Saturday, January 21
Houston, Texas
1:00 PM
Texas A&M
at
Rice
No. 16 Texas A&M Opens Season at Rice
Jan 20, 2017 | Men's Tennis
COLLEGE STATION, Texas - The No. 16 Texas A&M men's tennis team begins its spring slate with a stiff test at the George R. Brown Tennis Center on Saturday as the Aggies square off with Rice at 1 p.m. The Aggies have gone 9-1 in their opening day matchups under head coach Steve Denton.
The Texas A&M Lineup
- Texas A&M returns eight lettermen from last year's squad that hosted an NCAA Regional and finished the season ranked No. 14 in the final ITA Rankings.
- Included in the group is junior Arthur Rinderknech who begins the spring season ranked No. 16 in the singles poll and No. 7 alongside senior Max Lunkin in the doubles poll. Rinderknech earned All-America honors after appearing in the NCAA Doubles Championship match alongside Jackson Withrow last summer.
- Also returning this season will be Lunkin, AJ Catanzariti, Jordi Arconada and Aleksandre Bakshi. All four featured regularly in the lineup last season and are set to be mainstays in the Maroon & White lineup again this spring. While seniors Frankie Colunga and James Martell look to take advantage of their final season in College Station.
- The final members of head coach Steve Denton's roster will be freshman Hady Habib and Valentin Vacherot. Habib, a Houston native, joins a loaded Cowboy lineup and his talent was evident during the fall season where Habib collected eight singles victories and six doubles triumphs. Vacherot, the first cousin of Rinderknech, comes to Aggieland after advancing to the finals of the Tunisia F24 Futures in September and the right-hander picked up ATP points at the Tunisia F25, Slovak Republic F3, Tunisia F23 and the France F13.
Match Updates
- For updates during matches, follow @AggieMTEN on Twitter and then check 12thMan.com for post-match results and a recap from the day's action. Fans can also follow the match via live stream at http://www.riceowls.com/facilities/tennis-livestats.html.
About Rice
- Rice is amongst the most common opponents for the Aggies, Saturday's contest will be the 40th all-time between the two programs. Texas A&M owns the advantage in the all-time series at 35-4, including a 8-2 mark since head coach Steve Denton took over the program in 2006-07.
- Rice was listed amongst the teams receiving votes in the Jan. 18 Oracle/ITA Division I Men's Collegiate Tennis Rankings after opening the spring season with convincing wins over UTRGV and Lamar last weekend.
Notable Streaks and Trends
- The Aggies have won at least 20 matches in each of the last three seasons under head coach Steve Denton and five times in his 10 year tenure. Four times during the last decade, Texas A&M has hit the 25-win mark, winning 25 in 2010, 29 in 2011, 25 in 2014 and 27 a season ago.
- Texas A&M has had a doubles tandem earn All-America honors in each of the past four seasons. Last season it was Jackson Withrow and Arthur Rinderknech achieving the feat, while Rinderknech also earned the All-American designation for his singles play.
- Since 1999, the Aggies have made 18-straight appearances in the NCAA Tournament, including advancing to the Elite Eight two seasons ago.
Aggies in the ITA Rankings
- The Texas A&M duo of Arthur Rinderknech and Max Lunkin improved upon their fall ranking of No. 20 by claiming six wins in the fall schedule and advancing to the USTA/ITA Texas Regional finals in Ft. Worth. The Maroon & White duo are ranked No. 7 in the first spring rankings, a career-high for Lunkin while Rinderknech regularly appeared in the top-10 last season alongside Jackson Withrow.
- After winning nine matches in the fall, Rinderknech was once again ranked in singles by the ITA as the Frenchman currently holds the No. 16 spot in the rankings.
The Denton Effect
- Since head coach Steve Denton took over the program in August of 2006, the Aggies have claimed 208 dual victories, the second-best 10 year stretch in program history, trailing only the 211 wins under Omar Smith from 1964-1973.
- Denton's 208 career triumphs in Aggieland trails Omar Smith's 275 wins and David Kent's 318 victories, while his winning percentage (68.4) trails only Tim Cass on the all-time ledger (196-83, 70.3%). Smith captained the Aggies from 1960-1974, while Kent was at the helm from 1979-1996 and Cass lead the charge
- The Denton led Aggies have claimed a pair of SEC Tournament crowns (2015 & 2016) and a share of the regular season title in 2015.
- Of Texas A&M's 40 All-Americans all-time, 22 have come under the tutelage of Denton, including the Aggies only player to earn All-American status in all four season in Aggieland (Austin Krajiceck, 2009-11 singles & 2008-2011 doubles).
The Texas A&M Lineup
- Texas A&M returns eight lettermen from last year's squad that hosted an NCAA Regional and finished the season ranked No. 14 in the final ITA Rankings.
- Included in the group is junior Arthur Rinderknech who begins the spring season ranked No. 16 in the singles poll and No. 7 alongside senior Max Lunkin in the doubles poll. Rinderknech earned All-America honors after appearing in the NCAA Doubles Championship match alongside Jackson Withrow last summer.
- Also returning this season will be Lunkin, AJ Catanzariti, Jordi Arconada and Aleksandre Bakshi. All four featured regularly in the lineup last season and are set to be mainstays in the Maroon & White lineup again this spring. While seniors Frankie Colunga and James Martell look to take advantage of their final season in College Station.
- The final members of head coach Steve Denton's roster will be freshman Hady Habib and Valentin Vacherot. Habib, a Houston native, joins a loaded Cowboy lineup and his talent was evident during the fall season where Habib collected eight singles victories and six doubles triumphs. Vacherot, the first cousin of Rinderknech, comes to Aggieland after advancing to the finals of the Tunisia F24 Futures in September and the right-hander picked up ATP points at the Tunisia F25, Slovak Republic F3, Tunisia F23 and the France F13.
Match Updates
- For updates during matches, follow @AggieMTEN on Twitter and then check 12thMan.com for post-match results and a recap from the day's action. Fans can also follow the match via live stream at http://www.riceowls.com/facilities/tennis-livestats.html.
About Rice
- Rice is amongst the most common opponents for the Aggies, Saturday's contest will be the 40th all-time between the two programs. Texas A&M owns the advantage in the all-time series at 35-4, including a 8-2 mark since head coach Steve Denton took over the program in 2006-07.
- Rice was listed amongst the teams receiving votes in the Jan. 18 Oracle/ITA Division I Men's Collegiate Tennis Rankings after opening the spring season with convincing wins over UTRGV and Lamar last weekend.
Notable Streaks and Trends
- The Aggies have won at least 20 matches in each of the last three seasons under head coach Steve Denton and five times in his 10 year tenure. Four times during the last decade, Texas A&M has hit the 25-win mark, winning 25 in 2010, 29 in 2011, 25 in 2014 and 27 a season ago.
- Texas A&M has had a doubles tandem earn All-America honors in each of the past four seasons. Last season it was Jackson Withrow and Arthur Rinderknech achieving the feat, while Rinderknech also earned the All-American designation for his singles play.
- Since 1999, the Aggies have made 18-straight appearances in the NCAA Tournament, including advancing to the Elite Eight two seasons ago.
Aggies in the ITA Rankings
- The Texas A&M duo of Arthur Rinderknech and Max Lunkin improved upon their fall ranking of No. 20 by claiming six wins in the fall schedule and advancing to the USTA/ITA Texas Regional finals in Ft. Worth. The Maroon & White duo are ranked No. 7 in the first spring rankings, a career-high for Lunkin while Rinderknech regularly appeared in the top-10 last season alongside Jackson Withrow.
- After winning nine matches in the fall, Rinderknech was once again ranked in singles by the ITA as the Frenchman currently holds the No. 16 spot in the rankings.
The Denton Effect
- Since head coach Steve Denton took over the program in August of 2006, the Aggies have claimed 208 dual victories, the second-best 10 year stretch in program history, trailing only the 211 wins under Omar Smith from 1964-1973.
- Denton's 208 career triumphs in Aggieland trails Omar Smith's 275 wins and David Kent's 318 victories, while his winning percentage (68.4) trails only Tim Cass on the all-time ledger (196-83, 70.3%). Smith captained the Aggies from 1960-1974, while Kent was at the helm from 1979-1996 and Cass lead the charge
- The Denton led Aggies have claimed a pair of SEC Tournament crowns (2015 & 2016) and a share of the regular season title in 2015.
- Of Texas A&M's 40 All-Americans all-time, 22 have come under the tutelage of Denton, including the Aggies only player to earn All-American status in all four season in Aggieland (Austin Krajiceck, 2009-11 singles & 2008-2011 doubles).
Players Mentioned
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/ Men's Tennis
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