Mississippi State
Texas A&M
No. 20 Bulldogs Fall In SEC Semifinals To No. 6 Texas A&M
April 18, 2015 | Men's Tennis
COLLEGE STATION, Texas – In their second day at the 2015 SEC Championship, the 20th-ranked and No. 3 seed Mississippi State Bulldogs (19-7) fell in a 4-0 decision to the sixth-ranked and No. 2 seed Texas A&M Aggies (20-4) in semifinal play on Saturday.
The Bulldogs were unable to find their rhythm on Saturday, as the host Aggies took the doubles point and then three more in singles play.
Texas A&M landed the first blow in doubles play with the No. 11 team of Harrison Adams and Shane Vinsant defeating MSU's seventh-ranked squad of Julian Cash and Florian Lakat, 6-2.
Focus then switched to courts two and three, where both sides battled for the match's opening point. Play would be pushed to a tiebreaker on court three, where the battle continued. Despite the best efforts from the Maroon and White, Aggies A.J. Catanzariti and Arthur Rinderknech took down MSU's Juan Cruz Estevarena and Robin Haden, 7-6(4).
Play on court two was suspended at the clinch, with TAMU's No. 46 team of Jeremy Efferding and Jordan Szabo up 6-5 against Mate Cutura and Tassilo Schmid.
MSU looked to rebound in singles play, but would encounter some bad luck along the way. Midway through the first set, Cutura injured his ankle on a forehand shot. After receiving treatment, Cutura returned but was forced to retire midway through the second set, dropping his match 6-3, 3-0 to TAMU's Rinderknech.
The Aggies built their lead to 3-0 with a straight-sets win on court five, as No. 93 Catanzariti defeated Schmid 7-6(3), 6-1. The clincher followed on court six, as Jordi Arconada downed MSU's Cash 6-3, 4-6, 6-0.
Play was suspended on courts one, two and four at the clinch. On one, No. 76 Lakat led No. 61 Efferding 7-6(6), 2-5. TAMU's No. 69 Vinsant led MSU's Estevarena 6-4, 1-6, 4-1 on two, while play was tied in the third in a battle between State's Agarwal and the Aggies' No. 55 Adams 6-2, 3-6, 3-3.
“That was a tough loss today, but I'm really proud of my guys. They fought at every moment and never gave in,” MSU coach Matt Roberts said. “This is a tough place to play. Texas A&M had a good home crowd and fed off that energy, but I felt like our guys responded well. In the end, we came up short, but nonetheless I'm proud of this team.”
State will now await its destination in the 2015 NCAA Championship, which will be announced on Tuesday, April 28, at 4:30 p.m. CT. NCAA play begins May 8-10 with the first and second rounds. The NCAA Championship finals will be held in Waco, Texas, May 14-19.
“While we're down that we couldn't get this win, we are excited to begin our postseason run,” Roberts said. “We have two weeks to train, prepare and get everything in order, from the classroom to the courts. We're ready to get back at it once we get home to Starkville.”
For more information on Mississippi State men's tennis and updates, fans can follow the Bulldogs on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram at HailStateMT.
No. 6 Texas A&M [2] 4, No. 20 Mississippi State [3] 0
2015 SEC Men's Tennis Championship - Semifinals
April 18, 2015 – Mitchell Tennis Center – College Station, Texas
Doubles
1. No. 11 Harrison Adams/Shane Vinsant (TAMU) def. No. 7 Julian Cash/Florian Lakat (MSU) 6-2
2. No. 46 Jeremy Efferding/Jordan Szabo (TAMU) def. Mate Cutura/Tassilo Schmid (MSU) 6-5(susp.)
3. A.J. Catanzariti/Arthur Rinderknech (TAMU) def. Juan Cruz Estevarena/Robin Haden (MSU) 7-6(4)
Singles
1. No. 76 Lakat (MSU) vs. No. 61 Efferding (TAMU) 7-6(6), 2-5(susp.)
2. No. 69 Vinsant (TAMU) vs. Estevarena (MSU) 6-4, 1-6, 4-1(susp.)
3. Rinderknech (TAMU) def. No. 118 Cutura (MSU) 6-0, 3-0(retired)
4. Rishab Agarwal (MSU) vs. No. 55 Adams (TAMU) 6-2, 3-6, 3-3(susp.)
5. No. 93 Catanzariti (TAMU) def. Schmid (MSU) 7-6(3), 6-1
6. Jordi Arconada (TAMU) def. Cash (MSU) 6-3, 4-6, 6-0
Order of finish… Doubles (1,3)… Singles (3,5,6)
Players Mentioned
