This has been a season of firsts for Cornell with the Big Red achieving a program high ranking of No. 18 a few weeks ago and then today they picked up their first ever top 10 win after going into Norman and defeating Oklahoma 4-3. The day didn’t start off very promising for Cornell because Oklahoma rolled through the doubles point picking up a 6-2 win at No. 2 and a 6-0 win at No. 3. The teams split first sets in singles and three of the six would finish in straight sets. Oklahoma junior Spencer Papa was the first to finish after he defeated Cornell sophomore David Volfson in straight sets at No. 1. Volfson went up a break at 4-3 in the first set but Papa broke back and then broke again to take the opening set 7-5. Papa jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the second said and cruised to a 7-5, 6-1 win. 

Cornell senior Colin Sinclair put the Big Red on the board with a straight set win over Florin Bragusi at No. 3. Sinclair broke Bragusi to go up 5-3 in the first and then he served out the set to take it 7-5. The second set stayed on serve until Sinclair broke for 4-3 and then he’d hold two more times to close it out 6-3, 6-4

A pair of top 20 teams duked it out in College Station but despite dropping the doubles point Texas A&M would come back and win four of six singles matches to defeat Kentucky 4-3. After Kentucky won the doubles point, the Wildcats would tack on a straight set win from Beck Pennington at No. 3 before A&M got on the board with a straight set win from freshman Hady Habib at No. 6. 

It looked like Kentucky sophomore Ryotaro Matsumura would get a split at No. 2 when he served up 5-3 (40/30) but Texas A&M junior AJ Catanzariti broke on the no-ad point to put it back on serve at 5-4. Catanzariti fell behind 15/40 on his next service game but he fought off the three break points with back-to-back backhand winners and then on the no-ad point he cranked a big forehand past Matsumura to get the hold for 5-5. Catanzariti broke from 30/40 with a volley winner to go up 6-5 and then after going up 40/15 he’d hold on the no-ad point with a backhand volley winner to take it 7-5, 7-5.

Texas A&M freshman Valentin Vacherot gave the Aggies its first lead of the day with a 5-7, 6-1, 6-2 win over Trey Yates at No. 5 but each of the remaining matches were pretty tight.

Texas A&M junior Jordi Arconada looked like he had it under control at No. 4 with a double break 4-1 lead on the Nils Ellefsen but Ellefsen wouldn’t go away quietly. Ellefsen broke from 30/40 for 2-4, held on the no-ad point for 3-4, fell behind 40/15 before coming back to break for 4-4, and then he held from 40/15 for 5-4. Arconada now found himself serving to stay in the match and after going up 30/0 he’d drop the next three to go down 30/40. Ellefsen netted a forehand to bring up the no-ad point and then he netted another on the second shot of the rally to give Arconada the hold for 5-5. Arconada broke Ellefsen from 30/40 to go up 6-5 and then he served it out from 40/15 via another Ellefsen forehand error to give Texas A&M the 4-3 win.

The reason it was 4-3 and not 4-2 was because less than 10 seconds before Arconada clinched Kentucky’s William Bushamuka closed out Arthur Rinderknech in two tiebreak sets at No. 1. 

#12 Texas A&M 4, #18 Kentucky 3
Mar 12, 2017 at College Station, TX (George P Mitchell Tennis Center)
Singles competition
1. #28 William Bushamuka (UK) def. #8 Arthur Rinderknech (TAMU) 7-6 (7-5), 7-6 (7-3)
2. AJ Catanzariti (TAMU) def. #25 Ryotaro Matsumura (UK) 7-5, 7-5
3. Beck Pennington (UK) def. Aleksandre Bakshi (TAMU) 6-3, 6-4
4. #115 Jordi Arconada (TAMU) def. #75 Nils Ellefsen (UK) 6-3, 4-6, 7-5
5. Valentin Vacherot (TAMU) def. Trey Yates (UK) 5-7, 6-1, 6-2
6. Hady Habib (TAMU) def. Enzo Wallart (UK) 6-4, 6-3
Doubles competition
1. #70 Beck Pennington/Enzo Wallart (UK) def. #22 Arthur Rinderknech/Max Lunkin (TAMU) 6-4
2. William Bushamuka/Nils Ellefsen (UK) def. Aleksandre Bakshi/Hady Habib (TAMU) 6-3
3. Jordi Arconada/AJ Catanzariti (TAMU) vs. Ryotaro Matsumura/Trey Yates (UK) 5-4, unfinished
Match Notes:
Kentucky 11-6, 2-2; National ranking #18
Texas A&M 9-3, 4-0; National ranking #12
Order of finish: Doubles (2,1); Singles (3,6,2,5,1,4)
T-2:48

#11 Georgia got all it wanted on Sunday but its depth was able to push it past #53 Arkansas in a match that was played indoors at Georgia’s four-court indoor facility due to cold weather. Georgia’s Jan Zielinski and Robert Loeb clinched the doubles point by winning a tiebreak 7-3 and then Georgia took three of four first sets in singles. Arkansas senior Jose Salazar was the only Razorback to win a first set and he’d finish off Nathan Ponwith in straight sets with a 6-4, 7-6(7) win. Just before Salazar finished his teammate Oscar Mesquida came back from a set down to defeat Jan Zielinski 2-6, 6-2, 6-3 so with these two wins Arkansas led 2-1.

Georgia sophomore Emil Reinberg tied the match at 2-2 with a 7-5, 3-6, 6-1 win over Adam Sanjurjo at No. 3 but Arkansas senior Mike Redlicki put the Razorbacks back in front with a 3-6, 7-5, 6-2 win over Wayne Montgomery. The final two matches at No. 5 and No. 6 had just gone on court but Georgia’s Walker Duncan and Robert Loeb wasted little time and each went up early break. Loeb closed Juan Marino 6-1, 6-3 to tie it at 3-3 and then minutes later Walker Duncan clinched with a 6-3, 6-3 win over Johan den Toom. 

More post-match highlights and interviews at this link

#11 Georgia 4, #53 Arkansas 3
March 12, 2017 at Athens, Ga. (Dan Magill Tennis Complex)
Singles Results
1. #6 Mike Redlicki (AR) def. #26 Wayne Montgomery (UGA) 3-6, 7-5, 6-2
2. #24 Jose Salazar (AR) def. #99 Nathan Ponwith (UGA) 6-4, 7-6 (9-7)
3. #46 Emil Reinberg (UGA) def. Adam Sanjurjo (AR) 7-5, 3-6, 6-1
4. Oscar Mesquida (AR) def. Jan Zielinski (UGA) 2-6, 6-2, 6-3
5. Walker Duncan (UGA) def. Johan den Toom (AR) 6-3, 6-3
6. Robert Loeb (UGA) def. Juan Marino (AR) 6-1, 6-3
Doubles Results
1. #30 Jan Zielinski/Robert Loeb (UGA) def. #56 Mike Redlicki/Jose Salazar (AR) 7-6 (7-3)
2. #60 Nathan Ponwith/Emil Reinberg (UGA) def. Adam Sanjurjo/Oscar Mesquida (AR) 6-4
3. Johan den Toom/Branch Terrell (AR) def. Wayne Montgomery/Walker Duncan (UGA) 6-2
Match Notes:
Arkansas 8-6
Georgia 8-5; National ranking #11
Order of finish: Doubles (3,2,1); Singles (4,2,3,1,6,5)
Official: Clark Weaver
T-4:05 A-787

Post-Match Quotes from Georgia’s recap
“I could not be more impressed with Arkansas today,” head coach Manuel Diaz said. “They came in here in front of a great crowd and were not intimidated one bit. I thought they really matched our intensity all day long. In all honesty, I think we are becoming a pretty good team and are starting to come together. I am really proud of our guys, and can’t say enough about how they competed.”

• LSU defeated #27 Vanderbilt 4-3 as senior Justin Butsch clinched the match with a 4-6, 7-5, 6-3 win over Baker Newman at No. 2
• UCF pulled off a mild upset and snapped #29 South Alabama’s 15-match winning streak with a 6-1 win.
• #2 Wake Forest went to Durham and defeated #43 Duke 5-2 – Christian Seraphim clinched at 4-1 with a 6-3, 6-4 win at No. 5
• #15 Florida knocked off #23 South Carolina 4-2 in a match that was played indoors at Florida’s three-court facility – Jordan Belga clinched with a straight set win at No. 6
• #46 Tennessee dropped the doubles point but came back to defeat #37 Ole Miss 4-3 – Srdjan Jakovljevic clinched 6-1 in the third at No. 4
• #40 South Florida won its third in a row with a dominating 5-0 win over #48 Tulsa – Bulls won every completed set in singles
• Portland ran its record to 9-1 by defeating Grand Canyon 4-3 to win the Golden State Invitational – Carlos Donat won the decider 3-6, 6-1, 6-0 at No. 4