May 18, 2018
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. –Texas A&M men's tennis advanced to the NCAA Tournament quarterfinals for the third time in program history as the fifth-seed Aggies defeated Alabama, 4-0, Friday evening at the Wake Forest Tennis Center in Winston-Salem, N.C.
The Aggies improved to 25-5 on the season, marking the fifth time in the last decade that they have won 25 matches in a season under the direction of head coach Steve Denton. With the loss, Alabama fell to 20-13 on the year.
The Maroon & White utilized key breaks on courts one and two to secure the doubles point to open the match. No. 3 Juan Carlos Aguilar and Jordi Arconada were the first off the court, defeating No. 26 Mazen Osama and Edson Ortiz on the top court. Arthur Rinderknech and AJ Catanzariti secured the point with a 6-3 win over Thibault Cancel and Alexey Nesterov on court two.
The Aggies maintained the pressure on the Tide as play transition to singles, winning five of six first sets. No. 48 Arconada picked up his team leading 23rd dual win to push the Aggies ahead 2-0, winning 6-3, 6-3 over Cancel on court three. Arconada's 23 dual victories ties for the sixth most wins in a single season in program history and improved his career total to 65, tying for 11th in the A&M record books. The Buenos Aires, Argentine native is a on a team-best seven match win streak.
No. 12 Rinderknech improved the Aggies lead to 3-0, topping Patrick Kaukovalta, 6-4, 6-1 on court two. The senior picked up 21st win this year, which trails only Arconada on the A&M roster this season. Rinderknech moved to 10th on the A&M all-time singles win list and 11th on the doubles list, as he claimed his 66th singles win and 64th doubles of his career. His combined 130 wins is just one shy of Texas A&M women's tennis head coach and former All-American, Mark Weaver, for 10th all-time at Texas A&M.
No. 72 Vacherot clinched the Aggies trip to the quarterfinals with a 6-4, 6-4 win on court four over Ortiz. Vacherot won for the 19th time this spring to improve to 19-7 in dual matches and 28-11 overall. The sophomore won his fifth straight match, the third longest streak on the A&M roster, trailing Arconada and junior Kevin Lam's six straight wins.
Texas A&M 4, Alabama 0
Singles Competition
1. #5 Patrick Kypson (TAMU) vs. #10 Mazen Osama (BAMA) 6-3, 3-6, 0-0, unfinished
2. #12 Arthur Rinderknech (TAMU) def. Patrick Kaukovalta (BAMA) 6-4, 6-1
3. #48 Jordi Arconada (TAMU) def. Thibault Cancel (BAMA) 6-3, 6-3
4. #72 Valentin Vacherot (TAMU) def. Edson Ortiz (BAMA) 6-4, 6-4
5. Juan Carlos Aguilar (TAMU) vs. Alexey Nesterov (BAMA) 7-5, 1-2, unfinished
6. Barnaby Smith (TAMU) vs. Zhe Zhou (BAMA) 4-6, 3-3, unfinished
Doubles Competition
1. #3 Juan Carlos Aguilar/Jordi Arconada (TAMU) def. #26 Mazen Osama/Edson Ortiz (BAMA) 6-3
2. Arthur Rinderknech/AJ Catanzariti (TAMU) def. Thibault Cancel/Alexey Nesterov (BAMA) 6-3
3. Patrick Kaukovalta/Zhe Zhou (BAMA) def. Patrick Kypson/Valentin Vacherot (TAMU) 5-3