The fifth-seeded Texas A&M men's tennis team traveled to Winston-Salem, N.C. to take on Alabama in the NCAA Championship's Round of 16, Friday at 6 p.m. (CT) at the Wake Forest Tennis Center. The Aggies (24-5) are making their 15th appearance all-time in the Round of 16 and are looking to advance to the quarterfinals for the third time.
Live stats and video will be available on Wake Forest's tournament central page for all matches taking place in Winston-Salem throughout the tournament (http://www.wakeforestsports.com/ncaatennis/). With inclement weather in the forecast for the weekend, some matches could be moved indoors at Wake Forest and in nearby Chapel Hill.
The winner of Friday's match-up between the Aggies and Crimson Tide (20-12) will take on the winner of the match between No. 13 Florida and Ole Miss Sunday afternoon in the quarterfinals.
The Maroon & White clinched their 15th appearance in the Round of 16 with a 4-1 victory over No. 18 Baylor last Saturday at the George P. Mitchell Tennis Center in College Station. After picking up the doubles point, the Aggies secured the victory with wins from No. 72 Valentin Vacherot, No. 12 Arthur Rinderknech and No. 48 Jordi Arconada. The host-Aggies advanced to the second round with a 4-0 sweep over Lamar last Friday.
The regular season SEC Champions are one of four schools with four players listed in the latest ITA singles rankings. Leading the charge for the Aggies is No. 5 Patrick Kypson followed by Rinderknech, Arconada and Valentin Vacherot. The Tide counter with the nation’s ninth-ranked player, Mazen Osama.
In the doubles poll, the Aggies are one of nine schools with at least three tandems ranked, led by No. 3 Arconada and Juan Carlos Aguilar. Arconada is ranked No. 65 alongside junior Kevin Lam. Rinderknech and Kypson earned their eighth straight doubles ranking as a pair, coming in at No. 52 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. Alabama boasts of the No. 26 ranked duo of Osama and Edson Ortiz.
The Crimson Tide booked a trip to the Round of 16 with a pair of upsets in Tallahassee, Fla. last weekend. Alabama opened the tournament with a 4-1 victory over No. 23 Tulane before tripping up host and 11th ranked Florida State, 4-2.
