Saturday, January 28
College Station
2:00 PM
Texas A&M
vs
Baylor
No. 15 Texas A&M Hosts ITA Kick Off Weekend
Jan 27, 2017 | Men's Tennis
COLLEGE STATION, Texas - The No. 15 Texas A&M men's tennis team will host the ITA Kick-Off Weekend for the third consecutive season as the Aggies welcome No. 21 Baylor, No. 23 SMU and Ole Miss to College Station. The Maroon & White will take on Baylor at 2 p.m. following the Ole Miss and SMU showdown at 11 a.m. at the George P. Mitchell Tennis Center, where all Texas A&M students with a valid school ID are admitted free.
The ninth annual ITA Kick-Off Weekend takes place Jan. 27-29, 2017, at 23 different Division I tennis facilities across the country. In all, there are 60 teams competing per gender in Kick-Off Weekend events.
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 .
About the ITA Kick-Off Weekend
There are 15 "regionals" played on both the men's and women's side, with four teams competing in each regional. The winners of the single-elimination event advance to next month's ITA Division I National Team Indoor Championships. Yale (women's) and Virginia (men's) will serve as hosts for the National Team Indoors and received automatic invitations to the event, and are exempt from competing in the Kick-Off Weekend.
Host sites for Kick-Off Weekend were determined using the final 2015-16 Oracle/ITA Collegiate Tennis Rankings. A draft was held to fill the No.'s 2-4 seeds at all locations, again using the final national team rankings as a guide to determine draft order.
Opening round contests at each location pits the No. 1 seed versus the No. 4 seed, and the No. 2 seed against the No. 3 seed. The two winners advance to the following day's championship match, while the two losing teams will square off in a consolation match.
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 began the spring season ranked No. 16 in the singles poll and No. 7 alongside senior Max Lunkin in the doubles poll. Rinderknech earned singles and doubles All-America honors after appearing in the NCAA Doubles Championship match alongside Jackson Withrow last summer and finishing the season ranked No. 20 in the final singles ranking.
- 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 scoring at http://www.sidearmstats.com/tamu/mten/.
About the Field
- Baylor posted a pair of 7-0 victories to open its season last Saturday at the Hawkins Indoor Tennis Center in Waco, first blanking Incarnate Word and then sweeping Grand Canyon. The Bears boast a pair of ranked players in No. 44 Max Tchoutakian and 81st-ranked Jimmy Bendeck.
- Ole Miss opened the season in Hawaii posting 16 wins against players from LSU and Duke as part of the Rainbow Warrior Classic and then shutting out Hawaii 7-0 in their first dual match. The ranked Rebels are; No. 14 Gustav Hansson and No. 83 Tim Sandkaulen. All three of the Rebels doubles teams are ranked with Fabian Fallert and Grey Hamilton at No. 13, Zvonimir Babic and Filip Kraljevic at No. 40 and Hansson/Sandkaulen at No. 57.
- SMU upset then-No. 19 Arkansas last weekend and moved into the top 25 at No. 23. The Mustangs (2-1) have played two ranked opponents this season as they also faced No. 4 Texas and lost 4-1. SMU is led by junior Ronald Slobodchikov, who beat the No. 3 ranked player in the nation to clinch the team's win at Arkansas.
Notable Streaks and Trends
- The Aggies have been ranked in the top-25 of the ITA Rankings for 66 consecutive weeks dating back to the Jan. 22, 2013 poll.
- 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
- In the first ten years of Steve Denton tenure at Texas A&M, beginning 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 209 career triumphs in Aggieland trails Omar Smith's 275 wins and David Kent's 318 victories, while his winning percentage (68.5) 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 ninth annual ITA Kick-Off Weekend takes place Jan. 27-29, 2017, at 23 different Division I tennis facilities across the country. In all, there are 60 teams competing per gender in Kick-Off Weekend events.
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 .
About the ITA Kick-Off Weekend
There are 15 "regionals" played on both the men's and women's side, with four teams competing in each regional. The winners of the single-elimination event advance to next month's ITA Division I National Team Indoor Championships. Yale (women's) and Virginia (men's) will serve as hosts for the National Team Indoors and received automatic invitations to the event, and are exempt from competing in the Kick-Off Weekend.
Host sites for Kick-Off Weekend were determined using the final 2015-16 Oracle/ITA Collegiate Tennis Rankings. A draft was held to fill the No.'s 2-4 seeds at all locations, again using the final national team rankings as a guide to determine draft order.
Opening round contests at each location pits the No. 1 seed versus the No. 4 seed, and the No. 2 seed against the No. 3 seed. The two winners advance to the following day's championship match, while the two losing teams will square off in a consolation match.
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 began the spring season ranked No. 16 in the singles poll and No. 7 alongside senior Max Lunkin in the doubles poll. Rinderknech earned singles and doubles All-America honors after appearing in the NCAA Doubles Championship match alongside Jackson Withrow last summer and finishing the season ranked No. 20 in the final singles ranking.
- 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 scoring at http://www.sidearmstats.com/tamu/mten/.
About the Field
- Baylor posted a pair of 7-0 victories to open its season last Saturday at the Hawkins Indoor Tennis Center in Waco, first blanking Incarnate Word and then sweeping Grand Canyon. The Bears boast a pair of ranked players in No. 44 Max Tchoutakian and 81st-ranked Jimmy Bendeck.
- Ole Miss opened the season in Hawaii posting 16 wins against players from LSU and Duke as part of the Rainbow Warrior Classic and then shutting out Hawaii 7-0 in their first dual match. The ranked Rebels are; No. 14 Gustav Hansson and No. 83 Tim Sandkaulen. All three of the Rebels doubles teams are ranked with Fabian Fallert and Grey Hamilton at No. 13, Zvonimir Babic and Filip Kraljevic at No. 40 and Hansson/Sandkaulen at No. 57.
- SMU upset then-No. 19 Arkansas last weekend and moved into the top 25 at No. 23. The Mustangs (2-1) have played two ranked opponents this season as they also faced No. 4 Texas and lost 4-1. SMU is led by junior Ronald Slobodchikov, who beat the No. 3 ranked player in the nation to clinch the team's win at Arkansas.
Notable Streaks and Trends
- The Aggies have been ranked in the top-25 of the ITA Rankings for 66 consecutive weeks dating back to the Jan. 22, 2013 poll.
- 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
- In the first ten years of Steve Denton tenure at Texas A&M, beginning 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 209 career triumphs in Aggieland trails Omar Smith's 275 wins and David Kent's 318 victories, while his winning percentage (68.5) 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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