SPORTS
The Battalion I 3.6.15
4
TENNIS
The freshman Frenchman
Rinderknech helps knock
off top teams in first year
By Alex Scott
ja rthur Rinderknech, a
MM 19-year-old from Par-
is, France, has made a
bigger impact on Aggie men’s
tennis this season than he or
his coach anticipated.
The freshman has played
vital matches for A&M this
season, leading them to two
victories over top-5 ranked
teams and a 6-1 record.
Rinderknech began play
ing tennis at the age of six in
an attempt to follow in the
footsteps of his parents. His
mother, Virginie Paquet, and
father, Pascal Rinderknech,
are accomplished tennis pro
fessionals in France.
The journey to College
Station for Rinderknech be
gan with a recruiting trip from
head coach Steve Denton.
“I was in Paris to see him
and after I watched Arthur hit
three or four balls I knew that
he was our level and knew
that he could really help us,”
Denton said. “So then it was
just really a question of talk
ing him into coming over
here and playing.”
The impression he had of
Denton helped seal the deal,
Rinderknech said.
“After he met with my
family and everything I had
a good feeling with Steve
and I decided to come here,”
Rinderknech said.
Rinderknech’s 6-foot-3
frame allows him to kill the
ball, making a return shot
difficult for his opponents.
Rinderknech was looking
for a university with a top-15
tennis program, high level of
education and a place with
good weather. Despite Thurs
day’s low temperatures, it
seems he found the perfect fit.
During the process of get
ting Rinderknech to College
Station, a minor speed bump
presented itself when eligibil
ity was withheld for his first
year.
“For him to be able to
stay in there mentally and
continue to do things on his
own and be motivated for
that year — you know, it was
really hard for him watch
ing our guys play in matches
with him not being able to
compete, but obviously he’s
certainly made up for it in
this first month and a half,”
Denton said.
Rinderknech has only one
singles loss on the season,
which came in a three-set
battle against a TCU op
ponent early on in the year.
In the time since, he has
won two of the most impor
tant matches of the year for
A&M. Both came against top
five opponents and in both
situations, he was the last man
standing.
Denton said Rinderknech
performs when it matters
most.
“As far as I can tell, the
more the pressure, the better
he plays,” Denton said. “And
that’s obviously really good
for us.”
It is rare to have the chance
to upset the No. 1 team in the
nation. It is even rarer when
it is a freshman that clinches
the match. Upon finish
ing off his milestone match
against No. 1 Oklahoma, he
was greeted by his teammates
who stormed the court to cel
ebrate with him. It will be a
memory that he won’t forget.
Rinderknech and the team
will travel to No. 4 Georgia
at 1:30 p.m. Friday. The No.
10 Aggies look to extend
their winning streak to seven
matches in a row.
THEBATT.COM
TENNIS TRAVELS TO
GEORGIA FRIDAY
Men's tennis, riding a six-
match win streak, plays No.
4 Georgia. Read the story at
tx.ag/battlO.
Cody Franklin — THE BATTALION
In his first year of eligibility, freshman Arthur Rinderknech has made a splash.
Tim Lai—THE BATTALION
Senior pitcher Rachel Fox leads the team in
innings and strikeouts through 21 games.
A&M kicks off SEC
play at home with
No. 9 Kentucky
By Milkyas Gashaw
For an Aggie softball team riding high, there’s no
better way to open SEC play than a home series
against a top-10 team.
The No. 20 Texas A&M softball team will take its
10-game winning streak into its SEC home-opening se
ries this weekend against the No. 9 Kentucky Wildcats
in a top-25 clash at the Aggie Softball Complex.
The Aggies (17-4) last lost against No. 2 Oregon in
early February. The pitching has been a constant for
A&M as senior Rachel Fox and junior Katie Marks
combine for a 16-3 record with Fox leading the club in
innings with 81 1/3 and strikeouts with 67.
Kentucky (13-3) counters on the mound with junior
Kelsey Nunley, who leads the club with a 1.97 ERA,
and sophomore Meagan Prince, who leads the team
with seven wins.
“They have a great pitching staff,” head coach Jo
Evans said. “Our pitchers are going to need to be able
to compete with their pitchers. We need to keep the
game close to give us a chance to make some adjust
ments offensively.”
The Wildcats are a club that does not lack firepower.
Kentucky is hitting .319 as a team this season with 102
runs scored and 29 stolen bases. Junior outfielder Sylver
Samuel paces the team with a .404 average with 18 runs
scored and a .456 on-base percentage. Senior Griffin
Joiner is hitting .396 with four homers and a team-lead
ing 23 RBIs, while sophomore Breanne Ray is hitting
.355 and junior Christian Stokes is hitting .340 with
two doubles, three homers and 14 RBI. Junior Nikki
Sagermann has three homers and 13 RBI. \
Fox said the team will approach the high-powered
offense carefully.
“Well, I think it’s important to know the strengths
and weaknesses of each team,” Fox said. “Each team is
different so we play off that. Obviously we played Ken
tucky last year so we have some information on that.
They do have some home run power, but if we’re able
to keep the ball down and in the park, we have a good
chance of beating them.
Junior Cali Lanphear said she looks forward to the
atmosphere the 12th Man provides.
“Our 12th Man atmosphere is one of a kind,” Lan
phear said. “It’s something that Kentucky has never ex
perienced because this is their first time coming to our
home field since we’ve been in the SEC. They don’t
want to know what they’re in for.”
First pitch is at 6:30 p.m. Friday.
BASEBALL
13-0 A&M to meet stiff tests in Houston
After
playing
its first 13
games at
home at
Olsen Field,
the Aggies
will travel
to Houston
this
weekend
for the
Houston
College
Classic.
Houston, Nebraska, Baylor on
slate for series at Minute Maid
By Andre Perrard
The Aggies have yet to lose this sea
son, but as they leave the confines of
Olsen Field they prepare to meet their
toughest tests to date.
The Texas A&M baseball team rides
a 13-0 record heading into the Minute
Maid Classic in Houston this weekend.
A&M will face off against Nebraska, No.
8 Houston and Baylor over the weekend.
The No. 11 Aggies feature a deep,
powerful lineup that is a pitcher’s night
mare — seven Aggie starters have double
digit RBIs on the year, and eight of them
have hit at least one home run this season.
Sophomore right fielder Nick Banks leads
the team with 14 RBIs on the year. Lo
gan Taylor leads the team with five home
runs this year.
Three Aggie hitters are batting with an
average over .400, led by Mitchell Nau,
who has a .450 average.
The classic gets started on Friday af
ternoon, as A&M will face off against
former Big 12 foe Nebraska. The Corn-
huskers (6-4) are led offensively by Blake
Healdey, who is batting .351 with 13
RBIs and has also legged out five doubles
and one triple.
AJ Minter will most likely be on the
mound for the Aggies on Friday. Mint
er leads the team in ERA (0.56) and in
strikeouts (23). Nebraska will send out
Chance Sinclair.
Saturday, the Aggies face a ranked op
ponent for the first time this season, tak
ing on the No. 8 Houston Cougars. The
Cougars (8-5) have a lineup that features
three players with double-digit RBIs.
Connor Wong leads the team with 14
RBIs, but the player to watch is infielder
Chris Iriart, who has 11 RBI with three
home runs while batting .348.
Houston will send Jake Lemoine to
the mound on Saturday. A&M will send
out Grayson Long. Long is 2-0 on the
season in three appearances with 12 total
Vanessa Pena —THE BATTALION
strikeouts.
In the finale on Sunday, A&M will
take on rival Baylor. The Bears (6-5) have
had a rough beginning to the 2015 sea
son. Logan Brown leads the Bears, batting
.359 with 8 RBIs. The Bears are 0-3 away
from home.
A&M will send junior Matt Kent out
to pitch. Kent is 3-0 in three appearances
this year, with a 2.29 ERA and 17 strike
outs. Baylor will send Austin Stone to the
mound on Sunday.
This marks A&M’s eighth appearance
in the Houston College Classic.
ALABAMA
CONTINUED
performance in conference.
House has been dynamite
ever since for the Aggies and
now leads in scoring, but his
early SEC ways came back to
haunt him in the past cou
ple games. Against Auburn,
House shot 6-for-20 from
the field, and in A&M’s last
game against Horida, the ju
nior guard was blanked for the
first time all season, shooting
0-for-10.
In the final minutes against
the Gators, Aggie head coach
Billy Kennedy elected to pull
him out, and he was seen on
the sideline battling an appar
ent ankle injury.
A win for the Aggies would
secure a double-bye in the
SEC tournament, which be
gins next Wednesday. But
a loss could sink A&M be
low the fourth-place spot, as
Georgia sits a game behind,
having beat the Aggies earlier
in the season. With Georgia
facing Auburn in its season
finale, A&M will almost defi
nitely need to win in hopes of
not playing an earlier game on
Thursday instead of Friday.
Ending senior night with
a bang won’t only guarantee
Tanner Garza — THE BATTALION
Junior forward Jalen Jones missed the first game against Alabama to injury.
a good spot in the SEC tour
nament for A&M. but could
save its chances of earning a
berth in the NCAA Tourna
ment for the first time since
2011. After the Aggies’ loss
to the Gators, they stand as a
10-seed in Joe Lunardi’s lat
est bracketology and sit in his
“Last Four Byes.”
The SEC Tournament
will be played next week at
Bridgestone Arena in Nash
ville, with the first two con
tests being played Wednesday
night.
HOME FINALE
when
1 p.m. Saturday
where
Reed Arena