Gamecocks Fall at No. 10 Texas A&M

April 3, 2016

Pos.	*Singles (3, 4, 5, 1, 2, 6)**	Score
1.	#93 Gabriel Friedrich (SC) d. #18 Arthur Rinderknech (TAMU)	6-3, 3-6, 7-6 (6)
2.	#45 Shane Vinsant (TAMU) d. Andrew Schafer (SC)	6-3, 4-6, 7-5
3.	#90 Jordi Arconada (TAMU) d. Harrison O’Keefe (SC)	4-6, 6-3, 6-0
4.	Jackson Withrow (TAMU) d. Alex Fennell (SC)	7-6 (2), 6-4
5.	AJ Catanzariti (TAMU) d. Thomas Mayronne (SC)	5-7, 6-3, 6-4
6.	Max Lunkin (TAMU) d. Wood Benton (SC)	7-5, 5-7, 6-3

Pos.	*Doubles (3, 1)**	Score
1.	Bakshi/Withrow (TAMU) d. Friedrich/O’Keefe (SC)	6-4
2.	Mayronne/Swank (SC) vs. Adams/Vinsant (TAMU)	susp.
3.	Lunkin/Rinderknech (TAMU) d. Fennell/Schafer (SC)	6-2

COLUMBIA, S.C. — South Carolina men’s tennis sent four singles matches into a third set, but couldn’t pull through as it fell to No. 10 Texas A&M, 6-1 on Sunday at the Mitchell Tennis Center. Sophomore Gabriel Friedrich was impressive in the loss, posting the Gamecocks’ highest ranked win of the season over the nation’s No. 18-ranked player.

The Gamecocks fell behind 1-0 after doubles as Texas A&M earned a win at No. 3, before sophomore Harrison O’Keefe and Friedrich fell in a tough 6-4 battle at No. 1 doubles.

Carolina started singles reenergized, splitting first sets with the Aggies. O’Keefe came out firing, taking his first set, 6-3. No. 90 Jordi Arconada, however, would rebound and take the win, 4-6, 6-3, 6-0, at No. 3. Junior Alex Fennell put up a strong fight at No. 4, but fell in an absolute slugfest, 7-6, 6-4, to give the Aggies a 3-0 lead.

The Gamecocks continued its strong effort as the four remaining matches went into third sets. But, AJ Catanzariti edged out sophomore Thomas Mayronne, 6-4, in the third set at No. 5 to clinch a tight victory for Texas A&M. The three remaining matches were played out with No. 93 Friedrich getting the Gamecocks on the board, posting an impressive 6-3, 3-6, 7-6 (6) win over the nation’s No. 18-ranked player, Arthur Rinderknech, for Friedrich’s highest-ranked win of his young career.

The Aggies would go on to take the final two results. Junior Andrew Schafer led 5-4 in his third set before No. 45 Shane Vinsant pulled out the set to take a 6-3, 4-6, 7-5 win at No. 2. Redshirt freshman Wood Benton also fell after a hard-fought third set to make it a 6-1 final.

The loss drops the Gamecocks to 10-12 overall, 2-6 in SEC play. The Aggies, meanwhile, improve to 21-7, 6-3 in the SEC.

Match Changer

The Aggies pulled out tight wins in four three-set matches.

Notables

Sophomore Gabriel Friedrich moved to 4-4 in the SEC at No. 1 singles.
Friedrich’s win is the highest-ranked victory in his young career and the highest for the Gamecocks this season.
Junior Alex Fennell and sophomore Harrison O’Keefe both had two-match win streaks haulted.

Up Next

The Gamecocks return home for their final regular-season home weekend of the spring. They will take on Auburn on Fri., April 8, at 5 p.m., before squaring off with No. 11 Florida on Sunday at noon. Following the regular season, the Gamecocks will host the SEC Men’s Tennis Tournament April 20-24 at the Carolina Tennis Center.