier this week. They have had a chance to get used to the courts. Their match today came down to a third-set on court one against Georgia. It will be great getting to play them again in the regular season, we haven't had the chance to play them in a while."
#3 Texas A&M 4, #15 Columbia 2
Singles competition
1. Hadavi, Shawn (COL) def. #8 Arthur Rinderknech (TAMU) 6-2, 1-6, 6-2
2. #39 Shane Vinsant (TAMU) def. Pham, Richard (COL) 6-4, 7-5
3. Jordi Arconada (TAMU) def. #124 Rubin, Eric (COL) 6-4, 6-7, 6-3
4. Vermeer, Mike (COL) def. Harrison Adams (TAMU) 6-2, 6-4
5. AJ Catanzariti (TAMU) def. #108 Pham, Victor (COL) 6-2, 6-1
6. Jackson Withrow (TAMU) vs. Wang, Timothy (COL) 4-6, 7-6, 4-3, unfinished
Doubles competition
1. #15 Pham, Richard/Hadavi, Shawn (COL) def. Arthur Rinderknech/Jackson Withrow (TAMU) 6-4
2. Harrison Adams/Shane Vinsant (TAMU) def. #20 Vermeer, Mike/Rolski, Michal (COL) 6-4
3. #33 Max Lunkin/Jordi Arconada (TAMU) def. Rubin, Eric/Grant, Christopher (COL) 6-4
Match Notes:
Columbia 4-1; National ranking #15
Texas A&M 10-0; National ranking #3
Order of finish: Doubles (3, 1, 2); Singles (5, 4, 1, 2, 3)
ITA National Team Indoor Championship
First Round
Players Mentioned
/ 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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