Alabama
#5 Texas A&M
Alabama Men’s Tennis’ Run Ends in Sweet 16 After Falling to No. 5 Texas A&M, 4-0
5/18/2018 10:10:00 PM | Men's Tennis
The Crimson Tide reached the Round of 16 for only the fourth time in program history
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. – The Alabama men's tennis team's historic season came to an end in the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament after falling to No. 5 Texas A&M, 4-0, on Friday night at the Wake Forest Indoor Tennis Complex. The Crimson Tide (20-13) finishes the season with the most wins since 2009, and marks only the 10th time in program history the Tide has finished with 20 wins or more.
"It was an exciting run," head coach George Husack said. "This is our standard now and this is where we want to be. Today we got beat by a better team, but the remaining courts were right there. Overall, I'm really proud of the team and the new standard they've set for the program."
In doubles play, Texas A&M took the first point of the match after Rinderknech/Catanzariti defeated sophomores Thibault Cancel and Alexey Nesterov, while No. 3 Aguilar/Arconda bested No. 26 sophomore Edson Ortiz and junior Mazen Osama, 6-3.
In singles competition, the Aggies continued to extend the lead after No. 48 Jordi Arconada pushed past Cancel, 6-3, 6-3. Texas A&M closed out the match with back-to-back wins after No. 12 Arthur Rinderknech moved past freshman Patrick Kaukovalta, 6-4, 6-1, and No. 72 Valentin Vacherot earned a win over Ortiz, 6-4, 6-4, to end the match.
The Tide had numerous accomplishments this season, as one of the youngest team's in the nation, the Tide began the dual match season with a 14-0 record, which marked the best start in program history and the longest winning streak in the team's history.
UA advanced to the quarterfinals of the SEC Tournament after defeating No. 25 Kentucky to secure its 18th bid in the NCAA Tournament. Alabama earned a No. 3 seed in the Tallahassee Regional as the second-to-last team to make it into the tournament.
Alabama took advantage of the opportunity in the NCAA Tournament after cruising past No. 23 Tulane, 4-1, and then defeating host No. 11 Florida State, 4-2, to earn its fourth-ever trip to the Sweet 16 and first since 2007. The Round of 16 berth was the first-ever by a No. 12 seed in the SEC Tournament.
Individually, Osama became the first All-American since 2001 after earning a national seed in the NCAA Singles Tournament. Osama was also named First Team All-SEC, while he and Ortiz earned a spot in the NCAA Doubles Tournament. Ortiz was also named to the SEC Men's Tennis Community Service Team, while earning Second Team All-SEC honors.
The NCAA Singles and Doubles Tournaments will be played from May 23-28 in Winston-Salem, N.C.
Alabama Results:
Singles vs. Texas A&M:
- No. 10 Mazen Osama vs. No. 5 Patrick Kypson, 3-6, 6-3, unf.
- No. 12 Arthur Rinderknech def. Patrick Kaukovalta, 6-4, 6-1
- No. 48 Jordi Arconada def. Thibault Cancel, 6-3, 6-3
- No. 72 Valentin Vacherot def. Edson Ortiz, 6-4, 6-4
- Juan Carlos Aguilar vs. Alexey Nesterov, 7-5, 2-3, unf.
- Zhe Zhou vs. Barnaby Smith, 6-4, 3-3, unf.
Order of Finish: 3, 2, 4
Doubles vs. Texas A&M:
- No. 3 Aguilar/Arconada def. No. 26 Osama/Ortiz, 6-3
- Catanzariti/Rinderknech def. Cancel/Nesterov, 6-3
- Zhou/Kaukovalta vs. Kypson/Vacherot, 5-3
Order of Finish: 2, 1
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Team Stats
#1 Doubles Match
#2 Doubles Match
#3 Doubles Match
Order of Finish:
1,2
#1 Singles Match
#2 Singles Match
#3 Singles Match
#4 Singles Match
#5 Singles Match
#6 Singles Match
Order of Finish:
3,2,4
Players Mentioned
