Sunday, May 20
Winston-Salem, N.C.
1 p.m.
Texas A&M
4
vs
3
Florida
Photo by: Bill Kallenberg
Rinderknech Clinches Aggies First Trip to the NCAA Semifinals
May 20, 2018 | Men's Tennis
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. – Senior Arthur Rinderknech clinched Texas A&M's first ever trip to the NCAA Semifinals with a last-match standing three-set victory against Florida Sunday afternoon at the Wake Forest Tennis Center.
The No. 5 Aggies (26-5) topped the No. 13 Gators (19-10) to advance to Monday's semifinal. Texas A&M will take on No. 1 Wake Forest at 1:00 p.m. (CT) for a place in the NCAA Championship, the semifinal appearance is the first for both the Aggies and Demon Deacons.
No. 12 Rinderknech bounced back from dropping the first set, 7-5, with a break up 6-5 in the second set to send the match to the decisive third-set. With all eyes on the Paris, France native, Rinderknech picked up an early break in the third set and never looked back as he claimed the third set, 6-2. The win was the 22nd of the season for the senior and fifth clinch on the year, the right-hander moved up to 12th on the A&M single season wins list and a tie for sixth on the career list with 66 wins over the past four seasons.
The Aggies opened the match with the doubles point for the 20th time this season, claiming wins on courts one and three to secure the 1-0 advantage. Patrick Kypson and Valentin Vacherot improved to 5-2 as a team with a 6-2 win over No. 36 Duarte Vale and McClain Kessler on court three, the win was the first ranked win for Kypson and Vacherot together.
After Kypson and Vacherot's victory, Florida claimed the match on court two as No. 42 Chase Parez-Blanco and Oliver Crawford topped AJ Catanzariti and Rinderknech, 6-3.
With the doubles point on the line, No. 3 Jordi Arconada and Juan Carlos Aguilar picked up their team-best 12th ranked win as they defeated No. 5 Alfredo Perez and Ingildsen, 7-5, on court one. The win was the third straight for Arconada and Aguilar and eighth in their last 10 matches as they improved to 15-6 in dual matches and 20-7 overall.
The two teams split first sets in singles play with only courts two and four eventually making it to a third set. Aguilar made quick work of Perez-Blanco, 6-2, 6-3, on court five to push the Aggies ahead 2-0. Aguilar improved to 21-5 in dual matches with the victory, the 21 wins marks the 16th most by an Aggie in a single season in program history.
No. 48 Arconada increased the A&M advantage to 3-0 with his team-best 14th ranked win of the season. The Buenos Aires, Argentina native topped No. 14 Perez 6-3, 6-4 on court three to pick up his 24th dual win of the season, which ties for fourth most wins in a single season. The win was the 66th of Arconada's career improving him to a tie for 10th in the A&M record book.
With the Aggies needing only one more point to advance to the semifinals, they would have to wait for over an hour for Rinderknech to claim the deciding victory. The Gators claimed points from Kessler over Catanzariti on court six and No. 49 Crawford over No. 5 Kypson on court one.
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
Texas A&M Head Coach Steve Denton
On Today's match…
"It's great. Our guys had to fight their tails off. Hats off to Florida. They put us on the ropes today. They played smart. They played really well and competed hard. We were able to get three points on the board, but sometimes that fourth point is elusive. Great job by Arthur (Rinderknech) of coming back in the second set after being down a break and digging himself out of a hole in the third. As he's done so many times, it's great to see him out there competing like that. We couldn't ask for any better player to be there. To have a senior like Arthur who's done that many times, it's awesome."
On the importance of the doubles point…
"It was huge for us. Our guys worked really hard. Our guys had a lot of tough, close games in the doubles. Our guys were able to make some good returns. I thought they also they made some big first serves a couple times to help us hold serve."
On Jordi Arconada's performance…
"That's a big win for Jordi. Alfredo (Perez) is a really good player. Jordi really stepped up and took the ball early today. He played some really inspiring tennis. It's great for our seniors. (Juan) Carlos (Aguilar) came through for us. He played great in the doubles at the end. His match at five got us in the lead. Give credit to Florida for battling the whole day. It looked like we were going to win and then it looked like maybe we weren't. It was looking pretty bleak there, but our guys hung in there and fought and we get to advance. That's the most important thing.
Texas A&M Senior Arthur Rinderknech
On the win…
"It feels pretty great, obviously. Give credit to the team for putting me in a position to clinch the match. I'm really proud to clinch the first Final Four for the Aggies.
On having a lot of deuce points…
"In the first set, it felt like all the deuce points were going his way. I was unlucky on some and didn't play great on some others. The third set was really the opposite. I got a bit lucky on some shots and I went for it a bit more and just played a little better. It gave me some big momentum when I needed it. We were both really tired, so it helped a lot to win those tough games."
Tennis Match Results
Florida vs Texas A&M
5/20/2018 at Winston-Salem, N.C.
(Wake Forest Tennis Center)
#5 Texas A&M 4, #13 Florida 3
Singles competition
1. #49 Oliver Crawford (UF) def. #5 Patrick Kypson (TAMU) 6-4, 7-6 (7-2)
2. #12 Arthur Rinderknech (TAMU) def. #28 Johannes Ingildsen (UF) 5-7, 7-5, 6-2
3. #48 Jordi Arconada (TAMU) def. #14 Alfredo Perez (UF) 6-3, 6-4
4. Andres Andrade (UF) def. #72 Valentin Vacherot (TAMU) 2-6, 6-3, 6-4
5. Juan Carlos Aguilar (TAMU) def. Chase Perez-Blanco (UF) 6-2, 6-3
6. McClain Kessler (UF) def. AJ Catanzariti (TAMU) 7-5, 6-2
Doubles competition
1. #3 Jordi Arconada/Juan Carlos Aguilar (TAMU) def. #5 Alfredo Perez/Johannes Ingildsen (UF) 7-5
2. #42 Chase Perez-Blanco/Oliver Crawford (UF) def. AJ Catanzariti/Arthur Rinderknech (TAMU) 6-3
3. Patrick Kypson/Valentin Vacherot (TAMU) def. #36 Duarte Vale/McClain Kessler (UF) 6-2
Match Notes:
Florida 19-10; National ranking #13
Texas A&M 26-5; National ranking #5
Order of finish: Doubles (3, 2, 1); Singles (5, 3, 6, 1, 4, 2)
NCAA Quarterfinals
The No. 5 Aggies (26-5) topped the No. 13 Gators (19-10) to advance to Monday's semifinal. Texas A&M will take on No. 1 Wake Forest at 1:00 p.m. (CT) for a place in the NCAA Championship, the semifinal appearance is the first for both the Aggies and Demon Deacons.
No. 12 Rinderknech bounced back from dropping the first set, 7-5, with a break up 6-5 in the second set to send the match to the decisive third-set. With all eyes on the Paris, France native, Rinderknech picked up an early break in the third set and never looked back as he claimed the third set, 6-2. The win was the 22nd of the season for the senior and fifth clinch on the year, the right-hander moved up to 12th on the A&M single season wins list and a tie for sixth on the career list with 66 wins over the past four seasons.
The Aggies opened the match with the doubles point for the 20th time this season, claiming wins on courts one and three to secure the 1-0 advantage. Patrick Kypson and Valentin Vacherot improved to 5-2 as a team with a 6-2 win over No. 36 Duarte Vale and McClain Kessler on court three, the win was the first ranked win for Kypson and Vacherot together.
After Kypson and Vacherot's victory, Florida claimed the match on court two as No. 42 Chase Parez-Blanco and Oliver Crawford topped AJ Catanzariti and Rinderknech, 6-3.
With the doubles point on the line, No. 3 Jordi Arconada and Juan Carlos Aguilar picked up their team-best 12th ranked win as they defeated No. 5 Alfredo Perez and Ingildsen, 7-5, on court one. The win was the third straight for Arconada and Aguilar and eighth in their last 10 matches as they improved to 15-6 in dual matches and 20-7 overall.
The two teams split first sets in singles play with only courts two and four eventually making it to a third set. Aguilar made quick work of Perez-Blanco, 6-2, 6-3, on court five to push the Aggies ahead 2-0. Aguilar improved to 21-5 in dual matches with the victory, the 21 wins marks the 16th most by an Aggie in a single season in program history.
No. 48 Arconada increased the A&M advantage to 3-0 with his team-best 14th ranked win of the season. The Buenos Aires, Argentina native topped No. 14 Perez 6-3, 6-4 on court three to pick up his 24th dual win of the season, which ties for fourth most wins in a single season. The win was the 66th of Arconada's career improving him to a tie for 10th in the A&M record book.
With the Aggies needing only one more point to advance to the semifinals, they would have to wait for over an hour for Rinderknech to claim the deciding victory. The Gators claimed points from Kessler over Catanzariti on court six and No. 49 Crawford over No. 5 Kypson on court one.
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
Texas A&M Head Coach Steve Denton
On Today's match…
"It's great. Our guys had to fight their tails off. Hats off to Florida. They put us on the ropes today. They played smart. They played really well and competed hard. We were able to get three points on the board, but sometimes that fourth point is elusive. Great job by Arthur (Rinderknech) of coming back in the second set after being down a break and digging himself out of a hole in the third. As he's done so many times, it's great to see him out there competing like that. We couldn't ask for any better player to be there. To have a senior like Arthur who's done that many times, it's awesome."
On the importance of the doubles point…
"It was huge for us. Our guys worked really hard. Our guys had a lot of tough, close games in the doubles. Our guys were able to make some good returns. I thought they also they made some big first serves a couple times to help us hold serve."
On Jordi Arconada's performance…
"That's a big win for Jordi. Alfredo (Perez) is a really good player. Jordi really stepped up and took the ball early today. He played some really inspiring tennis. It's great for our seniors. (Juan) Carlos (Aguilar) came through for us. He played great in the doubles at the end. His match at five got us in the lead. Give credit to Florida for battling the whole day. It looked like we were going to win and then it looked like maybe we weren't. It was looking pretty bleak there, but our guys hung in there and fought and we get to advance. That's the most important thing.
Texas A&M Senior Arthur Rinderknech
On the win…
"It feels pretty great, obviously. Give credit to the team for putting me in a position to clinch the match. I'm really proud to clinch the first Final Four for the Aggies.
On having a lot of deuce points…
"In the first set, it felt like all the deuce points were going his way. I was unlucky on some and didn't play great on some others. The third set was really the opposite. I got a bit lucky on some shots and I went for it a bit more and just played a little better. It gave me some big momentum when I needed it. We were both really tired, so it helped a lot to win those tough games."
Tennis Match Results
Florida vs Texas A&M
5/20/2018 at Winston-Salem, N.C.
(Wake Forest Tennis Center)
#5 Texas A&M 4, #13 Florida 3
Singles competition
1. #49 Oliver Crawford (UF) def. #5 Patrick Kypson (TAMU) 6-4, 7-6 (7-2)
2. #12 Arthur Rinderknech (TAMU) def. #28 Johannes Ingildsen (UF) 5-7, 7-5, 6-2
3. #48 Jordi Arconada (TAMU) def. #14 Alfredo Perez (UF) 6-3, 6-4
4. Andres Andrade (UF) def. #72 Valentin Vacherot (TAMU) 2-6, 6-3, 6-4
5. Juan Carlos Aguilar (TAMU) def. Chase Perez-Blanco (UF) 6-2, 6-3
6. McClain Kessler (UF) def. AJ Catanzariti (TAMU) 7-5, 6-2
Doubles competition
1. #3 Jordi Arconada/Juan Carlos Aguilar (TAMU) def. #5 Alfredo Perez/Johannes Ingildsen (UF) 7-5
2. #42 Chase Perez-Blanco/Oliver Crawford (UF) def. AJ Catanzariti/Arthur Rinderknech (TAMU) 6-3
3. Patrick Kypson/Valentin Vacherot (TAMU) def. #36 Duarte Vale/McClain Kessler (UF) 6-2
Match Notes:
Florida 19-10; National ranking #13
Texas A&M 26-5; National ranking #5
Order of finish: Doubles (3, 2, 1); Singles (5, 3, 6, 1, 4, 2)
NCAA Quarterfinals
Team Stats
#1 Doubles Match
#2 Doubles Match
#3 Doubles Match
Order of Finish:
3,2,1
#1 Singles Match
12
Oliver Crawford / 0 (49/-) [UF]
67
46
#2 Singles Match
123
Johannes Ingildsen / 0 (28/-) [UF]
752
576
#3 Singles Match
12
Alfredo Perez / 0 (14/-) [UF]
34
66
#4 Singles Match
123
Andres Andrade / 0 [UF]
266
634
#5 Singles Match
12
Chase Perez-Blanco / 0 [UF]
23
66
#6 Singles Match
12
McClain Kessler / 0 [UF]
76
52
Order of Finish:
5,3,6,1,4,2
Players Mentioned
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
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