COLLEGE STATION, Texas – The Texas A&M men's tennis team opens the 2015 season ranked No. 10 in the ITA Division I Tennis Rankings the collegiate tennis governing body announced on Tuesday. Senior Jeremy Efferding, junior Harrison Adams, junior Shane Vinsant and freshman AJ Catanzariti are among the ranked singles players along with tandems Efferding and senior Jordan Szabo and Adams and Vinsant amongst the ranked doubles pairs.
“We are very excited about the upcoming season,” said Texas AM Head Coach Steve Denton. “This team has a lot of experience coming back along with some very talented newcomers. I know our guys are ready to compete and can't wait to get started.”
The Aggies were among seven teams in the Southeastern Conference to crack the top-25 with Georgia (8), Florida (13), Tennessee (17), Kentucky (18), Vanderbilt (19) and Mississippi State (21). Other ranked squads on the 2015 schedule for the Aggies include Oklahoma (2), Ohio State (5), Illinois (11), South Carolina (27), Ole Miss (31), Alabama (36), TCU (37), Tulsa (40), Auburn (42), LSU (45) and Arkansas (57).
“The preseason rankings for the team are what we expected and we know we have a lot of hard work ahead to reach our team goals,” added Denton, the 2014 SEC Coach of the Year. “As far as the individual rankings are concerned, our strength is our depth. Our hope for this season is to have as many individuals in the singles and doubles NCAA Tournament as possible. Having four singles and two doubles ranked is a good starting point.”
Junior All-American Harrison Adams led the charge for A&M at No. 29 on the list. Adams was 8-4 in the fall season including a 3-2 record against ranked opponents. Adams played the No. 1 line for the Aggies last spring going 5-2 in SEC matches and 14-8 in dual matches. The New Braunfels, Texas native rang up a team-leading nine wins against ranked opponents garnering All-SEC First Team honors last year.
Fellow junior All-American Shane Vinsant is the next Aggie in the rankings at No. 45. Vinsant also finished the fall season at 8-4 going 1-2 against ranked opponents. The then sophomore finished the 2014 regular-season on a 12-match winning streak in singles play and went undefeated at 8-0 in SEC matches. The Keller, Texas native garnered MVP and SEC-All Tournament team honors for his undefeated play in Nashville at the 2014 SEC Championship. Vinsant earned All-SEC recognition last year.
Freshman AJ Catanzariti made his first appearance in the ITA rankings in the initial spring release at a tie for 53rd. The Pittsburgh native paced the A&M lineup with 14 wins against just five defeats last fall with a pair of wins against ranked opponents. The freshman had a magical run through ITA Pre-Qualifying and Qualifying to advance to the ITA All-American Championship Main Draw at the end of September.
The final Aggie in the first ranking of the spring is Senior Jeremy Efferding. The Floridian was 9-5 in the fall with a 1-2 record against ranked players. Efferding went an impressive 7-1 against league opponents last season to earn All-SEC second team honors. The then junior led the team lead with 20 dual wins in singles competition.
The highest ranked A&M doubles team was Efferding and Senior Jordan Szabo at No. 18. The senior pair were 10-4 this fall with an impressive 5-2 mark against ranked pairs. Efferding and Szabo finished 18-4 in doubles matches and 7-1 in SEC action last Spring. The maroon and white's final ranked duo are Adams and Vinsant at No. 25. The juniors were 4-3 in the fall with a perfect 2-0 record against ranked teams.
Texas A&M is one of five teams in the nation with both its men's and women's programs ranked in the top 10 in the nation as the Aggie women's team also enters the spring No. 10.
The Aggies open the spring season with a trip to California for the Morgan Run Tournament this weekend. To learn more about the men's tennis team, visit AggieAthletics.com and follow @AggieMTEN on Twitter.
|
Rank |
School |
2013-14 Final Rank |
|
1 |
University of Southern California |
1 |
|
2 |
University of Oklahoma |
2 |
|
3 |
University of Virginia |
4 |
|
4 |
UCLA |
3 |
|
5 |
Ohio State University |
5 |
|
T-6 |
Baylor University |
6 |
|
T-6 |
North Carolina |
7 |
|
8 |
University of Georgia |
9 |
|
9 |
University of Texas |
8 |
|
10 |
Texas A&M University |
10 |
|
11 |
University of Illinois |
11 |
|
12 |
Duke University |
14 |
|
13 |
University of Florida |
15 |
|
14 |
University of Notre Dame |
13 |
|
15 |
California |
16 |
|
16 |
Columbia University |
17 |
|
17 |
University of Tennessee |
18 |
|
18 |
University of Kentucky |
12 |
|
19 |
Vanderbilt University |
20 |
|
20 |
Wake Forest University |
30 |
|
21 |
Mississippi State University |
19 |
|
22 |
University of South Florida |
23 |
|
23 |
University of Memphis |
21 |
|
24 |
Clemson University |
22 |
|
25 |
Oklahoma State University |
25 |