The No. 5 Texas A&M men’s tennis team fell to the hands of the No. 3 Virginia Cavaliers Saturday in the round of eight in the NCAA tournament in Waco by a score of 4-0.
From the beginning of the match the Aggies (24-5) were on the court sans any sort of edge or advantage. The ACC Champion Cavaliers (27-3) clinched the doubles point with wins on courts two and three. The pairs of AJ Catanzariti and Arthur Rinderknech and Jordan Szabo and Jeremy Efferding fell to their opponents, 8-5, 8-4 respectively.
Moving to singles play, the Aggies were still unable to summon any sort of momentum as they dropped the first set on five of the six courts, Rinderknech being the only Aggie to capture a first set victory. At that certain juncture of the match, A&M was in an unfamiliar predicament. Typically it is the Aggies who are in control after the first sets have been played, the scene at the Hurd Tennis Center however showed a different picture.
First to fall for A&M was freshman, No. 92 AJ Catanzariti, 6-2, 6-1 on court five. The loss for the Pittsburg native capped off what was a fantastic first season for the Aggie in which he finished the year with a 37-11 record, going 20-6 in dual matches. Nevertheless, the loss for AJ left Texas A&M down 2-0 to Virginia in a win-or-go-home match.
It was then No. 78 Harrison Adams who fell to his opponent in straight sets, 6-1, 6-2 on court four to give Virginia a 3-0 advantage. The match clinching point for the Cavaliers came on court six where the freshman, Jordi Arconada was defeated, also in straight sets, 6-4, 6-3.
Ironically, the Aggie squad that relied on the bottom of the lineup time and time again throughout the season, ended up being eliminated due to losses by the line four, five and six players.
Although the season is over for Texas A&M there is still some tennis to be played; the NCAA Individual Championships. Representing the Aggies will be the No. 10 doubles duo of Harrison Adams and Shane Vinsant as well as No. 47 Jeremy Efferding who will be competing in singles play. The match for Efferding will be his last time to represent Texas A&M on the tennis court.
The (24-5) season for the Aggies was one that was full of excitement and presented a positive picture for the program’s future. With the newfound depth and high-level play of the freshmen, Texas A&M has put itself in a prime position to be a legitimate contender for not only another SEC title next season, but also a national title.