The No. 8 Texas A&M men's tennis team won its 13th straight match, defeating LSU 5-2 at the LSU Tennis Complex in Baton Rouge, LA Saturday afternoon. With the win the Aggies improved to 14-3 on the season and 7-0 in SEC play, while the Tigers fell to 5-13 overall and 1-6 in league matches.
The Maroon & White picked up five singles wins after dropping the doubles point to open the match. Aleksandre Bakshi evened the team score at one-all, defeating Nikola Samardzic 6-2, 6-2 on court four. Moments later the Aggies took their first lead, 2-1, as Hady Habib won his eighth straight match. Habib topped Julian Saborio 6-3, 6-3 on court six.
Valentin Vacherot picked up his 13th straight singles win to put the Aggies ahead up 3-1, besting Agie Moreno 6-2, 6-2 on court five. No. 119 Jordi Arconada picked up his team-best sixth clinch victory and 12th straight win, defeating Gabor Csonka 6-3, 6-2. The Aggies claimed their fifth and final point on the day as No. 12 Arthur Rinderknech outlasted No. 44 Jordan Daigle 7-5, 5-1(ret.) on court one.
LSU picked up the doubles point as Daigle and Jordan Butsch bested AJ Catanzariti and Arthur Rinderknech, 6-4, on court one and Moreno and Samuelsson topped Habib and Arconada, 6-4, on court three. The Tigers second point came from No. 56 Butsch over No. 116 Catanzariti 6-4, 2-6, 1-0[7] on court two.
The Aggies will remain on the road at No. 19 TCU on Monday. The Maroon & White return to the Mitchell Tennis Center on March 31 as Ole Miss returns to College Station, the Aggies and Rebels faced off at the ITA Kick-Off Weekend on January 28, with Ole Miss claiming the tight 4-3 victory.
Post Match Quote
Steve Denton, Texas A&M Men’s Tennis Head Coach
On the match…
”LSU played great doubles against us, but we had our chances and could not take advantage of them. I know they are really good on the top doubles court and we were even at three-all and four-all, but we just could not get over the hump on any of the doubles courts. Our guys responded very well in singles play, as they have done several times this season. We had a different challenge in front of us today, playing indoors after not playing inside for a while. The guys were able to respond well and get out to good leads in the singles matches and carried five of six first sets. Doing the same thing we have been doing, getting on top of matches early and winning the three-all points and putting pressure on our opponents.”
On who impressed him against LSU…
“I was not on his court, but I noticed the Alex [Bakshi] played one of his best matches against a tough player. He is not short of confidence of late, having clinched the win over Ohio State last Sunday. He is beginning to play better and all of the guys in the singles lineup played well. AJ [Catanzariti] played a good match, but ran up against a hot player and any time you are in a 10-point tiebreaker it turns into almost a coin flip.
Tennis Match Results
LSU vs Texas A&M
Mar 25, 2017 at Baton Rouge, LA
(LSU Tennis Complex)
#8 Texas A&M 5, LSU 2
Singles competition
1. #12 Arthur Rinderknech (TAMU) def. #44 Jordan Daigle (LSU) 7-5, 5-1 (ret.)
2. #56 Justin Butsch (LSU) def. #116 AJ Catanzariti (TAMU) 6-4, 2-6, 1-0[7]
3. #119 Jordi Arconada (TAMU) def. Gabor Csonka (LSU) 6-3, 6-2
4. Aleksandre Bakshi (TAMU) def. Nikola Samardzic (LSU) 6-2, 6-2
5. Valentin Vacherot (TAMU) def. Agie Moreno (LSU) 6-2, 6-2
6. Hady Habib (TAMU) def. Julian Saborio (LSU) 6-3, 6-3
Doubles competition
1. Jordan Daigle/Justin Butsch (LSU) def. AJ Catanzariti/Arthur Rinderknech (TAMU) 6-4
2. Aleksandre Bakshi/Valentin Vacherot (TAMU) vs. Gabor Csonka/Julian Saborio (LSU) 5-4
3. Agie Moreno/Eric Samuelsson (LSU) def. Hady Habib/Jordi Arconada (TAMU) 6-4
Match Notes:
LSU 5-13, 1-6
Texas A&M 14-3, 7-0; National ranking #8
Order of finish: Doubles (1, 3); Singles (4, 6, 5, 3, 1, 2)
