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Arconada Leads Texas A&M Past Florida, Illinois Sweeps Texas Tech & Northwestern, USC Women Stun Michigan

by | Mar 4, 2017 | Blog | 1 comment

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Texas A&M started off its season by losing three of its first four but after tonight’s come from behind 4-3 win at Florida they’ve now won five in a row with the last three coming on the road. Florida jumped out to the early 1-0 lead after winning at No. 1 and No. 2 doubles and then the Gators also added four opening sets in singles. Florida’s Chase Perez-Blanco extended the lead to 2-0 with a straight set win at No. 3 but Texas A&M countered with straight set wins from freshmen Valentin Vacherot and Hady Habib at No. 5 and No. 6 to tie it at 2-all. Florida’s Elliott Orkin put the Gators ahead 3-2 by coming back from 3-1 down in the third set to defeat AJ Catanzariti in a third set tiebreak at No. 2. Texas A&M’s Arthur Rinderknech tied the match at 3-3 by pulling away from Alfredo Perez at No. 1 and then Jordi Arconada clinched the win by breaking Johannes Ingildsen at love to close out a 4-6, 7-6(4), 6-4 win. 

 

#27 Texas A&M 4, #13 Florida 3
Mar 03, 2017 at Gainesville, FL (Alfred A Ring Tennis Complex)
Singles competition
1. #16 Arthur Rinderknech (TAMU) def. #6 Alfredo Perez (UF) 3-6, 6-3, 6-1
2. #92 Elliott Orkin (UF) def. AJ Catanzariti (TAMU) 6-4, 1-6, 7-6 (7-1)
3. Chase Perez-Blanco (UF) def. Max Lunkin (TAMU) 6-2, 6-2
4. Jordi Arconada (TAMU) def. Johannes Ingildsen (UF) 4-6, 7-6 (7-4), 6-4
5. Valentin Vacherot (TAMU) def. Maxx Lipman (UF) 6-3, 6-2
6. Hady Habib (TAMU) def. #120 Jordan Belga (UF) 6-3, 6-4
Doubles competition
1. #9 Johannes Ingildsen/Alfredo Perez (UF) def. Arthur Rinderknech/Valentin Vacherot (TAMU) 6-3
2. Maxx Lipman/Elliott Orkin (UF) def. Jordi Arconada/AJ Catanzariti (TAMU) 6-4
3. Aleksandre Bakshi/Hady Habib (TAMU) def. Joshua Wardell/Chase Perez-Blanco (UF) 6-4
Match Notes:
Texas A&M 6-3, 1-0; National ranking #27
Florida 7-5, 0-1; National ranking #13
Order of finish: Doubles (3,2,1); Singles (3,5,6,2,1,4)
T-3:15

Post-Match Quotes from A&M’s recap
“We are very proud of Jordi and the whole team for battling their tails off against a very good Florida team,” Texas A&M men’s tennis head coach Steve Denton said. “This is a great first step in the SEC. The key for us moving forward is to continue to work hard and get better, last season we won the same type of early SEC match against Florida at our place and it was obvious that Florida got a lot better as they beat us and won the SEC tournament at the end of the season. We have to learn from that as continue to build confidence going forward for this season.”

Post-Match Quotes from Florida head coach Bryan Shelton via UF’s recap
“I credit Texas A&M, they came in and fought hard, and even with losing the doubles point they were able to mount a surge. I felt like we had a hard time getting them uncomfortable out there tonight, and I thought that they just executed better than us down the stretch. I don’t think it was a lack of fight for our guys, we just didn’t come up with the plays when we needed to make the plays, and they did.
 
“It’s early, it’s our first SEC match. We hate that we lost, but I know our guys are motivated to get back out there come Sunday.”
 
On Johannes Ingildsen’s performance in his singles match against Arconada…
“He’s a winner. He lost the match tonight but he’s a winner. To see him in that position and see how well he stayed composed. He didn’t look like a freshman out there playing, he looked like he had more experience than that the way he played aggressively. That’s something that’s not natural for him to step up and play so aggressively, and I was really proud to see him doing that tonight, even in a loss. I think he gained a lot of valuable experience from that match tonight, especially being the decider.”
 
On the locker room after the loss and looking ahead to Sunday…
“I’m trying to help them pick up their heads. It was a dejected locker room for sure, it hurts. I think it hurts because they’re investing in the process, and I think when you’re invested and you’re taking responsibility it tends to hurt a little more. But as long as the hurt leads to motivation which ends up driving their character further, I think the performances will get better and better.
 
“We’ve got to bounce back, we’ve got no choice. Being resilient is what this team is all about. We’ve played a very tough schedule and we’ve lost some matches, but in the end it’s going to be good for us. We have just got to keep learning from the mistakes we’re making and keep working to get better.”

 

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Illinois was coming off a rare loss to Purdue but instead of laying down the Illini bounced back and swept a day/night doubleheader against Texas Tech and No. 16 Northwestern. In the opener against Texas Tech, the Illini won a rare doubles point (3-9 in doubles coming in) and then picked up five opening sets in singles.  Aron Hiltzik and Noe Khlif won in straight sets at No. 2 and No. 6 and just as Texas Tech was making a move on several courts Illinois junior Aleks Vukic would close out the 4-0 win with a 6-2, 2-6, 6-3 win over Jolan Cailleau. 

In the nightcap against Northwestern, the Illini fell behind 1-0 after dropping a tiebreak at No. 3 doubles but they bounced back in singles and took four first sets. Aleks Vukic, Aleks Kovacevic and Zeke Clark won in straight sets at No. 1, No. 4, and No. 5 and Aron Hiltzik would clinch the win by defeating Konrad Zieba in three sets at No. 2. 

 

 

#23 Illinois 4, #16 Northwestern 1
Mar 03, 2017 at Atkins Tennis Center
Singles competition
1. #29 Aleks Vukic (ILL) def. #28 Strong Kirchheimer (NU) 6-3, 6-2
2. #23 Aron Hiltzik (ILL) def. #40 Konrad Zieba (NU) 3-6, 6-1, 6-2
3. Julian Childers (ILL) vs. Sam Shropshire (NU) 3-6, 6-3, 2-3, unfinished
4. Aleks Kovacevic (ILL) def. Dominik Stary (NU) 6-3, 6-3
5. Zeke Clark (ILL) def. Ben Vandixhorn (NU) 7-5, 6-2
6. Noe Khlif (ILL) vs. Jason Seidman (NU) 6-4, 3-6, 1-0, unfinished
Doubles competition
1. Aron Hiltzik/Aleks Vukic (ILL) def. Konrad Zieba/Sam Shropshire (NU) 7-6 (7-4)
2. #51 Strong Kirchheimer/Dominik Stary (NU) def. Alex Jesse/Aleks Kovacevic (ILL) 6-3
3. Chris Ephron/Michael Lorenzini (NU) def. Zeke Clark/Gui Gomes (ILL) 7-6 (9-7)
Match Notes:
Northwestern 9-3; National ranking #16
Illinois 9-5; National ranking #23
Order of finish: Doubles (2,1,3); Singles (1,4,5,2)
T-2:45, A-522

Post-Match Quotes from head coach Brad Dancer via Illinois’s recap
“We were certainly better today. This was a very tough week for Illinois tennis. We got punched in the gut a little bit and had some things happen to us, in terms of how we played and how we competed. It was just not the standard of our team. I take a lot of responsibility for that. I know we did not have our team ready to play this week. I feel terrible about that for the guys and I apologized to the guys. So, we challenged them at practice yesterday about how they were going to come out today and what they were going to do. After the Texas Tech match, that is what we talked about. It was not good enough. It is good enough to be average, but this program is not about being average.”

“Northwestern is a great team. They have great players up and down the lineup, but I think we can play better than we did tonight, but at least our competing was back. We got down to how we compete as Illinois tennis players and that is what we are known for. That is what makes you really proud as a coach. I am really proud of these guys for responding to that. It is up to them and they are the ones who went out and did it. It was a whole team effort and it was much more indicative of how we are as a program.”

 

 

#23 Illinois 4, Texas Tech 0
Mar 03, 2017 at Atkins Tennis Center
Singles competition
1. #29 Aleks Vukic (ILL) def. #54 Jolan Cailleau (TT) 6-2, 2-6, 6-3
2. #23 Aron Hiltzik (ILL) def. Connor Curry (TT) 6-3, 6-4
3. Aleks Kovacevic (ILL) vs. Bjorn Thomson (TT) 6-3, 4-6, 4-2, unfinished
4. Julian Childers (ILL) vs. Alex Sendegeya (TT) 6-7 (4-7), 3-4, unfinished
5. Vuk Budic (ILL) vs. Carlos DiLaura (TT) 6-2, 6-7 (5-7), 1-2, unfinished
6. Noe Khlif (ILL) def. Pyry Hyrkkonen (TT) 6-1, 6-3
Doubles competition
1. Aron Hiltzik/Aleks Vukic (ILL) def. Connor Curry/Bjorn Thomson (TT) 6-3
2. Alex Jesse/Aleks Kovacevic (ILL) def. Jolan Cailleau/Carlos DiLaura (TT) 6-2
3. Zeke Clark/Gui Gomes (ILL) vs. Jackson Cobb/Alex Sendegeya (TT) 3-4, unfinished
Match Notes:
Texas Tech 6-8
Illinois 8-5; National ranking #23
Order of finish: Doubles (2,1); Singles (6,2,1)
T-2:15

Post-Match Quotes from Texas Tech’s recap
“We got behind today, and you can’t do that against a Top 20 team especially on the road,” Texas Tech head coach Brett Masi said. “We need to play the match on our terms from the start. There were times where we did, but we need to come out that way. Hopefully, we can learn from this match quickly because we will have the same type of challenge at Northwestern on Sunday.”

 

The big upset on the day took place in Los Angeles as No. 32 USC stunned No 4 Michigan 5-2. Michigan came into the match with a 7-2 record while USC entered at just 3-3. Michigan took the doubles point with comfortable wins at No. 1 and No. 2 but USC fought back in singles with four opening sets. USC’s Sydney Van Alphen tied the match with a quick win at No. 6 but Michigan’s Mira Ruder-Hook put the Wolverines back in front with a win at No. 5. USC would pull out all the close sets winning three 7-6 sets and one 7-5 set. Gabby Smith, Jessica Failla, Madison Westby, and Rianna Valdes swept the top four spots with Valdes clinching at No. 4. 

 

 

#32 USC 5, #4 Michigan 2
March 3, 2017 – Marks Tennis Stadium (Los Angeles, Calif.)
Doubles competition
(1) #1 Fahey/Najarian (UM) def. #21 Katz/Westby (USC) – 6-1
(2) #28 Minor/Ruder-Hook (UM) def. #45 Failla/Valdes (USC) – 6-2
(3) Kulikov/Smith (USC) vs. Lommer/Patiuk (UM) – 5-2 susp.
Michigan wins doubles point.
Order of finish: 1, 2
Singles competition
(1) #33 Gabby Smith (USC) def. #21 Kate Fahey (UM) – 4-6, 7-5, 6-2
(2) #55 Jessica Failla (USC) def. #26 Brienne Minor (UM) – 7-6(5), 7-6(5)
(3) #104 Madison Westby (USC) def. #108 Alex Najarian (UM) – 7-6(6), 6-4
(4) Rianna Valdes (USC) def. #125 Chiara Lommer (UM) – 6-3, 4-6, 6-4*
(5) Mira Ruder-Hook (UM) def. Angela Kulikov (USC) – 6-3, 6-1
(6) Sydney Van Alphen (USC) def. Kara Hall (UM) – 6-0, 6-3
Order of finish: 6, 5, 3, 2, 4*, 1  

 

Other Friday Results

  • #1 Ohio State def. #29 Notre Dame 7-0 – final three matches finished in 10-point supertiebreaks 
  • #19 South Carolina def. LSU 4-3 – Yancy Dennis put SC ahead 4-1 with a win at No. 4 – LSU won the final two matches
  • #12 Georgia Tech def Clemson 7-0 – doubles point was tight – singles was blowout city!
  • #18 Cornell def. #37 Indiana 4-0 – Cornell also had a big lead at No. 1 singles as well
  • #22 Georgia def #30 Vanderbilt 6-1 – played indoors on 5-courts – Nathan Ponwith clinched 7-5 in the third against Baker Newman at No. 3
  • #15 Kentucky def. Tennessee 4-0 – played indoors on 4-courts – UK took dubs and won three straight set matches at 2, 3, & 4. 
  • #47 Washington def. #32 Minnesota 4-2 – Enzo Sommer broke Felix Corwin at love to win 6-3 in the third at No. 1
  • Ole Miss def. Alabama 4-3 – Zvonimir Babic put Ole Miss ahead 4-1 with a straight set wins at No. 6 
  • #31 Wisconsin def. Marquette 7-0
  • #31 Wisconsin def. Eastern Illinois 7-0
  • Iowa def. Utah 4-3
  • Iowa def. Southern Illinois 4-3
  • Utah State def. BYU 4-3 – played indoors on 4-courts – USU came back from 3-2 down with Samuel Serrano winning in straights at No. 5 and Jonas Maier clinching 6-1 in the third at No. 6
  • North Florida def. East Tennessee State 4-2 – played indoors on 4-courts – Sahil Deshmukh clinched in straights at No. 5 – UNF was up 6-2, 4-1 in the other match that went unfinished
 
HEB Tournament of Champions (Corpus Christi, TX)
 
First Round
Arizona def. UTSA 4-1
New Mexico State def. Texas A&M Corpus Christi 4-0
#28 South Alabama def. UTRGV 4-0
Louisiana-Lafayette def. DePaul 4-1
 
Semifinals
Arizona def. New Mexico State 4-0
#28 South Alabama def. Louisiana-Lafayette 4-1 
 
Consolation
DePaul def. UTRGV 4-3
 

 

Other Friday Women’s Results

  • #3 North Carolina def. Clemson 6-1
  • #5 Georgia Tech def. Virginia Tech 6-1
  • #9 Pepperdine def. #35 Arizona State 4-3
  • #1 Florida def. #37 LSU 7-0
  • #6 Auburn def. #33 Mississippi State 6-1
  • #18 Georgia def. #30 Kentucky 4-1
  • #19 South Carolina def. #20 Texas A&M 4-2
  • #14 Vanderbilt def. #12 Tennessee 6-1
  • #11 Oklahoma State def. #25 Washington 6-1
  • #16 Stanford def. Fresno State 7-0
  • #28 Wake Forest def. Florida State 4-2
  • #44 Miami FL def. #26 NC State 4-3
  • #45 Louisville def. Southern Illinois 4-3
 
 
 

1 Comment

  1. 181
    181 on Thu March 19, 2020 at 5:50 pm

    Women:
    Ole Miss beat Alabama 4/3, took a 3-0 lead then held on to win 7/5 in 3rd set at #6.