Aggie Men’s Tennis to Host George Washington, Lamar and Texas for NCAA 1st and 2nd Rounds

COLLEGE STATION, Texas – The 13th-ranked Texas A&M men's tennis team received its 23rd consecutive bid to the NCAA Men's Tennis Championship, announced Tuesday afternoon. The Aggies were named one of 16 host schools as the national 12th seed and will host first and second round action at the George P. Mitchell Tennis Center, May 13-14. The Maroon and White will take on George Washington (14-8) in the NCAA opening round, while No. 18 Texas (17-11) and No. 55 Lamar (17-5) will compete in the other first round contest.
 
First round matches in College Station will begin on Friday, May 13, with the Longhorns facing the Cardinals at 10 a.m., followed by the Aggies (26-9) and Colonials at 1 p.m. The two winners will face off at 1 p.m. on Saturday, May 14, to determine which team advances to the NCAA Team Championships in Tulsa, Oklahoma, May 20-24.
 
The 2016 selection marks the 24th 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 a program-best third seed. The Aggies opened the tournament with a 4-0 victory over Eastern Kentucky before advancing to the Team National Championships in Waco with a 4-2 victory over Oklahoma State. The Maroon and White made program history defeating N0. 11 Ohio State 4-3 to advance to the National Quarterfinals for just the second time.
 
The NCAA Selection Committee named Virginia (1), North Carolina (2), UCLA (3), TCU (4), Ohio State (5), Wake Forest (6), Georgia (7), Texas Tech (8), Florida (9), Southern Cal (10), Oklahoma (11), A&M (12), Cal (13), Northwestern (14), Illinois (15) and Oklahoma State (16) the national seeds. In addition to the three national seeds from the SEC, six additional teams were named to the field of 64 (Arkansas, Kentucky, LSU, Ole Miss, Mississippi State and Vanderbilt).
 
NCAA Singles and Doubles brackets will be announced Wednesday 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.
 
NCAA Notes
- The Aggies are 35-24 all-time in the NCAA Tournament, reaching the Round of Eight 13 times and the Round of 16 two times
- Head Coach Steve Denton is 15-9 all-time in the NCAA Tournament
- Texas A&M and George Washington have never met on the tennis court
- Texas A&M is 16-45 vs. Texas (last met in 2013), the maroon and white have won the last five of the last seven matchups between the state's two flagship institutions
- Texas A&M is 12-0 vs. Lamar, the Aggies defeated the Cardinals 7-0 in College Station earlier this season
 
 
 
Texas A&M Head Coach Steve Denton Quotes
On hosting the first and second rounds …
"The team plays the whole season to put themselves in a position to host the first and second round matches. Hosting gives you the best chance to advance to the National Championships and that is something we want to do every year here at Texas A&M. The guys put in the work to be able to host and now we have to take care of business at home."
 
On what the team has worked on since the SEC Tournament…
"We have been working hard the last couple weeks since the SEC Tournament, we have focused ourselves to get a little better every day since then. We hope to have a better result that we showed there and the team has taken getting better seriously."
 
On the potential match-up against Texas in the second round…
"As coaches and as a team we know better than to look ahead to the second round. There have been a lot of good teams that have started looking ahead and got beat in the first round, we don't us to be another team that happens to. Knowing that, we have thought this was a possibility for a couple weeks now. We have to be ready to play well and we know playing at home is a good opportunity for us."
 
 
NCAA First and Second Rounds
(Mitchell Tennis Center, College Station, Texas)
First Round
Friday, May 12
No. 18 Texas (17-11) vs. No. 55 Lamar (17-5), 10 a.m.
No. 13 Texas A&M (26-9) vs George Washington (14-8), 1 p.m.
Second Round
Saturday, May 13
Texas/Lamar winner vs. Texas A&M/George Washington winner, 1 p.m.
 
 
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.
 
$18 All-Session Reserved (Stadium Club)
$10 Single Day Reserved (Stadium Club)
$10 All-Session General Admission
$7 Single Day General Admission
$6 All-Session Student/Youth General Admission
$4 Single Day Students/Youth
Free for children under age two
 
 
Texas A&M Men's Tennis NCAA History: 24 times (23 consecutive)
2015 – (6th seed) Host 1st and 2nd rounds: Beat Eastern Kentucky (4-0); beat Oklahoma State (4-2)
Won in Round of 16 against #11 Ohio State (4-3) (Baylor, played at SMU due to weather)
Lost in Elite Eight to #3 Virginia (4-0) (Baylor)
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)