COLLEGE STATION, Texas– The No. 5 Texas A&M men’s tennis team takes on No. 7 Mississippi State for the 2018 SEC Championships Friday evening at the George P Mitchell Tennis Center. The Aggies (18-4, 10-0) and Bulldogs (16-1, 10-0) are set to face off at 6:00 p.m. with the winner claiming at least a share of the title.
The Aggies are looking to repeat as SEC Champions after sharing the 2017 title with Georgia, A&M also shared the 2015 trophy with Georgia. In addition to the two regular season titles, the Maroon & White earned the 2014 and 2015 SEC Tournament title.
Texas A&M returns to action after claiming back-to-back 6-1 victories last weekend against No. 9 Florida and South Carolina. Jordi Arconada and Juan Carlos Aguilar earned this week’s SEC Men’s Tennis honors, after their efforts against the Gators and Gamecocks. Arconada was named the Co-SEC Player of the Week alongside Ryo Matsumura of Kentucky while Aguilar captured his third SEC Freshman of the Week accolade of the year.
Mississippi State comes to town with only one blemish on their record, a 4-1 setback to Oklahoma State at the ITA Kick Off Weekend in Starkville at the end of January. The Bulldogs are led by No. 3 Nuno Borges, No. 19 Giovanni Oradini and No. 78 Strahinja Rakic in the ITA singles rankings, while they also enlist a trio of ranked doubles teams headlined by No. 42 Borges and Rakic.
Fans are reminded that general admission to tennis matches this year are free. Fans unable to make it out the Mitchell Tennis Center can follow Sunday’s match online at 12thMan.com/livetennis , live video and live scoring will be available.
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.
UP NEXT
Texas A&M closes out the regular season with senior day scheduled for Sunday against Auburn at 12 p.m. at the Mitchell Tennis Center.
STEP IN STAND UP
In support of national Sexual Assault Awareness Month (SAAM) in April, Texas A&M men’s tennis has partnered with the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee to host the "Step In Stand Up" match to raise awareness about sexual violence on Friday.
Participation in the university-wide “Step In Stand Up” campaign underscores Texas A&M Athletics’ commitment to eliminate these crimes that are an issue on college campuses nationwide. The campaign encourages students, faculty and staff to step in and help prevent acts of sexual violence, while standing up for survivors. The Aggies will wear teal accents, as teal is the designated color for Sexual Assault Awareness.
Student-athletes and advocates will collect donations for the Sexual Assault Resource Center of Brazos Valley (SARC) at the match. Teal promotional giveaways are scheduled provided by the Step In Stand Up campaign and educational materials will be provided by SARC and the Office of CLEAR (Consensual Language, Education, Awareness, and Relationships).
THE MAROON & WHITE
- Texas A&M returns six lettermen from last year's squad that advanced to the NCAA Round of 16 and finished the season ranked No. 12 in the ITA Rankings.
- Highlighting the group of returners is senior Arthur Rinderknech, the Frenchman earned singles and doubles All-America honors for the second straight year, the first Aggie to accomplish that feat since Austin Krajicek did in 2010 and 2011. Rinderknech looks to become the first Aggie to earn a trio of singles All-American honors.
- Also returning this season will be Jordi Arconada, AJ Catanzariti, Kevin Lam and Valentin Vacherot. Arconada (60), Catanzariti (48) and Rinderknech (62) comprise one of the most decorated senior classes in program history as all three are on pace to complete their career in the top-25 for dual match singles victories (Brett Joelson, 2004-07, and Blake Arrant, 1993-1996, tie for 25th at 53 singles wins).
- Joining the experienced group of returnees are a quartet of talented freshman including the Nation’s No. 1 recruit in Patrick Kypson, international blue-chip recruit in Barnaby Smith, 2016 US Open Junior Doubles Champion in Juan Carlos Aguilar and 2017 USTA Texas Grand Slam winner Pranav Kumar.
2018 ORACLE/ITA DIVISION I MEN'S NATIONAL RANKINGS
- The Aggies are one of five schools with five players listed in the latest singles rankings. Leading the charge for the Aggies is No. 6 Patrick Kypson followed by No. 10 Arthur Rinderknech, No. 41 Jordi Arconada, No. 52 Valentin Vacherot and No. 105 Juan Carols Aguilar.
- In the doubles poll the Aggies are one of three schools with at least four tandems ranked, led by No. 8 Arconada and Aguilar. Arconada is ranked No. 57 alongside junior Kevin Lam. Rinderknech and Kypson earned their fifth straight doubles ranking as a pair, coming in at No. 48 after earning a top-10 win at the ITA National Team Indoor Championships in their first match as a duo, topping then-No. 5 McClain Kessler and Duarte Vale of Florida. Senior AJ Catanzariti and Vacherot earned their second-straight ranking as a pair, coming in at No. 89 this week.
- Kypson’s No. 6 ranking is a career-high, after earning a ranking in each of the last six polls. The freshman is 11-6 this spring with 10 of his wins against ranked opponents. The double-digit ranked wins matches the team lead with Rinderknech and Arconada.
- The No. 52 ranking for Vacherot is the eighth straight ranking for the sophomore. Vacherot advanced to the consolation final at the ITA All-American Championship last fall in Tulsa, Okla., including wins over three ranked foes, including a couple ranked players from then-No. 4 Georgia.
- Arconada broke into the polls four times as a freshman in 2016, reaching as high as No. 67 and was ranked in eight of the 12 rankings last spring with a high of No. 42 on April 18. Arconada has been among the ranked for 16 straight polls, with a career-high No. 36 ranking this fall.
- Aguilar moved into the rankings for the first time in his collegiate career last week, the right-hander is 3-0 against ranked foes this year and holds an impressive 8-1 record in SEC matches.
- The No. 8 ranking for Arconada and Aguilar is the seventh straight and second top-10 ranking for the duo, reaching as high as No. 6 in the Feb. 7 rankings. Arconada reached as high as No. 29 as a freshman in 2016 alongside Max Lunkin.
- Lam’s ranking of No. 58 alongside Arconada is the seventh straight ranking of the junior’s career, the ranking came on the heels of an impressive ITA Regional showing at the George P. Mitchell Tennis Center as they advanced to the finals last fall.
SENSATIONAL SENIORS
- Arconada, Catanzariti and Rinderknech comprise one of the most accomplished senior classes in program history. The trio have been a part of 89 dual match victories, two SEC Championships, one SEC Tournament title and a trip to the NCAA Championship Round of Eight.
- Arconada had one of the longest win streaks in program history a year ago, winning an unprecedented 18 straight matches. During the streak Arconada rose from unranked into the ITA top-50 after besting five ranked opponents. Arconada’s 60 singles wins moved him into 20th on Texas A&M career singles wins list.
- Catanzariti earned All-American honors a season ago in doubles alongside classmate Arthur Rinderknech. The Pittsburgh native has paced the Aggies in doubles wins twice in his three seasons in Aggieland (19 wins in 2015 and 13 wins in 2017). The right-hander needs six singles wins to move into the career singles wins top-25.
- Rinderknech enters his final spring as one of the country’s best players, earning a career-best No. 4 ranking in the fall and being among the ranked singles players in 33 rankings over the past four seasons. The Paris, France native moved into the top-25 for singles wins in program history at 62 and already stands at No. 16 on the career doubles victory list. Rinderknech looks to climb the doubles list this spring as he is only six wins from the top-10.
LONE SOPHOMORE
- Sophomore Valentin Vacherot turned in a memorable freshman campaign after matching Arconada for the team lead in singles victories a year ago. The Frenchman stormed through his first collegiate season, earning All-SEC Second Team and All-Freshman team honors last spring.
- Vacherot backed up his first dual season with an impressive fall showing, earning a place in the 2017 Oracle ITA National Fall Championships after advancing to the 2017 ITA Men’s All-American Championship consolation final in Tulsa. The sophomore leads the Aggies with nine tournament wins this fall and earned a career-high No. 10 singles rankings entering the spring season.
- Vacherot and Rinderknech are first cousins from France, the duo featured alongside each other last spring five times on the doubles court, earning a pair of victories.
FRESHMAN QUARTET
- Texas A&M’s 2017 signing class was one of the most decorated groups in program history. The Aggie class includes a wealth of international experience and a Texas state champion from a year ago. The class consists of Juan Carlos Aguilar, Patrick Kypson, Pranav Kumar and Barnaby Smith.
- Aguilar earned the 2016 US Open Doubles Championship, claiming five wins including a pair over seeded opponents en route to the prestigious tournament title. The doubles standout earned a career-high Junior ITF ranking of 23 in October of 2016 and featured for Bolivia in the Davis Cup last year.
- Kypson marked the first time in program history that the nation’s No. 1 recruit signed with Texas A&M. The elite junior reached as high as No. 672 in the ATP World Tour rankings and No. 18 in the ITF World Junior Rankings. The right-hander played in a trio of Junior Grand Slams last year, including advancing to the semifinals at Wimbledon.
- Smith, from High Wycombe, Great Britain, earned a career-high No. 62 World Junior ITF ranking and played in all four Junior Grand Slams last year, earning wins at Wimbledon, French Open and Australian Open.
- Kumar stormed through a loaded field to claim the 2017 USTA Texas Grand Slam Championship last June at the Eager Tennis Center on the campus of Abilene Christian University. The Plano. Texas native was ranked as high as the No. 3 prospect in the state of Texas by tennisrecruiting.net.
DENTON’S 12TH YEAR AT THE HELM
- The Aggies have won at least 20 matches in each of the last four seasons under head coach Steve Denton and six times in his 11-year tenure. Four times during the last decade, Texas A&M has hit the 25-win mark, winning 25 in 2010, 29 in 2011, 25 in 2014 and 27 in 2016.
- Texas A&M has had a doubles tandem earn All-America honors in each of the past five seasons. Catanzariti and Rinderknech earned a Top-8 seed in last year’s Doubles Championship to solidify their All-American status for 2017. Two years ago, Jackson Withrow and Rinderknech achieved the feat after advancing to the Doubles Championship finals.
- The Aggies have made 24-straight appearances in the NCAA Tournament, hosting the first and second round for the past five seasons.
- Texas A&M was ranked in Top-25 in 14 of the 15 rankings published last spring and 83 of the last 85 polls, dating back to Jan. 22, 2013. The Maroon & White entered the spring ranked No. 7, their highest ranking to open the spring season since earning a No. 5 ranking top open the 2016 season.