Saturday, April 15
College Station
1:00 PM
Texas A&M
5
vs
2
Georgia
Photo by: Sam Craft/Texas A&M Athletics
Texas A&M Men’s Tennis Clinches SEC Championship
Apr 15, 2017 | Men's Tennis
COLLEGE STATION, Texas – The No. 10 Texas A&M men's tennis team clinched the 2017 SEC Championship with a 5-2 victory over No. 11 Georgia Saturday afternoon at the George P Mitchell Tennis Center in College Station, Texas. The Aggies (18-5, 11-1 SEC) claimed a share of the regular season title for the second time in the last three season with the Bulldogs (15-7, 11-1).
After honoring the Aggie's trio of seniors; Frankie Colunga, James Martell and Max Lunkin; the home team came out on fire in doubles action. Jordi Arconada and Hady Habib topped Paul Oosterbaan and Nathan Ponwith for the first half of the Texas A&M doubles victories. AJ Catanzariti and Arthur Rinderknech clinched the day's first point with the 6-3 triumph over No. 2 Jan Zielinski and Robert Loeb. The win was the highest ranked win for the junior duo, their previous highest win was over No. 13 Fabian Fallert and Grey Hamilton of Ole Miss on the final day of March.
Wayne Montgomery and Walker Duncan topped Aleksandre Bakshi and Max Lunkin, 6-3, on the third doubles court for the lone doubles win for the visitors.
The Maroon & White maintained the pressure in pursuit of the regular season trophy, winning four of the six first sets in singles play. The Aggies doubled their lead as Valentin Vacherot topped Zielinski 6-3, 6-0 on court four, the freshman improved to 18-3 this year and 9-1 in SEC play.
The Aggies waited it out for their next two points, but they came in quick succession. Bakshi defeated Loeb, 6-4, 6-4, on court six to push the advantage 3-0 for the home team. The Tbilisi, Georgia native picked up his 12th dual win of the spring and 18th overall victory this year.
No. 8 Rinderknech clinched the Aggies second SEC regular-season title, topping No. 60 Ponwith 6-0, 6-4 on court one. The Paris, France native improved to 15-7 against ranked foes and 9-2 in league play. The clinch was the second of the year for the junior.
After the team match was decided, Arconada picked up his 17th straight singles victory by defeating No. 32 Montgomery 3-6, 6-3, 6-4 on court two. The win improved the Argentinian to 19-3 this year and 10-0 in league play.
The Bulldogs picked up a pair of wins in consolation, No. 61 Reinberg topped Catanzariti 1-6, 6-3, 6-3 on court three and Duncan bested Habib 6-3, 4-6, 7-6(6) on court five, to make the final score 5-2 in Texas A&M's favor.
With the victory, the Aggies clinched the top-seed in the upcoming SEC Tournament in Knoxville, Tenn. on April 27-30. Texas A&M will await the bracket as SEC play concludes Sunday afternoon.
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 Game Quote
Steve Denton, Texas A&M men's tennis head coach
About the match…
"It's a great win for us our guys played really well. It's an honor to play Georgia they are a great team and for us to come out here and to play like we played today I'm just so happy for our seniors and happy for the guys, how hard they've worked. They have bought in to not focusing on too many goals but just outworking our opponents and it paid off today. They are the standard in the SEC and have been for a long time and for us to come out here and play like we played and believe like we believed today it was a great victory for us."
On the doubles point…
"Our guys came out with a lot of energy and we've been talking about that. That is what that doubles is really about. We are playing a sprint, its one set and that energy really makes a difference and we were able to jump on top of them and we had great help from the 12th Man today and we fed off that energy and our guys played even better than I had hoped they'd play in the and obviously that relaxed us and got us off on the start we needed."
On the lineup…
"It's always a work in progress, but obviously the guys played pretty solid today. We were in all three of those doubles matches today. We had chances at three doubles the first game to break and lost a couple of points and we got up on them at one and two. You don't want to change a winning hand too much and our guys came out very energetic and really wanting this match today and it was evident by how we started in the doubles."
On the singles matches…
"Arthur and Val set the tone for us winning their first sets and jumping on their guys early in the second and putting us in a good situation. From there psychologically it's tough on the other team knowing that we are close to being up 3-0 and they have a long way of coming back. With the heart that Georgia has, they made it a match obviously and it was not easy for us to close this out. The match was a lot closer than the score indicated. Our guys got off to great starts and were able to hold those leads and the momentum on our side and fed off the crowd and the rest was just a team victory."
Tennis Match Results
Georgia vs Texas A&M
Apr 15, 2017 at College Station, TX
(George P Mitchell Tennis Center)
#10 Texas A&M 5, #11 Georgia 2
Singles competition
1. #8 Arthur Rinderknech (TAMU) def. #60 Nathan Ponwith (UGA) 6-0, 6-4
2. #66 Jordi Arconada (TAMU) def. #32 Wayne Montgomery (UGA) 3-6, 6-3, 6-4
3. #61 Emil Reinberg (UGA) def. AJ Catanzariti (TAMU) 1-6, 6-3, 6-3
4. Valentin Vacherot (TAMU) def. Jan Zielinski (UGA) 6-3, 6-0
5. Walker Duncan (UGA) def. Hady Habib (TAMU) 6-3, 4-6, 7-6 (8-6)
6. Aleksandre Bakshi (TAMU) def. Robert Loeb (UGA) 6-4, 6-4
Doubles competition
1. #39 AJ Catanzariti/Arthur Rinderknech (TAMU) def. #2 Jan Zielinski/Robert Loeb (UGA) 6-3
2. Jordi Arconada/Hady Habib (TAMU) def. Paul Oosterbaan/Nathan Ponwith (UGA) 6-2
3. Wayne Montgomery/Walker Duncan (UGA) def. Aleksandre Bakshi/Max Lunkin (TAMU) 6-3
Match Notes:
Georgia 15-7, 11-1; National ranking #11
Texas A&M 18-5, 11-1; National ranking #10
Order of finish: Doubles (3, 2, 1); Singles (4, 6, 1, 3, 2, 5)
T-2:50 A-477
2017 @SEC Champions! Texas A&M tops Georgia to claim a share of the title #12thMan pic.twitter.com/VI2P2r3THn
— Aggie Men's Tennis (@AggieMTEN) April 15, 2017
After honoring the Aggie's trio of seniors; Frankie Colunga, James Martell and Max Lunkin; the home team came out on fire in doubles action. Jordi Arconada and Hady Habib topped Paul Oosterbaan and Nathan Ponwith for the first half of the Texas A&M doubles victories. AJ Catanzariti and Arthur Rinderknech clinched the day's first point with the 6-3 triumph over No. 2 Jan Zielinski and Robert Loeb. The win was the highest ranked win for the junior duo, their previous highest win was over No. 13 Fabian Fallert and Grey Hamilton of Ole Miss on the final day of March.
Wayne Montgomery and Walker Duncan topped Aleksandre Bakshi and Max Lunkin, 6-3, on the third doubles court for the lone doubles win for the visitors.
The Maroon & White maintained the pressure in pursuit of the regular season trophy, winning four of the six first sets in singles play. The Aggies doubled their lead as Valentin Vacherot topped Zielinski 6-3, 6-0 on court four, the freshman improved to 18-3 this year and 9-1 in SEC play.
The Aggies waited it out for their next two points, but they came in quick succession. Bakshi defeated Loeb, 6-4, 6-4, on court six to push the advantage 3-0 for the home team. The Tbilisi, Georgia native picked up his 12th dual win of the spring and 18th overall victory this year.
No. 8 Rinderknech clinched the Aggies second SEC regular-season title, topping No. 60 Ponwith 6-0, 6-4 on court one. The Paris, France native improved to 15-7 against ranked foes and 9-2 in league play. The clinch was the second of the year for the junior.
After the team match was decided, Arconada picked up his 17th straight singles victory by defeating No. 32 Montgomery 3-6, 6-3, 6-4 on court two. The win improved the Argentinian to 19-3 this year and 10-0 in league play.
The Bulldogs picked up a pair of wins in consolation, No. 61 Reinberg topped Catanzariti 1-6, 6-3, 6-3 on court three and Duncan bested Habib 6-3, 4-6, 7-6(6) on court five, to make the final score 5-2 in Texas A&M's favor.
With the victory, the Aggies clinched the top-seed in the upcoming SEC Tournament in Knoxville, Tenn. on April 27-30. Texas A&M will await the bracket as SEC play concludes Sunday afternoon.
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.
.@arthurrinder @SEC See @arthurrinder's clincher ?? #12thMan pic.twitter.com/xq3EaXTN5U
— Aggie Men's Tennis (@AggieMTEN) April 15, 2017
"We won this championship because of the #12thMan" - @arthurrinder pic.twitter.com/WQVc7KuQzt
— Aggie Men's Tennis (@AggieMTEN) April 15, 2017
Post Game Quote
Steve Denton, Texas A&M men's tennis head coach
About the match…
"It's a great win for us our guys played really well. It's an honor to play Georgia they are a great team and for us to come out here and to play like we played today I'm just so happy for our seniors and happy for the guys, how hard they've worked. They have bought in to not focusing on too many goals but just outworking our opponents and it paid off today. They are the standard in the SEC and have been for a long time and for us to come out here and play like we played and believe like we believed today it was a great victory for us."
On the doubles point…
"Our guys came out with a lot of energy and we've been talking about that. That is what that doubles is really about. We are playing a sprint, its one set and that energy really makes a difference and we were able to jump on top of them and we had great help from the 12th Man today and we fed off that energy and our guys played even better than I had hoped they'd play in the and obviously that relaxed us and got us off on the start we needed."
On the lineup…
"It's always a work in progress, but obviously the guys played pretty solid today. We were in all three of those doubles matches today. We had chances at three doubles the first game to break and lost a couple of points and we got up on them at one and two. You don't want to change a winning hand too much and our guys came out very energetic and really wanting this match today and it was evident by how we started in the doubles."
On the singles matches…
"Arthur and Val set the tone for us winning their first sets and jumping on their guys early in the second and putting us in a good situation. From there psychologically it's tough on the other team knowing that we are close to being up 3-0 and they have a long way of coming back. With the heart that Georgia has, they made it a match obviously and it was not easy for us to close this out. The match was a lot closer than the score indicated. Our guys got off to great starts and were able to hold those leads and the momentum on our side and fed off the crowd and the rest was just a team victory."
Tennis Match Results
Georgia vs Texas A&M
Apr 15, 2017 at College Station, TX
(George P Mitchell Tennis Center)
#10 Texas A&M 5, #11 Georgia 2
Singles competition
1. #8 Arthur Rinderknech (TAMU) def. #60 Nathan Ponwith (UGA) 6-0, 6-4
2. #66 Jordi Arconada (TAMU) def. #32 Wayne Montgomery (UGA) 3-6, 6-3, 6-4
3. #61 Emil Reinberg (UGA) def. AJ Catanzariti (TAMU) 1-6, 6-3, 6-3
4. Valentin Vacherot (TAMU) def. Jan Zielinski (UGA) 6-3, 6-0
5. Walker Duncan (UGA) def. Hady Habib (TAMU) 6-3, 4-6, 7-6 (8-6)
6. Aleksandre Bakshi (TAMU) def. Robert Loeb (UGA) 6-4, 6-4
Doubles competition
1. #39 AJ Catanzariti/Arthur Rinderknech (TAMU) def. #2 Jan Zielinski/Robert Loeb (UGA) 6-3
2. Jordi Arconada/Hady Habib (TAMU) def. Paul Oosterbaan/Nathan Ponwith (UGA) 6-2
3. Wayne Montgomery/Walker Duncan (UGA) def. Aleksandre Bakshi/Max Lunkin (TAMU) 6-3
Match Notes:
Georgia 15-7, 11-1; National ranking #11
Texas A&M 18-5, 11-1; National ranking #10
Order of finish: Doubles (3, 2, 1); Singles (4, 6, 1, 3, 2, 5)
T-2:50 A-477
Players Mentioned
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
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