Texas A&M had a few guys absent from the singles lineup with both Harrison Adams and AJ Catanzariti not playing so both Max Lunkin and Aleksandre Bakshi moved up to the No. 5 and No. 6 spots.
Each team took three opening sets in singles and five of the six matches would ultimately finish in straight sets.
TCU’s Trevor Johnson was the first off the court after a 6-4, 6-3 win over Aleksandre Bakshi at No. 6. A short while later Guillermo Nunez would put he Horned Frogs ahead 2-1 after a 6-4, 6-4 win over over Jordi Arconada at No. 3. Nunez led 5-2 in the second but Arconada held and then broke to make it 5-4. Nunez would break from 30-40 to close it out.
Texas A&M redshirt senior Jackson Withrow would even the match at 2-2 with a 6-3, 6-4 win over Eduardo Nava at No. 4. Withrow led 4-2 in the second before Nava broke and held to make it 4-4. Withrow held for 5-4 and then broke Nava on the deciding point to win it 6-3, 6-4.
Arthur Rinderknech put Texas A&M back in front with a 6-3, 6-4 win over Alex Rybakov at No. 2. Rybakov jumped out to an early 2-0 lead in the second set but Rinderknech held, broke, and then held to go up 3-2. Rybakov would hold for 3-3 and then break to go up 4-3 but Rinderknech would break back on the deciding point to level it at 4-4. Rinderknech held for 5-4 and then Rybakov went up 40-0 on his serve but Rinderknech took the next four points to win it 6-3, 6-4.
Cameron Norrie tied the match at 3-3 with a 7-6(5), 6-3 win over Shane Vinsant at No. 1. Norrie served for the opening set up 5-4 but Vinsant broke him on the deciding point with a running forehand winner to make it 5-5. In the tiebreak, Vinsant was serving up 4-3 but Norrie took four of the next five points to take it 7-6(5). Vinsant jumped out to a 3-1 lead in the second set but Norrie won the last five games to take it 6-3.
The dual-match would be decided in a third set at No. 5 between Texas A&M junior Max Lunkin and TCU junior Jerry Lopez.
Lopez looked like he’d get the first break of the third set when he went up 0-40 on Lunkin’s 2-2 service game but Lunkin came all the way back to hold for 3-2. Neither player would face a break point the rest of the way with Lopez holding from 40-30 to send it to a match deciding tiebreak. Note: Lunkin broke a string when Lopez was serving 6-5, 30-30 so he came to the net and Lopez passed him. Lunkin netted a second serve return on the next point to send it to a tiebreak.
Lopez opened up a 5-2* lead in the tiebreak but Lunkin came back to win the next three points to knot it at 5-5. Lopez hit an ace down the T to go up 6-5 but Lunkin would fight off the match point with a big forehand that forced a Lopez error. Lunkin double faulted on the next point to go down 7-6 but a Lopez forehand caught the tape and kicked wide to make it 7-7. Lopez forced a Lunkin error to go up 8-7 but Lunkin fought off his third match point by ripping a backhand from the center of the court which forced a Lopez error to make it 8-8. Lunkin hit a service winner to go up 9-8 but Lopez fought off a match point with an ace to make it 9-9. Lopez netted a forehand to go down 10-9 but Lunkin couldn’t convert his second match point, first on his serve, when Lopez hit a forehand winner past a drawn in Lunkin to make it 10-10. Lopez went up 11-10 when Lunkin netted a forehand and then on his fourth match point he finally closed it out when Lunkin netted a backhand to make it 12-10.
I watched the match on the live stream and I was impressed with how these two guys were really going after their shots. A lot of times in tight moments you see guys/gals tapping the ball back and forth but not tonight. It was a great finish to a great match.
#3 TCU 4, #7 Texas A&M 3
Mar 28, 2016 at College Station, TX (George P. Mitchell Tennis Center)
Singles competition
1. #3 Cameron Norrie (TCU) def. #45 Shane Vinsant (TAMU) 7-6 (7-5), 6-3
2. #18 Arthur Rinderknech (TAMU) def. #15 Alex Rybakov (TCU) 6-3, 6-4
3. #54 Guillermo Nuez (TCU) def. #90 Jordi Arconada (TAMU) 6-4, 6-4
4. Jackson Withrow (TAMU) def. #103 Eduardo Nava (TCU) 6-3, 6-4
5. Jerry Lopez (TCU) def. Max Lunkin (TAMU) 2-6, 6-4, 7-6 (12-10)
6. Trevor Johnson (TCU) def. Aleksandre Bakshi (TAMU) 6-4, 6-3
Doubles competition
1. Aleksandre Bakshi/Jackson Withrow (TAMU) def. #67 H Blake/R Stalder (TCU) 7-6 (7-3)
2. Max Lunkin/Arthur Rinderknech (TAMU) def. Trevor Johnson/Guillermo Nuez (TCU) 6-2
3. Alex Rybakov/Cameron Norrie (TCU) def. Jordi Arconada/Shane Vinsant (TAMU) 7-5
Match Notes
TCU 15-2; National ranking #3
Texas A&M 20-6; National ranking #7
Order of finish: Doubles (2,3,1); Singles (6,3,4,2,1,5)
T-3:15 A-288
Head Coach David Roditi – “That was an amazing college tennis match that I wish every Aggie and every Horned Frog could have witnessed. It had it all and even more drama than any of us could handle. This is why these guys work so hard for that feeling. Texas A&M had some guys that needed to step up and they did. They had players compete very well at some matches that typically don’t play or play lower. I am proud of Jerry (Lopez) for his resilience and the way he handled the whole situation. Aggie fans did their job and Jerry had the serenity to continue focusing on the next point.
“Anytime you have a road match versus a top 10 team like Texas A&M you need your players to rise to the occasion and our guys did just that. The best part is that there is still more room for improvement on this team and when we clean a few things up, we will hit another level. Trevor (Johnson), Cameron (Norrie) and Guillermo (Nuez) did a very good job getting those first three points in straight sets and they gave Jerry a chance to clinch. Now we have a really tough doubleheader against a confident Rice team and local rival UT Arlington on Friday.
Head Coach Steve Denton – On the matchup with TCU”The match was a close as it could get, 3-3 with the last match going into tiebreaker. Give credit to Jerry Lopez of TCU, he played tremendous in the tiebreaker. I was really proud of Max and how he played and competed against a really good player from TCU. He just kept hanging in there and fighting, but unfortunately it did not go our way tonight. I think our team grew up a little bit, playing against a team like that. It should give our guys a little bit of confidence, even though they are a little disappointed right now. TCU is a team that can compete for a national championship and with the way we fought them tonight, I told the team why can’t’ we compete at that level moving forward.”
On Arthur’s win
“That was good for Arthur, he had been struggling a little bit playing at the top of the lineup against everyone else’s best players. So it was nice to see him get back on track and get a little more aggressive. Nice to see him play the type of tennis he needs to play to be successful. I was pleased with his effort and it was good for him and his confidence as he has been playing a bunch of really good players.”
On Jackson’s night
“Jackson continues to play well with house money. With his extra semester that he got from his waiver it is like every day is Christmas. He played well in the doubles, he lifted his game and Alex in the tiebreaker to get us that doubles point. He carried that over into a match against a really good player in Eduardo Nava. I’m pleased with his effort, he is a tough match up because the variation he can play with and the athleticism in his game. I’m happy he continues the have the success that he has had to start this spring.
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In a match that was pushed back a day by rain it was Mississippi State holding on to beat Auburn 4-2. Auburn won the doubles point by winning the decider at No. 2 in tiebreak 7-6(5) but State was a little stronger in singles.
MSU picked up a 6-0, 6-0 win from Rishab Agarwal at No. 2 and Nuno Borges won 6-3, 6-0 at No. 3. Strahinja Rakic made it 3-1 MSU with a 7-6, 6-0 win at No. 5 and it looked like Niclas Braun was going to clinch the win when he led 6-4, 5-0 at No. 4. However Auburn’s Connor Huertas would come back to take the set in a tiebreak to force a third.
Auburn picked up a win from Marko Krickovic at No. 1 but MSU got the clincher from Luka Sucevic when he won a third set tiebreak at No. 6.
#24 Mississippi State 4, #52 Auburn 2
March 28, 2016 A.J. Pitts Tennis Centre Starkville, Miss.
Doubles competition
1. Hinnisdaels/Krickovic (AUB) def. Cutura/Hunter (MSU) 6-3
2. Huertas/Saleh (AUB) def. Borges/Braun (MSU) 7-6(5)
3. Agarwal/Sucevic (MSU) def. Laubser/Nguyen (AUB) 6-4
Singles competition
1. Marko Krickovic (AUB) def. Mate Cutura (MSU) 6-4, 3-6, 6-3
2. No. 80 Rishab Agarwal (MSU) def. Max Hinnisdaels (AUB) 6-0, 6-0
3. Nuno Borges (MSU) def. Dante Saleh (AUB) 6-3, 6-0
4. Niclas Braun (MSU) vs. Conner Huertas (AUB) 6-4, 6(8)-7, 0-0 susp.
5. Strahinja Rakic (MSU) vs. Brandon Laubser (AUB) 7-6(8), 6-0
6. Luka Sucevic (MSU) def. Olle Thestrup (AUB) 6-3, 4-6, 7-6(5)
Match Notes
Order of finish: Doubles 1, 3, 2 Singles 2, 3, 5, 1, 6
“After an emotional match on Friday against Florida our guys became complacent today against Auburn, head coach Matt Roberts said. “We did just enough to get the win, but that’s not acceptable. We need to use every match as an opportunity to improve and grow as a team.
“Our guys got a great learning experience today, Roberts said. “Going forward our guys are excited to train hard this week and get some work in on their games to prepare them for two great road matches.
Is Roditi the biggest "character" in college tennis right now?