Sunday, March 19
College Station
12:00 PM
Texas A&M
4
vs
3
Ohio State
Photo by: Sam Craft/Texas A&M Athletics
No. 11 Texas A&M Defeats No. 2 Ohio State, Wins 11th Straight Match
Mar 19, 2017 | Men's Tennis
COLLEGE STATION, Texas - The No. 11 Texas A&M men's tennis team defeated No. 2 Ohio State, 4-3, Sunday afternoon at the George P Mitchell Tennis Center in College Station, TX. Sophomore Aleksandre Bakshi clinched the Aggies (12-3) 11th straight victory and first this season over a Top-5 opponent. With the loss, the Buckeyes fell to 16-3 on the year.
Bakshi, a Tblisi, Georgia native, picked up his second ranked win this spring, defeating No. 66 Herkko Pollanen on court four. The left-hander dropped the first set 6-4, but fought off four match points in the second set to win 7-5. In the deciding third set, Bakshi took advantage of an early break to race out to a 3-0 advantage and held his serve three straight times to defeat Pollanen 6-3 and clinch the win for Texas A&M.
Freshman Hady Habib won for the sixth straight time to put the Aggies on the board and even the team score 1-1. The Houstonian defeated Hunter Tubert 6-4, 6-4 on court six. The Buckeyes would not go away easily, No. 1 Mikael Torpegaard restored the visitor's advantage at 2-1, defeating No. 8 Arthur Rinderknech 6-2, 6-4 on court one.
The match evened up for the second time as No. 115 Jordi Arconada claimed his 10th straight win, defeating JJ Wolf 0-6, 7-5, 6-1 on court three. The Buenos Aires native, bounced back from dropping nine of the first 10 games to win in three sets for sixth time this season.
The Maroon & White took their first advantage of the day, 3-2, as freshman Valentin Vacherot won a pair of tiebreakers to best No. 111 Martin Joyce, 7-6(1), 7-6(4), on court five. The win was the first for the Frenchman over a player listed in the ITA singles rankings.
Bakshi followed with the win on court four to clinch the match for the Aggies, moments later Ohio State claimed the final point on court two. Junior AJ Catanzariti split tiebreakers in the first two sets against No. 3 Hugo Di Feo, but fell 6-1 in the final set.
The Aggies dropped the doubles point to open the match for the 10th time in 15 matches this season. No. 15 Torpegaard and Pollanen defeated Bakshi and Habib 6-2 on court one, while Wolf and Tubert defeated Catanzariti and Arconada 6-3 on court three.
Following the showdown with the Buckeyes, Texas A&M will host Tennessee on Thursday at the Mitchell Tennis Center at 6p.m. (CT). 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.
Post Match Quotes
Steve Denton, Texas A&M men's tennis head coach
Opening statement…
"Our guys continue to battle after losing four first sets and dropping the doubles point. The match did not look great for us, but our guys just will not go away and keep fighting for every point. I thought the difference was Jordi [Arconada] being down a set and a break, but finding a way to win the second set and turn that match around. [Aleksandre] Bakshi losing the first set, but fighting off match points in the second set and then pulling it out in the third was huge. A lot of guys contributed and picked us up even though we were down. Not getting ahead of ourselves and continuing to compete really hard. We have some confidence going and some momentum, that's what happens when you continue to believe that you are never out of a match."
On the match against Ohio State…
"Nobody should have lost that match today. That was a really high level, well played college tennis match. We have so much respect for Ohio State, they are a great team. For us to be able to beat them even after getting behind was a major moment for our team. We are really proud of their effort today."
On Aleksandre Bakshi clinching the win…
"I thought Bakshi began to play a little more aggressive, he did a great job on the return game to stay in the match. He got a couple breaks and even after getting down he played some really good return games. He did not get discouraged and kept fighting, that can happen in those matches where a point or two can be the difference. We are happy for him that he was able to come through for us at the end of the match."
Tennis Match Results
Ohio State vs Texas A&M
Mar 19, 2017 at College Station, TX
(George P Mitchell Tennis Center)
#11 Texas A&M 4, #2 Ohio State 3
Singles competition
1. #1 Mikael Torpegaard (OSU) def. #8 Arthur Rinderknech (TAMU) 6-2, 6-4
2. #3 Hugo Di Feo (OSU) def. AJ Catanzariti (TAMU) 7-6 (7-2), 6-7 (4-7), 6-1
3. #115 Jordi Arconada (TAMU) def. JJ Wolf (OSU) 0-6, 7-5, 6-1
4. Aleksandre Bakshi (TAMU) def. #66 Herkko Pollanen (OSU) 4-6, 7-5, 6-3
5. Valentin Vacherot (TAMU) def. #111 Martin Joyce (OSU) 7-6 (7-1), 7-6 (7-4)
6. Hady Habib (TAMU) def. Hunter Tubert (OSU) 6-4, 6-4
Doubles competition
1. #15 Mikael Torpegaard/Herkko Pollanen (OSU) def. Aleksandre Bakshi/Hady Habib (TAMU) 6-2
2. Valentin Vacherot/Arthur Rinderknech (TAMU) vs. #32 Hugo Di Feo/Martin Joyce (OSU) 3-4, unfinished
3. JJ Wolf/Hunter Tubert (OSU) def. AJ Catanzariti/Jordi Arconada (TAMU) 6-3
Match Notes:
Ohio State 16-3; National ranking #2
Texas A&M 12-3; National ranking #11
Order of finish: Doubles (1, 3); Singles (6, 1, 3, 5, 4, 2)
T-3:06 A-320
Bakshi, a Tblisi, Georgia native, picked up his second ranked win this spring, defeating No. 66 Herkko Pollanen on court four. The left-hander dropped the first set 6-4, but fought off four match points in the second set to win 7-5. In the deciding third set, Bakshi took advantage of an early break to race out to a 3-0 advantage and held his serve three straight times to defeat Pollanen 6-3 and clinch the win for Texas A&M.
Freshman Hady Habib won for the sixth straight time to put the Aggies on the board and even the team score 1-1. The Houstonian defeated Hunter Tubert 6-4, 6-4 on court six. The Buckeyes would not go away easily, No. 1 Mikael Torpegaard restored the visitor's advantage at 2-1, defeating No. 8 Arthur Rinderknech 6-2, 6-4 on court one.
The match evened up for the second time as No. 115 Jordi Arconada claimed his 10th straight win, defeating JJ Wolf 0-6, 7-5, 6-1 on court three. The Buenos Aires native, bounced back from dropping nine of the first 10 games to win in three sets for sixth time this season.
The Maroon & White took their first advantage of the day, 3-2, as freshman Valentin Vacherot won a pair of tiebreakers to best No. 111 Martin Joyce, 7-6(1), 7-6(4), on court five. The win was the first for the Frenchman over a player listed in the ITA singles rankings.
Bakshi followed with the win on court four to clinch the match for the Aggies, moments later Ohio State claimed the final point on court two. Junior AJ Catanzariti split tiebreakers in the first two sets against No. 3 Hugo Di Feo, but fell 6-1 in the final set.
The Aggies dropped the doubles point to open the match for the 10th time in 15 matches this season. No. 15 Torpegaard and Pollanen defeated Bakshi and Habib 6-2 on court one, while Wolf and Tubert defeated Catanzariti and Arconada 6-3 on court three.
Following the showdown with the Buckeyes, Texas A&M will host Tennessee on Thursday at the Mitchell Tennis Center at 6p.m. (CT). 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.
Post Match Quotes
Steve Denton, Texas A&M men's tennis head coach
Opening statement…
"Our guys continue to battle after losing four first sets and dropping the doubles point. The match did not look great for us, but our guys just will not go away and keep fighting for every point. I thought the difference was Jordi [Arconada] being down a set and a break, but finding a way to win the second set and turn that match around. [Aleksandre] Bakshi losing the first set, but fighting off match points in the second set and then pulling it out in the third was huge. A lot of guys contributed and picked us up even though we were down. Not getting ahead of ourselves and continuing to compete really hard. We have some confidence going and some momentum, that's what happens when you continue to believe that you are never out of a match."
On the match against Ohio State…
"Nobody should have lost that match today. That was a really high level, well played college tennis match. We have so much respect for Ohio State, they are a great team. For us to be able to beat them even after getting behind was a major moment for our team. We are really proud of their effort today."
On Aleksandre Bakshi clinching the win…
"I thought Bakshi began to play a little more aggressive, he did a great job on the return game to stay in the match. He got a couple breaks and even after getting down he played some really good return games. He did not get discouraged and kept fighting, that can happen in those matches where a point or two can be the difference. We are happy for him that he was able to come through for us at the end of the match."
Tennis Match Results
Ohio State vs Texas A&M
Mar 19, 2017 at College Station, TX
(George P Mitchell Tennis Center)
#11 Texas A&M 4, #2 Ohio State 3
Singles competition
1. #1 Mikael Torpegaard (OSU) def. #8 Arthur Rinderknech (TAMU) 6-2, 6-4
2. #3 Hugo Di Feo (OSU) def. AJ Catanzariti (TAMU) 7-6 (7-2), 6-7 (4-7), 6-1
3. #115 Jordi Arconada (TAMU) def. JJ Wolf (OSU) 0-6, 7-5, 6-1
4. Aleksandre Bakshi (TAMU) def. #66 Herkko Pollanen (OSU) 4-6, 7-5, 6-3
5. Valentin Vacherot (TAMU) def. #111 Martin Joyce (OSU) 7-6 (7-1), 7-6 (7-4)
6. Hady Habib (TAMU) def. Hunter Tubert (OSU) 6-4, 6-4
Doubles competition
1. #15 Mikael Torpegaard/Herkko Pollanen (OSU) def. Aleksandre Bakshi/Hady Habib (TAMU) 6-2
2. Valentin Vacherot/Arthur Rinderknech (TAMU) vs. #32 Hugo Di Feo/Martin Joyce (OSU) 3-4, unfinished
3. JJ Wolf/Hunter Tubert (OSU) def. AJ Catanzariti/Jordi Arconada (TAMU) 6-3
Match Notes:
Ohio State 16-3; National ranking #2
Texas A&M 12-3; National ranking #11
Order of finish: Doubles (1, 3); Singles (6, 1, 3, 5, 4, 2)
T-3:06 A-320
Players Mentioned
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
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