COLLEGE STATION, Texas – The third-ranked Texas A&M men's tennis team received its 22nd consecutive bid to the NCAA Men's Tennis Championship Tuesday as the Aggies were named one of 16 host schools as the national six seed will host first and second round action at the George P. Mitchell Tennis Center, May 8-9. The Maroon and White will take on Eastern Kentucky (18-7) in the NCAA opening round while Oklahoma State (16-9) and New Mexico (20-10) will compete in the other first round contest.
First round matches in College Station will begin on Friday, May 8, with the Cowboys facing the Lobos at 11 a.m., followed by the Aggies (21-4) and Colonels at 2 p.m. The two winners will face off at 3 p.m. on Saturday, May 9, to determine which team advances to the NCAA Championships in Waco, Texas, May 24-28.
The Texas A&M women's team will also host first and second round matches. The Aggie women will face off against Alcorn State at noon on May 10, while TCU will take on Notre Dame at 9 a.m. on Saturday. The winners of the first round matches will play for a spot in the Round of 16 on Sunday, May 10 at 1 p.m.
The 2015 selection marks the 23rd overall appearance for the men's tennis team in the NCAA Tournament. Last year, the Aggies hosted the first and second rounds in College Station after earning the eighth seed. The Aggies opened the tournament with a 4-0 victory over Alcorn State before falling to No. 17 Cal 4-3 in the Round of 32.
The back-to- back SEC Tournament champions and regular season co-champions are led by the 48th-ranked player in the country in All-SEC senior Jeremy Efferding as well as the seventh-ranked doubles pair of Juniors Harrison Adams and Shane Vinsant. No. 71 Vinsant was named to the All-SEC Second Team alongside No. 81 AJ Catanzariti and No. 82 Arthur Rinderknech; both were also named to the SEC All-Freshman team. The Aggies are coached by back-to-back SEC Coach of the Year Steve Denton.
The 2015 SEC Tournament Championship wrap-up show is scheduled to air on the SEC Network Tuesday night at 9 p.m. The show will run 30 minutes and includes interviews with Coach Denton, senior Jeremy Efferding and freshman AJ Catanzariti.
The NCAA Selection Committee named Oklahoma (1), Baylor (2), Virginia (3), Illinois (4), TCU (5), Texas A&M (6), Southern Cal (7), Georgia (8),Texas (9), Duke (10), Ohio State (11), Wake Forest (12), North Carolina (13), Ole Miss (14), Virginia Tech (15) and UCLA (16) the national seeds. The Aggies played six of the national seeds this season, finishing with a 4-4 record in those matches. In addition to the three national seeds from the SEC, five additional teams were named to the field of 64 (Vanderbilt, Tennessee, LSU, Mississippi State and Florida).
NCAA Singles and Doubles brackets will be announced Wednesday at 5 p.m. on NCAA.com, visit 12thMan.com for more information on Texas A&M men's tennis in the field. Aggie fans also can keep up to date with the A&M men's tennis team on Twitter by following @AggieMTEN or on Facebook at Facebook.com/AggieMensTennis.
Texas A&M Head Coach Steve Denton Quotes
On being the national number six seed…
“This is the bracket that we were expecting as the number six national seed, we will welcome Eastern Kentucky, New Mexico and Oklahoma State to the Mitchell Tennis Center. I feel good about where we seeded and the team is excited about the tournament coming back to College Station again this season.
On improvements between the end of the SEC Tournament and the NCAAs...
“We have really been working on our doubles play this last week. As a coaching staff we have spoken with each member of the team and asked them to elevate their game heading into the tournament. Obviously it will be difficult for the team taking three weeks off from matches, but we have been playing a lot of matches in practices to combat that.”
On the team's depth helping out in practice…
“We are lucky to have a lot of guys that can compete and play at a high level for us every day in practice. These practice matches won't get stale as we have a lot of styles on the team and that will help us as we move into the NCAAs as our guys will play against players that we aren't as familiar with.”
NCAA FIRST AND SECOND ROUNDS
(Mitchell Tennis Center, College Station, Texas)
Friday, May 8
Oklahoma State (16-9) vs. New Mexico (20-10), 11 a.m.
No. 6 Texas A&M (21-4) vs Eastern Kentucky (18-7), 2 p.m.
Saturday, May 9
Oklahoma State/New Mexico winner vs. No. 6 Texas A&M/Eastern Kentucky winner, 3 p.m.
NCAA Notes:
- The Aggies are 32-23 all-time in the NCAA Tournament, reaching the Round of Eight 12 times and the Round of 16 one time
- Texas A&M Head Coach Steve Denton is 12-8 all-time in the NCAA Tournament
- Texas A&M and Eastern Kentucky have never met on the tennis court
- Texas A&M is 21-9 vs. Oklahoma State (last met in 2012), the maroon and white have won the last seven match-ups between the two schools
- Texas A&M is 5-2 vs. New Mexico (last met in 2007)
Tournament Central:
tx.ag/15NCAATennis
Ticket information:
Tickets to the first and second-round matches can be purchased in advance at 12thManFoundation.com or during business hours at the Athletic Ticket Office located at Kyle Field or by calling the ticket office at 1-888-99-AGGIE or 979-845-2311. Tickets also will be available for purchase on match days at the Mitchell Tennis Center beginning one hour before match time.
Prices are as follows, with the all-session ticket also allowing entry to the women's tennis first and second round matches to be played Saturday and Sunday, May 9-10 at the Mitchell Tennis Center:
$12 All-Session Reserved (Stadium Club)
$7 Single Day Reserved (Stadium Club)
$5 Single Day General Admission
$3 Single Day Student/Youth
Free for children under age two
Texas A&M Men's Tennis NCAA History: 23 times (22 consecutive)
2014 - (8th seed) Host 1st and 2nd rounds: Beat Alcorn State (4-0); lost to Cal (4-3)
2013 - (12th seed) Host 1st and 2nd rounds: Beat Marist (4-0); beat Texas (4-3)
Lost in Round of 16 to #5 Ohio State (4-0) (Illinois)
2012 - Beat South Carolina (4-0); lost to host USC (4-0)
2011 - (9th seed) Host 1st and 2nd rounds: Beat Alcorn State (4-0); beat LSU (4-0)
Lost in Round of 16 to #8 Stanford (4-2) (Stanford)
2010 - (10th seed) Host 1st and 2nd rounds: Beat Prairie View A&M (4-0); beat Ole Miss (4-2)
Lost in Round of 16 to #7 Baylor (4-1) (Georgia)
2009 - (15th seed) Host 1st and 2nd rounds: Beat Binghamton (4-0); beat Arizona (4-0)
Lost in Round of 16 to #2 Ole Miss (4-1) (College Station)
2008 - Beat SMU (4-1); lost to host #9 Baylor (4-2)
2007 - Beat Rice (4-2); lost to host #3 Baylor (4-0)
2006 - (16th seed) Host 1st and 2nd rounds: Beat UTA (4-0); lost to Notre Dame (4-2)
2005 - (16th seed) Beat Montana State (4-0); beat Boise State (4-0) (Boise, ID)
Lost in Round of 16 to #1 Baylor (4-0) (College Station)
2004- Beat Alabama (4-0); beat host Virginia Commonwealth (4-0) (Richmond, VA)
Lost in Round of 16 to #3 UCLA (4-1) (Tulsa)
2003 - (10th seed) Host 1st and 2nd rounds: Beat Maryland-BC (4-0); beat South Florida (4-1)
Lost in Round of 16 to #6 Vanderbilt (4-1) (Georgia)
2002 - (16th seed) Host 1st and 2nd rounds: Beat Southern (4-0); beat LSU (4-0)
Lost in Round of 16 to #1 Georgia (4-1) (College Station)
2001 - (7th seed) Host 1st and 2nd rounds: Beat St. Bonaventure (4-0); Beat Vanderbilt (4-0)
Won in Round of 16 against #15 LSU (4-1) (Georgia)
Lost in Elite Eight to #4 TCU (4-0) (Georgia)
2000 - (7th seed) Host 1st and 2nd rounds: Beat Army (4-0); Beat Louisiana-Lafayette (4-0)
Lost in Round of 16 against #9 Tennessee (4-3) (Georgia)
1999 - Beat Texas Tech (4-3); lost to host #4 Texas (4-1)
**NCAA expanded to current 64-team team in 1999.
1998 - At Austin: Beat Arkansas-Little Rock (4-0); beat Arkansas (4-3)
Lost to SMU (4-3) in regional championship
1997 - At Fort Worth: Lost to Texas (5-0)
1996 - At Austin: Beat Texas Tech (4-3); lost to host Texas (4-3)
1995 - Hosted: Beat Arkansas (4-1); lost to Texas (4-3)
1994 - At Houston: Beat Texas Tech (4-0); beat Arkansas (4-3)
Advanced to Round of 16 and lost to Duke (4-1) (Notre Dame)
1985 - Lost in Round of 16 to Pepperdine (5-3)