
Texas A&M and Baylor Faceoff on Super Sunday in Houston
Feb 04, 2017 | Men's Tennis
COLLEGE STATION, Texas - The No. 20 Texas A&M men's tennis team will look to avenge last week's setback to No. 14 Baylor at the Downtown Club at the Met in Houston, Texas Sunday at 1p.m. The Aggies (1-2) and Bears (5-0) faced off Jan. 28 at the George P. Mitchell Tennis Center in College Station, the visitors managed a 4-3 victory after claiming the doubles point and splitting singles matches with the Aggies.
Last Time Out
- The Aggies hosted the ITA Kick-Off Weekend in College Station, featuring Texas A&M, SMU, Ole Miss and Baylor. The Bears advanced to the ITA National Team Indoor Championships later this month.
- Texas A&M suffered 4-3 setbacks to Baylor and Ole Miss at the George P. Mitchell Tennis Center. The Maroon & White dropped the doubles point in both matches and went 3-3 in singles matches on both days.
- The Maroon & White showed their depth on the weekend, going 2-0 on both courts four and five. Sophomore Jordi Arconada was the only Aggie to go a perfect 2-0 on the weekend, winning a pair of three-setters with one win at lines four and five. Sophomore Aleksandre Bakshi also went 1-0 on court four, while freshman Valentin Vacherot was 1-0 on court five.
- Bakshi and junior AJ Catanzariti tallied the only Aggie doubles victory over the weekend, winning 6-4 over No. 57 Gustav Hansson and Tim Sandkaulen of Ole Miss. The ranked-win was the first for the pair.
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 Aggie 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.
Notable Streaks and Trends
- The Aggies have been ranked in the top-25 of the ITA Rankings for 67 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 the singles poll 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 (68.1) 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 from 1997-2006.
- 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 seasons in Aggieland (Austin Krajicek, 2009-11 singles & 2008-2011 doubles).
Last Time Out
- The Aggies hosted the ITA Kick-Off Weekend in College Station, featuring Texas A&M, SMU, Ole Miss and Baylor. The Bears advanced to the ITA National Team Indoor Championships later this month.
- Texas A&M suffered 4-3 setbacks to Baylor and Ole Miss at the George P. Mitchell Tennis Center. The Maroon & White dropped the doubles point in both matches and went 3-3 in singles matches on both days.
- The Maroon & White showed their depth on the weekend, going 2-0 on both courts four and five. Sophomore Jordi Arconada was the only Aggie to go a perfect 2-0 on the weekend, winning a pair of three-setters with one win at lines four and five. Sophomore Aleksandre Bakshi also went 1-0 on court four, while freshman Valentin Vacherot was 1-0 on court five.
- Bakshi and junior AJ Catanzariti tallied the only Aggie doubles victory over the weekend, winning 6-4 over No. 57 Gustav Hansson and Tim Sandkaulen of Ole Miss. The ranked-win was the first for the pair.
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 Aggie 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.
Notable Streaks and Trends
- The Aggies have been ranked in the top-25 of the ITA Rankings for 67 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 the singles poll 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 (68.1) 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 from 1997-2006.
- 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 seasons in Aggieland (Austin Krajicek, 2009-11 singles & 2008-2011 doubles).
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