COLLEGE STATION, Texas – Four Texas A&M men's tennis team members earned All-SEC recognition Wednesday morning by the league's coaches, headlined by junior Arthur Rinderknech earning his second straight All-SEC First Team honor. Jordi Arconada and Valentin Vacherot were named members of the All-SEC Second Team, while Hady Habib and Vacherot were a part of the All-Freshman squad.
The quartet helped the Aggies earn a share of the SEC Regular Season Championship for the second time in the past three seasons and advance to the SEC Tournament semifinals after finishing the season 19-6 and 11-1 in league play.
Rinderknech, the Aggies sole member of the All-SEC First Team, paced the Aggies with a 24-8 singles record, including a 15-5 record in dual matches. The Paris, France native, earned 16 wins against ranked opponents this spring, the most by an Aggies since former All-American Jeff Dadamo registered 16 ranked victories in 2010. Rinderknech and classmate, AJ Catanzariti are currently one of the hottest doubles teams in the country, winning five straight matches and going a perfect 6-0 against ranked pairs including wins over then No. 2 Robert Loeb and Jan Zeilinski of Georgia and No. 9 Trevor Foshey and Niclaus Braun of Mississippi State.
Currently ranked as the nation's No. 6 singles player, Rinderknech was named to the SEC All-Tournament team for the third consecutive season, helping the Aggies advance to the semifinals for the fifth straight year.
Arconada, a member of the All-SEC Second Team, took the SEC by storm, going a perfect 10-0 in league regular season matches after winning a team-high 18 matches in a row. The Buenos Aires, Argentina native went a perfect 3-0 against members of the All-SEC First and Second team this year. The right-hander steadily climbed the ITA Singles rankings, earning a career-high No. 42 following the conclusion of the regular season.
The junior picked up a career-best six wins against ranked opponents including wins over then No. 26 Jose Salazar of Arkansas and No. 32 Wayne Montgomery of Georgia, both are members of the 2017 All-SEC First Team. The feisty competitor has improved his dual win totals each season in Aggieland, earning 10 victories as a freshman, 14 as a sophomore and 18 as a junior.
Vacherot earned All-SEC Second Team Honors and a place on the All-Freshman Team. The Frenchman, paced the Aggies with 19 dual match victories this season, the most for an Aggie since Catanzariti totaled 20 dual wins two seasons ago. The right-hander tied for the second-most league wins this spring, going an impressive 9-1 in one of the most difficult conferences in the country. The freshman dominated competition, dropping only 11 sets in 25 matches and six sets in 12 SEC matches.
Habib paired a very impressive fall campaign with 14 dual match victories this spring. The Houston, Texas native, registered the second-most overall victories on the squad, finishing with a 22-5 record in his first season of college tennis. The right-hander tied for the team lead with 10 SEC regular season wins, falling just one time. From February 26 – April 9, Habib claimed 27 consecutive sets, winning 13 matches along the way, with just one match going unfinished. Played well in big-time matches, earning a 6-2 record against opponents from Top-25 teams, helping the Aggies to five wins over teams ranked in the Top-25 that he competed in.
The 11th-ranked Texas A&M men's tennis team received its 24th consecutive bid to the NCAA Men's Tennis Championship, announced Tuesday afternoon. The Aggies were named one of 16 host schools as the national 12th seed and will host first and second round action at the George P. Mitchell Tennis Center, May 12-13. The Maroon and White will take on Buffalo (14-5) in the NCAA opening round, while No. 21 Oregon (18-6) and No. 33 Memphis (15-8) will compete in the other first round contest.
The College Station Regional will determine which team advances to the NCAA Team Championships in Athens, Georgia, May 18-23. The Singles and Doubles Fields will be announced later Wednesday, the Individual Championships will follow the team championships in Athens.
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.
First Team All-SEC
Mazen Osama, Alabama
Mike Redlicki, Arkansas
Jose Salazar, Arkansas
Alfredo Perez, Florida
Elliott Orkin, Florida
Nathan Ponwith, Georgia
Jan Zielinski, Georgia
Robert Loeb, Georgia
Wayne Montgomery, Georgia
William Bushamuka, Kentucky
Gustav Hansson, Ole Miss
Nuno Borges, Mississippi State
Harrison O'Keefe, South Carolina
Timo Stodder Tennessee
Arthur Rinderknech, Texas A&M
Second Team All-SEC
Thibault Cancel, Alabama
Max Hinnisdaels, Auburn
Emil Reinberg, Georgia
Beck Pennington, Kentucky
Ryo Matsumura, Kentucky
Jordan Daigle, LSU
Justin Butsch, LSU
Fabian Fallert, Ole Miss
Niclas Braun, Mississippi State
Strahinja Rakic, Mississippi State
Gabriel Friedrich, South Carolina
Valentin Vacherot, Texas A&M
Jordi Arconada, Texas A&M
Cameron Klinger, Vanderbilt
All-Freshman
Thibault Cancel, Alabama
Johannes Ingildsen, Florida
Nathan Ponwith, Georgia
Giovanni Oradini, Mississippi State
Hady Habib, Texas A&M
Valentin Vacherot, Texas A&M
Player of the Year
Nuno Borges, Mississippi State
Freshman of the Year
Nathan Ponwith, Georgia
Scholar-Athlete of the Year
Vikram Chari, Vanderbilt
Coach of the Year
Manuel Diaz, Georgia
The quartet helped the Aggies earn a share of the SEC Regular Season Championship for the second time in the past three seasons and advance to the SEC Tournament semifinals after finishing the season 19-6 and 11-1 in league play.
Rinderknech, the Aggies sole member of the All-SEC First Team, paced the Aggies with a 24-8 singles record, including a 15-5 record in dual matches. The Paris, France native, earned 16 wins against ranked opponents this spring, the most by an Aggies since former All-American Jeff Dadamo registered 16 ranked victories in 2010. Rinderknech and classmate, AJ Catanzariti are currently one of the hottest doubles teams in the country, winning five straight matches and going a perfect 6-0 against ranked pairs including wins over then No. 2 Robert Loeb and Jan Zeilinski of Georgia and No. 9 Trevor Foshey and Niclaus Braun of Mississippi State.
Currently ranked as the nation's No. 6 singles player, Rinderknech was named to the SEC All-Tournament team for the third consecutive season, helping the Aggies advance to the semifinals for the fifth straight year.
Arconada, a member of the All-SEC Second Team, took the SEC by storm, going a perfect 10-0 in league regular season matches after winning a team-high 18 matches in a row. The Buenos Aires, Argentina native went a perfect 3-0 against members of the All-SEC First and Second team this year. The right-hander steadily climbed the ITA Singles rankings, earning a career-high No. 42 following the conclusion of the regular season.
The junior picked up a career-best six wins against ranked opponents including wins over then No. 26 Jose Salazar of Arkansas and No. 32 Wayne Montgomery of Georgia, both are members of the 2017 All-SEC First Team. The feisty competitor has improved his dual win totals each season in Aggieland, earning 10 victories as a freshman, 14 as a sophomore and 18 as a junior.
Vacherot earned All-SEC Second Team Honors and a place on the All-Freshman Team. The Frenchman, paced the Aggies with 19 dual match victories this season, the most for an Aggie since Catanzariti totaled 20 dual wins two seasons ago. The right-hander tied for the second-most league wins this spring, going an impressive 9-1 in one of the most difficult conferences in the country. The freshman dominated competition, dropping only 11 sets in 25 matches and six sets in 12 SEC matches.
Habib paired a very impressive fall campaign with 14 dual match victories this spring. The Houston, Texas native, registered the second-most overall victories on the squad, finishing with a 22-5 record in his first season of college tennis. The right-hander tied for the team lead with 10 SEC regular season wins, falling just one time. From February 26 – April 9, Habib claimed 27 consecutive sets, winning 13 matches along the way, with just one match going unfinished. Played well in big-time matches, earning a 6-2 record against opponents from Top-25 teams, helping the Aggies to five wins over teams ranked in the Top-25 that he competed in.
The 11th-ranked Texas A&M men's tennis team received its 24th consecutive bid to the NCAA Men's Tennis Championship, announced Tuesday afternoon. The Aggies were named one of 16 host schools as the national 12th seed and will host first and second round action at the George P. Mitchell Tennis Center, May 12-13. The Maroon and White will take on Buffalo (14-5) in the NCAA opening round, while No. 21 Oregon (18-6) and No. 33 Memphis (15-8) will compete in the other first round contest.
The College Station Regional will determine which team advances to the NCAA Team Championships in Athens, Georgia, May 18-23. The Singles and Doubles Fields will be announced later Wednesday, the Individual Championships will follow the team championships in Athens.
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.
First Team All-SEC
Mazen Osama, Alabama
Mike Redlicki, Arkansas
Jose Salazar, Arkansas
Alfredo Perez, Florida
Elliott Orkin, Florida
Nathan Ponwith, Georgia
Jan Zielinski, Georgia
Robert Loeb, Georgia
Wayne Montgomery, Georgia
William Bushamuka, Kentucky
Gustav Hansson, Ole Miss
Nuno Borges, Mississippi State
Harrison O'Keefe, South Carolina
Timo Stodder Tennessee
Arthur Rinderknech, Texas A&M
Second Team All-SEC
Thibault Cancel, Alabama
Max Hinnisdaels, Auburn
Emil Reinberg, Georgia
Beck Pennington, Kentucky
Ryo Matsumura, Kentucky
Jordan Daigle, LSU
Justin Butsch, LSU
Fabian Fallert, Ole Miss
Niclas Braun, Mississippi State
Strahinja Rakic, Mississippi State
Gabriel Friedrich, South Carolina
Valentin Vacherot, Texas A&M
Jordi Arconada, Texas A&M
Cameron Klinger, Vanderbilt
All-Freshman
Thibault Cancel, Alabama
Johannes Ingildsen, Florida
Nathan Ponwith, Georgia
Giovanni Oradini, Mississippi State
Hady Habib, Texas A&M
Valentin Vacherot, Texas A&M
Player of the Year
Nuno Borges, Mississippi State
Freshman of the Year
Nathan Ponwith, Georgia
Scholar-Athlete of the Year
Vikram Chari, Vanderbilt
Coach of the Year
Manuel Diaz, Georgia