Texas A&M Advances to Face Texas in NCAA Second Round
May 13, 2016 | Men's Tennis
COLLEGE STATION, Texas – The No. 12 Texas A&M men's tennis team swept George Washington, 4-0, Friday afternoon at the George P Mitchell Tennis Center in the NCAA Division I Men's Tennis Championship first round. The Aggies (27-9) advanced to face No. 18 Texas (18-11) in the NCAA second round at the Mitchell Tennis Center, scheduled for 1 p.m. Saturday.
The Maroon and White got off to a strong start claiming the doubles point to open the match against GW. The All-American duo of Harrison Adams and Shane Vinsant topped Cahit Kapukiran and Chris Reynolds 6-3 on doubles court three. Shortly thereafter, Max Lunkin and Arthur Rinderknech clinched the day's first point with a 6-4 victory over Chris Fletcher and Fernando Sala Sanchez on the third court.
After a brief intermission the Aggies kept the pressure on the visiting Colonials, claiming the first set on five of six courts. Lunkin completed a 2-0 day, defeating Christos Hadjigeorgiou 6-1, 6-1 on court six to push the maroon and white advantage to two. Senior Jackson Withrow continued his stellar play in College Station, besting Kapurikan 6-2, 6-4 to improve to 10-0 in Aggieland in his final year representing Texas A&M. Adams completed the sweep for the home-team, topping Fletcher 6-2, 6-3 on court three.
With the win, the Aggies improved to 36-24 all-time in the NCAA tournament, including a 15-9 mark under the direction of Head Coach Steve Denton. Texas advanced to the second round after dispatching Lamar, 4-0, Friday in College Station. The state's two flagship universities last faced off in the 2013 NCAA Tournament, also in the second round in College Station, as the Maroon and White advanced with a thrilling 4-3 victory. The Aggies are 16-45 all-time against the Horns, but have claimed victory five of the last seven times in the storied rivalry.
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.
Texas A&M Head Coach Steve Denton Quotes
On the doubles point …
"We were down a break at three and were at 4-5 at one, George Washington played well in the doubles and it's the NCAA tournament. Everybody is going to give you your best shot. Our guys were resilient and able to turn a couple of those matches around. The doubles are a sprint and you have to value each point, with no ad scoring. Our guys have to come up with shots at important moments and thankfully the guys were able to do that today."
On today's match as a whole…
"George Washington played well, I thought they were good in a lot off spots and played great. In the tournament you obviously want to win the matches and fairly comfortably if possible, but you want to be challenged as well. Today was good, some of our guys were challenged and they responded how we needed them to."
On playing Texas tomorrow…
"Texas is going to fight, they are a scrappy group, a young group. They have lost some matches this year, but they compete really hard in all spots of their lineup. Texas has no holes in their lineup and we are going to have our hands full. We are going to have to have our 'A' game and hopefully all these tough matches we've played throughout the year will help us. When Texas A&M and Texas play, throw the win loss record out the window, it will be an emotional match. There is a lot on the line not just playing against your rival, but also trying to get to Tulsa. We played here a couple years ago, before we went to Illinois. It was a 4-3, last match on the court type of match so I anticipate another hard fought match and we know the guys will be ready to play."
#12 Texas A&M 4, George Washington 0
Singles competition
1. #18 Arthur Rinderknech (TAMU) vs. Julius Tverijonas (GW) 6-3, 3-2, unfinished
2. #52 Shane Vinsant (TAMU) vs. Danil Zelenkov (GW) 7-5, 3-3, unfinished
3. Jordi Arconada (TAMU) vs. Chris Reynolds (GW) 4-6, 3-3, unfinished
4. Harrison Adams (TAMU) def. Chris Fletcher (GW) 6-2, 6-3
5. Jackson Withrow (TAMU) def. Cahit Kapukiran (GW) 6-2, 6-4
6. Max Lunkin (TAMU) def. C. Hadjigeorgiou (GW) 6-1, 6-1
Doubles competition
1. #89 Aleksandre Bakshi/Jackson Withrow (TAMU) vs. Julius Tverijonas/Danil Zelenkov (GW) 6-5, unfinished
2. Harrison Adams/Shane Vinsant (TAMU) def. Cahit Kapukiran/Chris Reynolds (GW) 6-3
3. Max Lunkin/Arthur Rinderknech (TAMU) def. Chris Fletcher/Fernando Sala (GW) 6-4
Match Notes:
George Washington 14-9
Texas A&M 27-9; National ranking #12
Order of finish: Doubles (2, 3); Singles (6, 5, 4)
NCAA First Round, College Station Regional
T-2:07
The Maroon and White got off to a strong start claiming the doubles point to open the match against GW. The All-American duo of Harrison Adams and Shane Vinsant topped Cahit Kapukiran and Chris Reynolds 6-3 on doubles court three. Shortly thereafter, Max Lunkin and Arthur Rinderknech clinched the day's first point with a 6-4 victory over Chris Fletcher and Fernando Sala Sanchez on the third court.
After a brief intermission the Aggies kept the pressure on the visiting Colonials, claiming the first set on five of six courts. Lunkin completed a 2-0 day, defeating Christos Hadjigeorgiou 6-1, 6-1 on court six to push the maroon and white advantage to two. Senior Jackson Withrow continued his stellar play in College Station, besting Kapurikan 6-2, 6-4 to improve to 10-0 in Aggieland in his final year representing Texas A&M. Adams completed the sweep for the home-team, topping Fletcher 6-2, 6-3 on court three.
With the win, the Aggies improved to 36-24 all-time in the NCAA tournament, including a 15-9 mark under the direction of Head Coach Steve Denton. Texas advanced to the second round after dispatching Lamar, 4-0, Friday in College Station. The state's two flagship universities last faced off in the 2013 NCAA Tournament, also in the second round in College Station, as the Maroon and White advanced with a thrilling 4-3 victory. The Aggies are 16-45 all-time against the Horns, but have claimed victory five of the last seven times in the storied rivalry.
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.
Texas A&M Head Coach Steve Denton Quotes
On the doubles point …
"We were down a break at three and were at 4-5 at one, George Washington played well in the doubles and it's the NCAA tournament. Everybody is going to give you your best shot. Our guys were resilient and able to turn a couple of those matches around. The doubles are a sprint and you have to value each point, with no ad scoring. Our guys have to come up with shots at important moments and thankfully the guys were able to do that today."
On today's match as a whole…
"George Washington played well, I thought they were good in a lot off spots and played great. In the tournament you obviously want to win the matches and fairly comfortably if possible, but you want to be challenged as well. Today was good, some of our guys were challenged and they responded how we needed them to."
On playing Texas tomorrow…
"Texas is going to fight, they are a scrappy group, a young group. They have lost some matches this year, but they compete really hard in all spots of their lineup. Texas has no holes in their lineup and we are going to have our hands full. We are going to have to have our 'A' game and hopefully all these tough matches we've played throughout the year will help us. When Texas A&M and Texas play, throw the win loss record out the window, it will be an emotional match. There is a lot on the line not just playing against your rival, but also trying to get to Tulsa. We played here a couple years ago, before we went to Illinois. It was a 4-3, last match on the court type of match so I anticipate another hard fought match and we know the guys will be ready to play."
#12 Texas A&M 4, George Washington 0
Singles competition
1. #18 Arthur Rinderknech (TAMU) vs. Julius Tverijonas (GW) 6-3, 3-2, unfinished
2. #52 Shane Vinsant (TAMU) vs. Danil Zelenkov (GW) 7-5, 3-3, unfinished
3. Jordi Arconada (TAMU) vs. Chris Reynolds (GW) 4-6, 3-3, unfinished
4. Harrison Adams (TAMU) def. Chris Fletcher (GW) 6-2, 6-3
5. Jackson Withrow (TAMU) def. Cahit Kapukiran (GW) 6-2, 6-4
6. Max Lunkin (TAMU) def. C. Hadjigeorgiou (GW) 6-1, 6-1
Doubles competition
1. #89 Aleksandre Bakshi/Jackson Withrow (TAMU) vs. Julius Tverijonas/Danil Zelenkov (GW) 6-5, unfinished
2. Harrison Adams/Shane Vinsant (TAMU) def. Cahit Kapukiran/Chris Reynolds (GW) 6-3
3. Max Lunkin/Arthur Rinderknech (TAMU) def. Chris Fletcher/Fernando Sala (GW) 6-4
Match Notes:
George Washington 14-9
Texas A&M 27-9; National ranking #12
Order of finish: Doubles (2, 3); Singles (6, 5, 4)
NCAA First Round, College Station Regional
T-2:07
Players Mentioned
Baylor Postgame: Steve Denton, Theo Papamalamis, Alan Magadan
Sunday, May 04
Rice Postgame: Togan Tokac
Saturday, May 03
NCAA Tournament Preview: Steve Denton, Raphael Perot
Tuesday, April 30
Spring Preview: Steve Denton
Monday, January 08