Mar. 20, 2018
COLLEGE STATION, Texas – No. 6 Texas A&M men's tennis suffered a tight, 4-3, setback to No. 11 TCU Tuesday evening at the George P. Mitchell Tennis Center in College Station. The Aggies fell to 12-4 on the season, with all four setbacks to teams currently ranked in the top-20, while the Horned Frogs improved to 11-3 this spring.
The Maroon & White dropped the doubles point for just the fourth time this spring, dropping 6-4 decisions on courts one and two. AJ Catanzariti and Valentin Vacherot continued their stellar play on the doubles courts, topping No. 42 Reese Stalder and Bertus Kruger on court three, 6-4. The A&M duo claimed their first ranked win together and ninth straight match. The visitors clinched the day's first point as Alastair Gray and Trevor Johnson bested Arthur Rinderknech and Barnaby Smith followed by No. 21 Alex Rybakov and Guillermo Nunez edging out No. 19 Juan Carlos Aguilar and Jordi Arconada.
TCU maintained the scoreboard pressure on the home team as they claimed four first sets in singles play, but the Aggies did not go down without a fight. No. 12 Rybakov doubled the TCU advantage as he topped No. 49 Arconada on court two, 6-0, 6-4. Aguilar waited little time to pull the Aggies back within 2-1 as he topped No. 33 Gray 6-2, 6-4 on court four. The win was Aguilar's second against a ranked opponent and fifth straight victory this spring.
Moments after Aguilar put the Aggies on the board his classmate, Smith, evened the score 2-2 with a 7-5, 6-4 win over Stalder on court five. With the team match tied, TCU reeled off back-to-back points to secure the win. Kruger outlasted No. 105 Catanzariti on court six, 6-3, 2-6, 6-2, followed by No. 114 Nunez edging No. 25 Vacherot, 6-3, 7-6(5) on court three. No. 6 Rinderknech completed the match with his eighth ranked win this year, defeating No. 64 Johnson 4-6, 7-5, 6-2 on court one.
TCU 4, Texas A&M 3
Singles Competition
1. #6 Arthur Rinderknech (TAMU) def. #64 Trevor Johnson (TCU) 4-6, 7-5, 6-2
2. #12 Alex Rybakov (TCU) def. #49 Jordi Arconada (TAMU) 6-0, 6-4
3. #114 Guillermo Nuñez (TCU) def. #25 Valentin Vacherot (TAMU) 6-3, 7-6 (7-5)
4. Juan Carlos Aguilar (TAMU) def. #33 Alastair Gray (TCU) 6-2, 6-4
5. Barnaby Smith (TAMU) def. Reese Stalder (TCU) 7-5, 6-4
6. Bertus Kruger (TCU) def. #105 AJ Catanzariti (TAMU) 6-3, 2-6, 6-2
Doubles Competition
1. #21 Alex Rybakov/Guillermo Nuñez (TCU) def. #19 Juan Carlos Aguilar/Jordi Arconada (TAMU) 6-4
2. Alastair Gray/Trevor Johnson (TCU) def. Arthur Rinderknech/Barnaby Smith (TAMU) 6-4
3. Valentin Vacherot/AJ Catanzariti (TAMU) def. #42 Reese Stalder/Bertus Kruger (TCU) 6-4