Affording Advances to NCAA Second Round

COLLEGE STATION, Texas – Texas A&M senior Jeremy Efferding advanced to the second round of the NCAA Men's Tennis Singles Championship, defeating No. 27 Or Ram-Harel of Tulsa in three sets Wednesday afternoon. Juniors Harrison Adams and Shane Vinsant open the NCAA Men's Tennis Doubles Championship Thursday at Baylor University's Hurd Tennis Center in Waco.

No. 47 Efferding rebounded from dropping the first set 6-3, getting broke on his second serve to go down 3-1 and unable to get the match back on serve. The right-hander was nearly eliminated down 5-3 in the second set, fighting off match point to win three straight games and force a tie-breaker. In front of a maroon and white contingent the senior prevailed 7-2 in the breaker to force a decisive third set.

As play continued, conditions and stellar play from Efferding seemed to begin to get the best of Ram-Harel. The SEC Tournament MVP broke the Tulsa sophomore's serve the three times in the final set to advance to the second round Thursday afternoon. Efferding will face No. 16 Romain Bogaerts of Wake Forest for a spot in the round of 16 and ITA All-American status. With his fourth straight win, Efferding improved to 25-8 on the season including a team-high nine wins against ranked opponents.

Adams and Vinsant drew No. 8 Diego Galeano and Julian Lenz of Baylor in the first round of the doubles bracket Thursday. The A&M junior tandem ranks No. 10 in the latest ITA doubles rankings, going 12-4 against ranked duos, including an unheard of 4-1 ledger against top-5 tandems. Adams and Vinsant are making their first appearance in the NCAA doubles field; both competed in the singles bracket in 2014. Vinsant earned All-American honors after advancing to the Round of 16 a season ago. The duo was an impressive 11-3 against ranked duos, including an unheard of 5-1 ledger against top-5 tandems this season.

Texas A&M recently completed the team portion of the NCAA Men's Tennis Championship, finishing the season 24-5 after being eliminated by eventual national champion Virginia, 4-0, in the national quarterfinals. It marked the second time in program history the Aggies advanced to the Elite 8.

Start time for Thursday's matches will be determined following the conclusion of the first round Wednesday evening. Visit 12thMan.com for more match times and an updated bracket once they are available from the NCAA. 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.

2015 NCAA Singles Championship

Waco, Texas – Hurd Tennis Center

First Round

#47 Jeremy Efferding (TAMU) def. #27 Ore Ram-Harel (Tulsa) 3-6, 7-6(2), 6-2

Second Round

#47 Jeremy Efferding (TAMU) vs. #16 Romain Bogaerts (WF)

NCAA Doubles Championship

Waco, Texas – Hurd Tennis Center

First Round