WACO, Texas – Texas A&M's pair of doubles team were defeated in the first round of the 2015 NCAA Doubles Championship Thursday afternoon at the Hurd Tennis Center in Waco, Texas. The maroon and white will be represented in the NCAA Singles Round of 16 Friday as Jeremy Efferding takes on No. 8 Ryan Shane of Virginia Friday at 11 a.m.
No. 10 Harrison Adams and Shane Vinsant were the first Aggie duo to take the courts facing No. 8 Diego Galeano and Julian Lenz of host-Baylor. The first set stayed on serve through each team's first two serves before the Bear duo were able to break serve twice and take a 6-2 win.
Facing elimination the A&M duo flipped the script, claiming a pair of breaks en route to a 6-2 win of their own forcing a deciding third set. Adams was impressive on serve in the second set recording a trio of aces. Vinsant was nearly as impressive to put the Aggies ahead 5-2, holding off a break and winning three straight points.
With the crowd gathering near the well-played match the pressure intensified on both teams. Baylor was able to get a break on Vinsant's first serve and hold to go up 2-0 and put the Aggies on their heels. Adams and Vinsant were unable to break serve and get back in the match, falling 6-2. The duo finish the season with 17 wins, including 12 over ranked opponents.
Efferding was sitting in the stands prepared to root on Adams and Vinsant when head coach Steve Denton got the call that a substitute was needed for the doubles bracket. Axel Alvarez and Dane Webb of Oklahoma were forced to withdraw due to an injury and Efferding and fellow senior Jordan Szabo were called to fill in.
No. 56 Efferding and Szabo took the courts on fire going up 4-1 with a pair of breaks early in the match, No. 41 Tomislav Gregurovic and Tin Ostojic returned the favor getting a trio of break to win the first set 7-5. The Shocker pair wrapped up the straight-set victory winning 6-4 in the second set.
Thursday morning Efferding became an All-American for the first time in his collegiate career, advancing to the Round of 16 with a 6-2, 6-0 triumph over No. 16 Romain Bogaerts of Wake Forest. The A&M senior will face No. 8 Ryan Shane of Virginia Friday at 11 a.m.
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.
Visit 12thMan.com for an updated bracket and to find out more about Texas A&M men's tennis. 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.
Quotes
Texas A&M Head Coach Steve Denton
On Harry and Shane's match…
I thought we played well in spurt. I think one of the differences in the match was first serve percentages and that was what really hurt us in the first and third sets. Baylor was able to get to the net and make first serves and that ended up being the difference. Our aggressiveness at the net is something that we need to work on as a team, Harry and Shane are a really good returning team and defending team. When they play their best doubles they are making first serves and making high percentage volleys.
On Harry and Shane's progression as a team…
I think these two can be as good of a team as we have had, they are different types of players than Jeff [Dadamo] and Austin [Krajicek] were when they won the NCAA Doubles championship. These guys are good quality servers and volleyers and they bring another dimension in that they play really well on the receiving end of the match. They are capable of being as good as anyone in the country next year and they would expect that. Even though that is something they are capable of that is not their focus, they are just trying to become better players and more skilled on the courts.
Junior Harrison Adams
On today's match and looking ahead to next season…
I'm looking forward to getting started and working hard this summer, we are losing a really good senior class but overall we have come a long way this season and we have learned how to work a little harder in the past. We have seen a really high level of tennis all season and especially at this tournament falling to Virginia that won the national championship.
On progression alongside Shane…
I don't think we have ever really put a limit on ourselves. Throughout this season we have proven that we can play with anyone that lines up across the net from us. Anytime we step on the court we have a chance to win. We have a couple things to work on and we will be even harder to beat next season.
Junior Shane Vinsant
On today's match and looking ahead to next season…
Today was a really good college doubles match, they are a really good team and it gives Harry and me a couple things to work on heading into this summer. That loss doesn't really hurt our confidence as a team. I'm really looking forward to next season, we will both be seniors and I think we have a really good chance to have really good singles and doubles seasons.
On progression alongside Harry…
If we take the season match by match and really focus on just getting better we could be ranked really high, but that is not our focus as a team. We are just trying to get better and win match and not focus on rankings.
Texas A&M Assistant Coach Bob McKinley
On Jeremy and Jordan's match…
They started out very well and unfortunately I thought they lost the match when they were serving up 4-1 in the first set. They played a loose match mentally and missed a couple volleys after a double-fault, not really making the other team earn it. After that the Wichita State pair really started to play well and cranked the intensity up. We had them where they were doubting their game, but let them gain some confidence and get back into the match.
Senior Jordan Szabo
On today's match and the last minute call to play…
It was a decent match and we really had our chances being up a break in both sets. It was really weird sitting at home and getting a call at about 1 o'clock, having not hit since we lost to Virginia on Saturday. I was not really ready for it, but considering the circumstances it was alright. We had fun out there like Jeremy and I always seem to do. It was great to get back on the court one more time for A&M.
Senior Jeremy Efferding
On today's match and the last minute call to play…
Initially we were really excited and happy to be able to play alongside Jordan one more time. It was really special for Szabo and I to get to end our doubles career in the doubles tournament. We had fun on the court and it is tough when a guy hasn't played for a little while, but we still had our chances. We still had fun and gave it one more go.
2015 NCAA Doubles Championships
Round of 32
No. 8 Julian Lenz & Diego Galeano (Baylor) def. No. 10 Harrison Adams & Shane Vinsant (TAMU) 6-2, 2-6, 6-2
No. 41 Tomislav Gregurovic & Tin Ostojic (WSU) def. No. 56 Jeremy Efferding & Jordan Szabo (TAMU) 7-5, 6-4