Sunday, February 21
Champaign, Ill.
12:00 PM
Texas A&M
4
at
2
Illinois
Rinderknech Clinches No. 8 Texas A&M Victory at No. 12 Illinois
Feb 21, 2016 | Men's Tennis
URBANA-CHAMPAIGN, Illinois – The No. 7 Texas A&M men's tennis team defeated No. 12 Illinois, 4-2, at the Atkins Tennis Center in Urbana-Champaign, Illinois Sunday afternoon. The Aggies improved to 11-3 on the season, while the Illini fell to 6-4.
The maroon and white dropped the doubles point for just the third time in 14 matches this season. Illinois claimed the day's first point with victories on doubles court two and three. Harrison Adams and AJ Catanzariti fell 6-1 to Julian Childers and Aiden Jiang on court three before No. 33 Max Lunkin and Jordi Arconada dropped a 6-2 decision to Aleks Vukic and Aron Hiltzik on the middle court.
Texas A&M bounced back from dropping the doubles point to claim first sets on five of six courts. The Illini tacked on point number two from a straight set victory on court two, No. 10 Jared Hiltzik topped Jordi Arconada 6-3, 6-2. Following the set back the maroon and white would storm through the final four matches that finished to claim the team win.
Withrow put A&M on the board with an impressive 6-3, 6-2 victory over Brian Page on court five, moments later the match was evened as Catanzariti defeated No. 69 Aron Hiltzik 6-1, 7-6(1) on court three. The Aggies continued to pile on the pressure claiming point number three as Adams tackled Childers 7-6(2), 3-6, 6-2 on court four. Rinderknech clinched the win with a 6-1, 5-7, 6-3 victory over No. 12 Vukic on the top court.
The Aggies will remain on the road after a rare weekend off, as they travel to face No. 56 Auburn on March 4, the SEC opener for both teams. The Aggies will return to the Mitchell Tennis Center to take on No. 23 Florida on March 6.
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.
#7 Texas A&M 4, #12 Illinois 2
Singles competition
1. #8 Arthur Rinderknech, (TAMU) def. #12 Aleks Vukic (Ill) 6-1, 5-7, 6-3
2. #10 Jared Hiltzik (Ill) def. Jordi Arconada (TAMU) 6-3, 6-2
3. AJ Catanzariti (TAMU) def. #69 Aron Hiltzik (Ill) 6-1, 7-6(1)
4. Harrison Adams (TAMU) def. Julian Childers (Ill) 7-6(2), 3-6, 6-2
5. Jackson Withrow (TAMU) def. Brian Page (Ill) 6-3, 6-2
6. Max Lunkin (TAMU) vs. Asher Hirsh (Ill) 6-3, 6-7(4), 2-1 unfinished
Doubles competition
1. Jared Hiltzik/Brian Page (Ill) vs. Arthur Rinderknech/Jackson Withrow (TAMU) 5-2, unfinished
2. Aleks Vukic/Aron Hiltzik (Ill) def. #33 Jordi Arconada/Max Lunkin (TAMU) 6-2
3. Julian Childers/Aiden Jiang (Ill) def. Harrison Adams/AJ Catanzariti (TAMU) 6-1
Match Notes:
Texas A&M 11-3; National ranking #7
Illinois 6-4; National ranking #12
Order of finish: Doubles (3, 2); Singles (2, 5, 3, 4, 1)
Post Match Quotes
Steve Denton, Texas A&M Head Coach
Thoughts on the match…
"It was a great team win for us, after losing a couple matches in a row it was big for our team to come back and play the level we were capable of playing. I was proud of our guys for playing hard and being in the match mentally. It was a big effort from the guys to come out and play the way we did. Winning five first sets in singles was huge for us and it shows that we can play at a very high level. I'm proud of the guys."
Winning the match after dropping doubles point…
"It showed how good we can play if everyone plays up their level. We had some big wins today, with Arthur beating one of the toughest players in the country. He was great after having a tough go of it the last couple matches. We had a lot of heroes today, AJ was great today after winning the first set and coming back from being down in the second set to win in a tie breaker. That was a really big boost for the team. Harry, came back and won a big point for us. He hadn't broken serve for a while and got a couple big breaks in the third set. He played his best tennis on this trip in the last set today.
The maroon and white dropped the doubles point for just the third time in 14 matches this season. Illinois claimed the day's first point with victories on doubles court two and three. Harrison Adams and AJ Catanzariti fell 6-1 to Julian Childers and Aiden Jiang on court three before No. 33 Max Lunkin and Jordi Arconada dropped a 6-2 decision to Aleks Vukic and Aron Hiltzik on the middle court.
Texas A&M bounced back from dropping the doubles point to claim first sets on five of six courts. The Illini tacked on point number two from a straight set victory on court two, No. 10 Jared Hiltzik topped Jordi Arconada 6-3, 6-2. Following the set back the maroon and white would storm through the final four matches that finished to claim the team win.
Withrow put A&M on the board with an impressive 6-3, 6-2 victory over Brian Page on court five, moments later the match was evened as Catanzariti defeated No. 69 Aron Hiltzik 6-1, 7-6(1) on court three. The Aggies continued to pile on the pressure claiming point number three as Adams tackled Childers 7-6(2), 3-6, 6-2 on court four. Rinderknech clinched the win with a 6-1, 5-7, 6-3 victory over No. 12 Vukic on the top court.
The Aggies will remain on the road after a rare weekend off, as they travel to face No. 56 Auburn on March 4, the SEC opener for both teams. The Aggies will return to the Mitchell Tennis Center to take on No. 23 Florida on March 6.
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.
#7 Texas A&M 4, #12 Illinois 2
Singles competition
1. #8 Arthur Rinderknech, (TAMU) def. #12 Aleks Vukic (Ill) 6-1, 5-7, 6-3
2. #10 Jared Hiltzik (Ill) def. Jordi Arconada (TAMU) 6-3, 6-2
3. AJ Catanzariti (TAMU) def. #69 Aron Hiltzik (Ill) 6-1, 7-6(1)
4. Harrison Adams (TAMU) def. Julian Childers (Ill) 7-6(2), 3-6, 6-2
5. Jackson Withrow (TAMU) def. Brian Page (Ill) 6-3, 6-2
6. Max Lunkin (TAMU) vs. Asher Hirsh (Ill) 6-3, 6-7(4), 2-1 unfinished
Doubles competition
1. Jared Hiltzik/Brian Page (Ill) vs. Arthur Rinderknech/Jackson Withrow (TAMU) 5-2, unfinished
2. Aleks Vukic/Aron Hiltzik (Ill) def. #33 Jordi Arconada/Max Lunkin (TAMU) 6-2
3. Julian Childers/Aiden Jiang (Ill) def. Harrison Adams/AJ Catanzariti (TAMU) 6-1
Match Notes:
Texas A&M 11-3; National ranking #7
Illinois 6-4; National ranking #12
Order of finish: Doubles (3, 2); Singles (2, 5, 3, 4, 1)
Post Match Quotes
Steve Denton, Texas A&M Head Coach
Thoughts on the match…
"It was a great team win for us, after losing a couple matches in a row it was big for our team to come back and play the level we were capable of playing. I was proud of our guys for playing hard and being in the match mentally. It was a big effort from the guys to come out and play the way we did. Winning five first sets in singles was huge for us and it shows that we can play at a very high level. I'm proud of the guys."
Winning the match after dropping doubles point…
"It showed how good we can play if everyone plays up their level. We had some big wins today, with Arthur beating one of the toughest players in the country. He was great after having a tough go of it the last couple matches. We had a lot of heroes today, AJ was great today after winning the first set and coming back from being down in the second set to win in a tie breaker. That was a really big boost for the team. Harry, came back and won a big point for us. He hadn't broken serve for a while and got a couple big breaks in the third set. He played his best tennis on this trip in the last set today.
Players Mentioned
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
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