College Tennis News - Texas A&M’s Historic Season Ends in Elite 8

WACO, Texas – The No. 5 Texas A&M men’s tennis team’s historic season came to an end Saturday afternoon in the Elite 8, losing 4-0 to No. 3 Virginia at the Hurd Tennis Center in Waco. The 2015 A&M (24-5) squad shared the SEC regular season championship and claimed the tournament title in College Station before making the program’s second appearance in the national quarterfinals.

The match got underway just a couple minutes after 2 p.m. and the Aggies were immediately on their heels. The Aggies first line doubles team, No. 10 Harrison Adams and Shane Vinsant, fell behind 2-0, but bounced back to take a commanding 6-3 lead over No. 2 Luca Corinteli and Ryan Shane. Unfortunately the A&M duo were unable to claim their 5th win over a top-five opponent this season as the Cavaliers (27-3) clinched the doubles point through wins on the other two courts.

The A&M freshman pair of AJ Catanzariti and Arthur Rinderknech alternated breaks through the middle of the match, but could not hold off Collin Altamirano and JC Aragone on court three falling 8-5. The ACC Champions pocketed the match’s first point with an 8-4 win by No. 42 Thai-Son Kwiatkowski and Mac Styslinger over No. 56 Jeremy Efferding and Jordan Szabo on court two.

The Aggies opened singles play without the lead for just the sixth time this season, going 2-3 in matches without winning the double’s point heading into Saturday. Virginia maintained the pressure on Texas A&M winning five of six first sets, Rinderknech claimed the lone first set in A&M’s favor.

The Cavaliers doubled their lead through a straight set win on court five. No. 92 Catanzariti fell 6-2, 6-1 to Alexander Ritschard, ending his memorable freshman season at 37-11 overall, including a 20-6 mark in dual matches. The Pittsburgh native was the 34th Aggie to tally 20 dual wins in a season, tying for 24th most dual wins in a single season.

The maroon and white’s attempt to prolong the match was unsuccessful as they fell behind 3-0 as No. 19 Kwiatkowski defeated No. 78 Adams 6-1, 6-2 on court four. The match was clinched on court six as Aragone defeated freshman Jordi Arconada to advance the Cavaliers to the national semifinals.

Efferding, Adams and Vinsant will return to action next week as they will represent the Aggies in the NCAA Individual Championships beginning Wednesday in Waco. Vinsant will compete with Adams in the doubles championship, as Efferding will don the maroon and white for the final time in the singles bracket.

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.

#3 Virginia 4, #5 Texas A&M 0

Singles competition

1. #8 Ryan Shane (UVA) vs. #47 Jeremy Efferding (TAMU) 6-2, 2-3, unfinished

2. #20 Mitchell Frank (UVA) vs. #80 Shane Vinsant (TAMU) 6-3, 2-1, unfinished

3. #77 Collin Altamirano (UVA) vs. #84 Arthur Rinderknech (TAMU) 1-6, 6-1, 1-0, unfinished

4. #19 Thai-Son Kwiatkowski (UVA) def. #78 Harrison Adams (TAMU) 6-1, 6-2

5. Alexander Ritschard (UVA) def. #92 AJ Catanzariti (TAMU) 6-2, 6-1

6. JC Aragone (UVA) def. Jordi Arconada (TAMU) 6-4, 6-3

Doubles competition

1. #2 Luca Corinteli/Ryan Shane (UVA) vs. #10 Harrison Adams/Shane Vinsant (TAMU) 7-4, unfinished

2. #42 Thai-Son Kwiatkowski/Mac Styslinger (UVA) def. #56 Jeremy Efferding/Jordan Szabo (TAMU) 8-4

3. Collin Altamirano/JC Aragone (UVA) def. AJ Catanzariti/Arthur Rinderknech (TAMU) 8-5

Match Notes:

Order of finish: Doubles (3,2); Singles (5,4,6)

NCAA Quarterfinals

Texas A&M Head Coach Steve Denton

On the match results…

“I thought the doubles was crucial for us. By losing, I think we got ourselves behind a little bit. Give Virginia credit, they played really aggressively. They served well, they attacked the ball, and went for their shots. I felt like they had an inner belief today when our guys were questioning ourselves a little bit. When we gave them a break of serve and a couple of those doubles, it was kind of hard to overcome that. Even though we were able to break back, we just didn’t do a good enough job taking care of our serve, whereas, Virginia did a very good job of taking care of their serve, serving it two of three doubles.”

Virginia Head Coach Brian Boland

On the match results…

"Really pleased with how the team played. They had a lot of energy in doubles. [Texas] A&M competed hard, so congratulations to them for having a great season. We're just thrilled to move on. I thought the guys played well today in doubles and kept the momentum in singles, and it's good to get a win."

-aTm-