Aggie Men’s Tennis to Host NCAA First and Second Rounds for Sixth Straight Season

COLLEGE STATION, Texas – The 5th-ranked Texas A&M men’s tennis team received its 25th consecutive bid to the NCAA Men’s Tennis Championship, announced Tuesday afternoon. The Aggies were named one of 16 host schools as the fifth seed and will host first-and second-round action at the George P. Mitchell Tennis Center, May 11-12. The Maroon and White will take on Lamar (10-13) in the NCAA opening round, while No. 27 Baylor (20-9) and Arizona State (14-10) will compete in the other first-round contest.

First-round matches in College Station will begin on Friday, May 11, with the Bears and Sun Devils facing off at 10 a.m., followed by the Aggies (22-5) and Cardinals at 1 p.m. The two winners will meet at 1 p.m. on Saturday, May 12, to determine which team advances to the NCAA Team Championships in Winston-Salem, N.C., May 18-22.

The 2018 selection marks the 26th 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. The Aggies opened the tournament with back-to-back 4-0 victories over Oregon and Buffalo before falling to No. 5 UCLA in the Round of 16 in Athens, Ga.

The NCAA Selection Committee named Wake Forest (1), UCLA (2), Ohio State (3), Stanford (4), Texas A&M (5), Mississippi State (6), North Carolina (7), Illinois (8), TCU (9), USC (10), Texas (11), Florida State (12), Florida (13), Oklahoma (14), Michigan (15) and Columbia (16) the national seeds. In addition to the three national seeds from the SEC, seven additional teams were named to the field of 64 (Alabama, Georgia, Kentucky, Ole Miss, South Carolina, Tennessee and Vanderbilt).

All-session and single match tickets will be on sale to the public at 10 a.m. Wednesday.  Tickets can be purchased by phone at 888-992-4443, online at www.12thmanfoundation.com or in person from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the Kyle Field Box Office located on the north end of the stadium.   Tickets can also be purchased at the Mitchell Tennis Center starting at 9 a.m. on Friday, May 11.

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 38-26 all-time in the NCAA Tournament, reaching the Round of Sixteen 14 times and the Round of Eight twice
– Head Coach Steve Denton is 18-11 all-time in the NCAA Tournament
– Texas A&M is 11-0 all-time against Lamar, 27-22 vs. Baylor and 1-1 against Arizona State.

Texas A&M Head Coach Steve Denton Quotes 
On hosting the first and second rounds …
“Hosting is a testament to the hard work and success of this team thus far. We have had a very difficult schedule in 2018 and I know our players especially our senior class are very excited about playing at the Mitchell Tennis Center one last time in the tournament.”

On the three teams headed to College Station…
“As expected, we have a very tough region and all the teams are coming in playing their best tennis of the season. We look forward to the challenge of facing quality opponents next weekend and we hope to see the community come out to watch some great college tennis.”

NCAA First and Second Rounds
(Mitchell Tennis Center, College Station, Texas)
First Round
Friday, May 11
No. 27 Baylor (20-9) vs. No. 36 Arizona State (11-9), 10 a.m.
No. 5 Texas A&M (22-5) vs Lamar (10-13), 1 p.m.

Second Round
Saturday, May 13
Baylor/Arizona State winner vs. Texas A&M/Lamar 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)
$5 Single Day General Admission
$3 Single Day Student/Youth General Admission
Free for children under age two

Texas A&M Men’s Tennis NCAA History: 26 times (25 consecutive)
2017 – (12th seed) Host 1st and 2nd rounds: Beat Buffalo (4-0); beat Oregon (4-0)
Lost in Round of 16 to #5 UCLA (4-1) (Georgia)
2016 – (12th seed) Host 1st and 2nd rounds: Beat George Washington (4-0); lost to Texas (4-3)
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)

Story courtesy of Texas A&M Athletics

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