Aggie Men’s Tennis Wins 10th Straight Match, Defeats Alabama

TUSCALOOSA, Alabama – The No. 11 Texas A&M men's tennis team swept Alabama, 4-0, at the Alabama Tennis Stadium in Tuscaloosa, Alabama Friday evening to claim their 10^th straight victory. The Aggies improved to 11-3 on the season and 5-0 in SEC matches with the victory while the Crimson Tide fell to 6-11 overall and 0-5 in league play.
 
The Maroon & White opened the day capturing the doubles point for the fifth time this spring. No. 66 Spencer Richey and Mazen Osama topped No. 22 Arthur Rinderknech and Max Lunkin, 6-1, but the Aggies bounced back to claim the final two doubles matches. Aleksandre Bakshi and Hady Habib topped Thibault Cancel and Alexey Nesterov, 6-4, followed by Jordi Arconada and AJ Catanzariti defeating Edson Ortiz and Zhe Zhou, 6-3, to earn the point for the visitors.
 
No. 8 Rinderknech defeated No. 41 Osama, 6-4, 6-2, to push Texas A&M ahead 2-0 after claiming his 18^th win on the season and 10^th over a ranked opponent this season. Rinderknech's cousin, Valentin Vacherot, was the second Aggie in the win column. The French freshman defeated Richey, 6-2, 7-5, to win his 10^th straight match and push Texas A&M ahead 3-0. Bakshi clinched the win for the Aggies, topping Ortiz 6-3, 7-5 on court three.
 
"This was a solid team win, I thought our guys competed well tonight," Texas A&M men's tennis head coach Steve Denton said. "We just need to keep focusing on trying to improve in some different areas and that has to be our continued focus. [Aleksandre] Bakshi played well tonight in singles and doubles. We are happy to see him playing well at this point in the season. Arthur [Rinderknech] played very well against a very tricky opponent and got off the court first so thought that was really key in the match."
 
Texas A&M stands atop the SEC standings alongside No. 12 Georgia (8-6, 4-0) and No. 21 Mississippi State (12-3, 3-0). The Aggies 10-match win streak is the longest active streak in the league, Mississippi State has the next longest active streak at eight matches.
 
The Aggies return to the Mitchell Tennis Center to host No. 2 Ohio State Sunday at 12 p.m. All Texas A&M students are granted free admission to home matches by presenting a valid student ID. Additionally, fans are reminded the Mitchell Tennis Center adheres to the Texas A&M Athletics 'Clear Bag' policy, for more information about the policy visit 12thMan.com/beclear .
 
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.
 
 
Tennis Match Results
Texas A&M vs Alabama
Mar 17, 2017 at Tuscaloosa, Ala.
(Alabama Tennis Stadium)
 
#11 Texas A&M 4, Alabama 0
 
Singles competition
1. #8 Arthur Rinderknech (TAMU) def. #41 Mazen Osama (UA) 6-4, 6-2
2. #103 Thibault Cancel (UA) vs. AJ Catanzariti (TAMU) 6-7, 2-3, unfinished
3. Aleksandre Bakshi (TAMU) def. Edson Ortiz (UA) 6-3, 7-5
4. Alexey Nesterov (UA) vs. #115 Jordi Arconada (TAMU) 5-7, 2-5, unfinished
5. Valentin Vacherot (TAMU) def. Spencer Richey (UA) 6-2, 7-5
6. Zhe Zhou (UA) vs. Hady Habib (TAMU) 6-7, 3-0, unfinished
 
Doubles competition
1. #66 Spencer Richey/Mazen Osama (UA) def. #22 Arthur Rinderknech/Max Lunkin (TAMU) 6-1
2. Aleksandre Bakshi/Hady Habib (TAMU) def. Thibault Cancel/Alexey Nesterov (UA) 6-4
3. Jordi Arconada/AJ Catanzariti (TAMU) def. Edson Ortiz/Zhe Zhou (UA) 6-3
 
Match Notes:
Texas A&M 11-3, 5-0 SEC; National ranking #11
Alabama 6-11, 0-5 SEC
Order of finish: Doubles (1, 2, 3); Singles (1, 5, 3)