While competing for their first win at the University of Georgia in the history of the program, the No. 5 Texas A&M men’s tennis team (10-3, 3-0) got the best of the No. 21 Bulldogs (7-5, 0-3) on Sunday afternoon in Athens at the Lindsey Hopkins Indoor Courts. 
The Aggies did everything they could to ensure they walked away with the win, and managed to come out on top in the end despite being on the road. Despite a weather delay, A&M head coach Steve Denton said the team found a way to overcome the task at hand and claim the win.
“Winning at Georgia is always tough and I am really excited to learn that was our first ever win there,” Denton said to 12thman.com. “They have a great crowd that really helps their team and I am really proud of how our guys kept fighting to get the win today.”
Senior No. 10 Arthur Rinderknech established an immediate upper hand in the victory-clinching game. Soon after he secured the 6-3 first set, he fell in the second set and allowing the equalizer. Rinderknech and No. 24 Wayne Montgomery stayed leveled throughout much of the third set resulting in the settling tiebreaker. Even so, he took the 7-2 tiebreaker win to seal the win for the Aggies. From the start, Rinderknech felt that he could find a way to claim his win.
“I had a game plan going into the tiebreaker and was able to get the advantage early,” Rinderknech said to 12^thman.com. “I wanted to play offensive and really go for it on his serves. There were a lot of really close points and I was able to get a nice lead and finish out the match.” 
Despite Georgia’s strong support from their home crowd, Rinderknech explains how the Aggies stayed in control and remained strong through the duration of singles and doubles play. 
“We came out pretty well in doubles and that was huge for us,” Rinderknech said to 12thman.com. “They had a big crowd but we played really well in singles to try to take them out of the match. Then the match started to turn and the crowd got really into it, but we were able to get the win.” 
To open doubles play, the No. 14 duo of senior Jordi Arconada and freshman Juan Carlos Aguilar earned a 6-0 win over Georgia’s Montgomery and Nathan Ponwith on court two. Immediately following, sophomore Valentin Vacherot and senior AJ Catanzariti edged UGA’s Robert Loeb and Eric Diaz for a 6-4 win on court three, leading the Aggies to obtain the doubles point.
Carrying over momentum from his doubles match, Arconada pushed for his 53^rd dual match mingles victory in a 6-4, 6-1 win over No. 81 Ponwith on court three to give A&M a 2-0 lead. Meanwhile, Georgia closed the gap as No 47. Emil Reinberg earned his team’s only point in a 6-4, 6-4 win over A&M’s No. 27 Patrick Kypson.
A&M’s Vacherot jumped out to a 6-4 victory in the first set before falling in the tightly contested 7-5 second set. He then managed to result with a match win, over No. 14 Walter Duncan, after a close 7-5 final set. Soon after, Rinderknech fought for a three-set tiebreaker to take a 6-3, 6-7, 7-6 win against Montgomery to secure the Aggies’ first win at Georgia in program history. 
The Aggies displayed some of their best match play of the 2017-2018 season, as needed. While establishing an immediate lead, A&M never looked back. Denton was pleased, but not surprised, with the team’s consistent play throughout the afternoon.
“I thought we played our best doubles of the year as a team. Our guys did a really good job there to get the lead early in the match,” Denton said to 12thman.com. “It looked like we would dominate the match early in singles play with three players winning first sets. Then the match got complicated, give Georgia a lot of credit for fighting back. They have a really talented team and Georgia is always a tough place to play. I am really proud and impressed with the resolve of our guys in a really tough environment.”
The A&M men’s tennis team returns to the friendly confines of the George P. Mitchell Tennis Center for a meeting against the No. 19 Notre Dame Fighting Irish on March 15 at 6 p.m.