Sunday, March 11
Athens, Ga.
12 p.m.
Texas A&M
4
at
1
Georgia
Photo by: Sam Craft/Texas A&M Athletics
No. 5 Texas A&M Men’s Tennis Wins at No. 21 Georgia for First Time
Mar 11, 2018 | Men's Tennis
ATHENS, Georgia – The No. 5 Texas A&M men's tennis team claimed the program's first ever win at Georgia Sunday afternoon in Athens. The Aggies (10-3, 3-0) topped the No. 21 Bulldogs (7-5, 0-3) in the Lindsey Hopkins Indoor Courts after inclement weather forced the match inside.
No. 10 Arthur Rinderknech clinched the historic victory in the Peach State in dramatic fashion. The senior raced out to a 6-3 first set win before dropping a tiebreaker in the second set. In the tight third set, Rinderknech and No. 24 Wayne Montgomery traded blows before a deciding tiebreaker was required. Rinderknech won the tiebreaker 7-2 to clinch the A&M victory.
The No. 14 tandem of Jordi Arconada and Juan Carlos Aguilar served up a bagel to open doubles play. The duo bested Wayne Montgomery and Nathan Ponwith 6-0 on doubles court two. The Maroon & White clinched the day's first point as Valentin Vacherot and AJ Catanzariti bested Robert Loeb and Eric Diaz 6-4 on doubles court three. The Aggies claimed the doubles point for the seventh time in 11 matches this spring.
Since the match was played indoors, only four matches could be played at a time. The Aggies maintained scoreboard pressure, winning three of the four first sets. Arconada continued his impressive play, winning 6-4, 6-1 over No. 81 Nathan Ponwith on court three. The win pushed the A&M advantage to 2-0 and was the senior's 53 dual match singles victory, just one win shy of the all-time top-25 in program history.
The Bulldogs put up a fight earning the next point in the match and forcing two others to third sets. No. 47 Emil Reinberg topped No. 27 Patrick Kypson on the top court, 6-4, 6-4 to earn Georgia's lone point of the day. No. 31 Vacherot and Rinderknech bounced back from dropping tight second sets to earn wins and secure the victory for the visitors.
Vacherot earned a 6-4 first set victory before dropping a tight 7-5 second set to No. 14 Walker Duncan. In the third and final set, the sophomore earned a late break to earn a 6-5 advantage before holding serve and winning 7-5. Moments later, Rinderknech gutted out a third-set tiebreaker over Montgomery to clinch the Aggies first ever win at Georgia.
Texas A&M returns to the friendly confines of the George P. Mitchell Tennis Center for the first time since Jan. 28 for a showdown with No. 19 Notre Dame on Thursday, March 15, at 6 p.m. (CT).
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.
Quotes
Steve Denton, Texas A&M Men's Tennis Head Coach
On the match…
"I thought we played our best doubles of the year as a team. Our guys did a really good job there to get the lead early in the match. It looked like we would dominate the match early in singles play with three players winning first sets. Then the match got complicated, give Georgia a lot of credit for fighting back. They have a really talented team and Georgia is always a tough place to play. I am really proud and impressed with the resolve of our guys in a really tough environment."
On the team after Georgia tried to make a comeback…
"When the match got tight and the crowd got really into the match our guys buckled down and came back from being down a break in the third set on two courts. That shows a lot of mental strength and to see that from Arthur and Val is really impressive. It was a dog fight and I was proud of how our guys played out the match. It would have been easy to give up after losing a lead like Val did, but coming back after that was huge. Arthur winning was clutch, he is really good in those situations and he got real aggressive and got the lead and in the course of a couple minutes it looked like the match would go the distance and then it was over in the blink of an eye."
On A&M's first ever win at Georgia…
"Winning at Georgia is always tough and I am really excited to learn that was our first ever win there. They have a great crowd that really helps their team and I am really proud of how our guys kept fighting to get the win today."
Arthur Rinderknech, Texas A&M Senior
On the match…
"We came out pretty well in doubles and that was huge for us. They had a big crowd but we played really well in singles to try to take them out of the match. Then the match started to turn and the crowd got really into it, but we were able to get the win. We really needed me or Val to win and seeing Carlos play so well when he got on the court gave us a lot of confidence."
On the third set tiebreaker…
"I had a game plan going into the tiebreaker and was able to get the advantage early. I wanted to play offensive and really go for it on his serves. There were a lot of really close points and I was able to get a nice lead and finish out the match."
On team's first win at Georgia…
"I didn't know that was our first win at Georgia, so that is something nice to learn. They have such a great crowd but we were able to really take advantage of our opportunities today. A win like this really shows what this team is capable of moving forward."
Tennis Match Results
Texas A&M vs Georgia
Mar 11, 2018 at Athens, Ga.
(Lindsey Hopkins Indoor Courts)
#5 Texas A&M 4, #21 Georgia 1
Singles competition
1. #47 Emil Reinberg (UGA) def. #27 Patrick Kypson (TAMU) 6-4, 6-4
2. #10 Arthur Rinderknech (TAMU) def. #24 Wayne Montgomery (UGA) 6-3, 6-7 (1-7), 7-6 (7-2)
3. #37 Jordi Arconada (TAMU) def. #81 Nathan Ponwith (UGA) 6-4, 6-1
4. #31 Valentin Vacherot (TAMU) def. #14 Walker Duncan (UGA) 6-4, 5-7, 7-5
5. #21 Jan Zielinski (UGA) vs. Juan Carlos Aguilar (TAMU) 3-6, 3-4, unfinished
6. Robert Loeb (UGA) vs. #109 AJ Catanzariti (TAMU) 6-1, 3-1, unfinished
Doubles competition
1. Walker Duncan/Jan Zielinski (UGA) vs. #37 Patrick Kypson/Arthur Rinderknech (TAMU) 5-6, unfinished
2. #14 Juan Carlos Aguilar/Jordi Arconada (TAMU) def. Wayne Montgomery/Nathan Ponwith (UGA) 6-0
3. Valentin Vacherot/AJ Catanzariti (TAMU) def. Alex Diaz/Robert Loeb (UGA) 6-4
Match Notes:
Texas A&M 10-3, 3-0; National ranking #5
Georgia 7-5, 0-3; National ranking #21
Order of finish: Doubles (2, 3); Singles (3, 1, 4, 2)
Match moved indoors to Lindsey Hopkins Indoor Courts due to rain.
Official: Richard Rogers
No. 10 Arthur Rinderknech clinched the historic victory in the Peach State in dramatic fashion. The senior raced out to a 6-3 first set win before dropping a tiebreaker in the second set. In the tight third set, Rinderknech and No. 24 Wayne Montgomery traded blows before a deciding tiebreaker was required. Rinderknech won the tiebreaker 7-2 to clinch the A&M victory.
The No. 14 tandem of Jordi Arconada and Juan Carlos Aguilar served up a bagel to open doubles play. The duo bested Wayne Montgomery and Nathan Ponwith 6-0 on doubles court two. The Maroon & White clinched the day's first point as Valentin Vacherot and AJ Catanzariti bested Robert Loeb and Eric Diaz 6-4 on doubles court three. The Aggies claimed the doubles point for the seventh time in 11 matches this spring.
Since the match was played indoors, only four matches could be played at a time. The Aggies maintained scoreboard pressure, winning three of the four first sets. Arconada continued his impressive play, winning 6-4, 6-1 over No. 81 Nathan Ponwith on court three. The win pushed the A&M advantage to 2-0 and was the senior's 53 dual match singles victory, just one win shy of the all-time top-25 in program history.
The Bulldogs put up a fight earning the next point in the match and forcing two others to third sets. No. 47 Emil Reinberg topped No. 27 Patrick Kypson on the top court, 6-4, 6-4 to earn Georgia's lone point of the day. No. 31 Vacherot and Rinderknech bounced back from dropping tight second sets to earn wins and secure the victory for the visitors.
Vacherot earned a 6-4 first set victory before dropping a tight 7-5 second set to No. 14 Walker Duncan. In the third and final set, the sophomore earned a late break to earn a 6-5 advantage before holding serve and winning 7-5. Moments later, Rinderknech gutted out a third-set tiebreaker over Montgomery to clinch the Aggies first ever win at Georgia.
Texas A&M returns to the friendly confines of the George P. Mitchell Tennis Center for the first time since Jan. 28 for a showdown with No. 19 Notre Dame on Thursday, March 15, at 6 p.m. (CT).
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.
Quotes
Steve Denton, Texas A&M Men's Tennis Head Coach
On the match…
"I thought we played our best doubles of the year as a team. Our guys did a really good job there to get the lead early in the match. It looked like we would dominate the match early in singles play with three players winning first sets. Then the match got complicated, give Georgia a lot of credit for fighting back. They have a really talented team and Georgia is always a tough place to play. I am really proud and impressed with the resolve of our guys in a really tough environment."
On the team after Georgia tried to make a comeback…
"When the match got tight and the crowd got really into the match our guys buckled down and came back from being down a break in the third set on two courts. That shows a lot of mental strength and to see that from Arthur and Val is really impressive. It was a dog fight and I was proud of how our guys played out the match. It would have been easy to give up after losing a lead like Val did, but coming back after that was huge. Arthur winning was clutch, he is really good in those situations and he got real aggressive and got the lead and in the course of a couple minutes it looked like the match would go the distance and then it was over in the blink of an eye."
On A&M's first ever win at Georgia…
"Winning at Georgia is always tough and I am really excited to learn that was our first ever win there. They have a great crowd that really helps their team and I am really proud of how our guys kept fighting to get the win today."
Arthur Rinderknech, Texas A&M Senior
On the match…
"We came out pretty well in doubles and that was huge for us. They had a big crowd but we played really well in singles to try to take them out of the match. Then the match started to turn and the crowd got really into it, but we were able to get the win. We really needed me or Val to win and seeing Carlos play so well when he got on the court gave us a lot of confidence."
On the third set tiebreaker…
"I had a game plan going into the tiebreaker and was able to get the advantage early. I wanted to play offensive and really go for it on his serves. There were a lot of really close points and I was able to get a nice lead and finish out the match."
On team's first win at Georgia…
"I didn't know that was our first win at Georgia, so that is something nice to learn. They have such a great crowd but we were able to really take advantage of our opportunities today. A win like this really shows what this team is capable of moving forward."
Tennis Match Results
Texas A&M vs Georgia
Mar 11, 2018 at Athens, Ga.
(Lindsey Hopkins Indoor Courts)
#5 Texas A&M 4, #21 Georgia 1
Singles competition
1. #47 Emil Reinberg (UGA) def. #27 Patrick Kypson (TAMU) 6-4, 6-4
2. #10 Arthur Rinderknech (TAMU) def. #24 Wayne Montgomery (UGA) 6-3, 6-7 (1-7), 7-6 (7-2)
3. #37 Jordi Arconada (TAMU) def. #81 Nathan Ponwith (UGA) 6-4, 6-1
4. #31 Valentin Vacherot (TAMU) def. #14 Walker Duncan (UGA) 6-4, 5-7, 7-5
5. #21 Jan Zielinski (UGA) vs. Juan Carlos Aguilar (TAMU) 3-6, 3-4, unfinished
6. Robert Loeb (UGA) vs. #109 AJ Catanzariti (TAMU) 6-1, 3-1, unfinished
Doubles competition
1. Walker Duncan/Jan Zielinski (UGA) vs. #37 Patrick Kypson/Arthur Rinderknech (TAMU) 5-6, unfinished
2. #14 Juan Carlos Aguilar/Jordi Arconada (TAMU) def. Wayne Montgomery/Nathan Ponwith (UGA) 6-0
3. Valentin Vacherot/AJ Catanzariti (TAMU) def. Alex Diaz/Robert Loeb (UGA) 6-4
Match Notes:
Texas A&M 10-3, 3-0; National ranking #5
Georgia 7-5, 0-3; National ranking #21
Order of finish: Doubles (2, 3); Singles (3, 1, 4, 2)
Match moved indoors to Lindsey Hopkins Indoor Courts due to rain.
Official: Richard Rogers
Team Stats
#1 Doubles Match
#2 Doubles Match
#3 Doubles Match
Order of Finish:
2,3
#1 Singles Match
12
44
Emil Reinberg / 0 (47/-) [UGA]
66
#2 Singles Match
123
667
Wayne Montgomery / 0 (24/-) [UGA]
376
#3 Singles Match
12
66
Nathan Ponwith / 0 (81/-) [UGA]
41
#4 Singles Match
123
657
Walker Duncan / 0 (14/-) [UGA]
475
#5 Singles Match
123
640
Jan Zielinski / 0 (21/-) [UGA]
33UF
#6 Singles Match
123
110
Robert Loeb / 0 [UGA]
63UF
Order of Finish:
3,1,4,2
Players Mentioned
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
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