WACO, Texas – Texas A&M’s Jeremy Efferding stormed through the second round of the NCAA Singles Championships Thursday morning at the Hurd Tennis Center in Waco, defeating No. 16 Romain Bogaerts of Wake Forest 6-2, 6-0. The senior earned ITA All-America status for the first time in his career as he advanced to the Round of 16 on Friday.
No. 47 Efferding and Bogaerts spent the first 45 minutes of the match playing out the first four games, each holding serve twice, then the maroon and white captain landed what amounted to the knock-out blow. The Boca Raton native earned a break to go up 3-2 in the first set and did not drop a game afterwards, winning 6-2 in the first set and 6-0 in the second.
The A&M senior became an ITA All-American for the first time in his collegiate career. Efferding will face the winner of the 11 a.m. match-up between No. 8 Ryan Shane of Virginia and No. 46 Benjamin Lock of Florida State on Friday, the match time will be posted following the conclusion of singles and doubles action Wednesday evening.
With Wednesday’s win Efferding has won five straight matches to improve to 26-8 on the season including a team-high 10 wins against ranked opponents. The University Studies major enters Friday’s match with 98 career wins, the most on the current roster.
Texas A&M will be represented in the doubles bracket set to start Wednesday afternoon as No. 10 Harrison Adams and Shane Vinsant will challenge no. 8 Diego Galeano and Julian Lenz of Baylor at 2:30 p.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 Friday’s 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.
Quotes
Senior All-American Jeremy Efferding
On advancing to the round of 16…
Today was really special, I have never been this far in this tournament and it is a special moment as a senior in my last run. I really did not know who I was going to play today until late yesterday, I have been taking each of the matches one at a time and not worrying about who will be across the net from me. I felt my mental game was really strong today and I ended up getting finished a lot quicker than yesterday’s first match.
On the turning point in the match…
When I was serving down 15-40 in my first two serves and I managed to hold despite him have like seven or eight break points, for him that had to be a tough thing to overcome mentally because he was so close breaking and was holding his serve so easily the first couple times through. Then I was able to counterpunch and get a break and the tides kind of turned in my favor. After the break I really focused on holding my serves and making him work.
Texas A&M Head Coach Steve Denton
On Jeremy becoming an All-American…
It is a great honor to be a named an All-American and he has worked so hard and is very deserving. He has been on a great run the last couple months and is playing his best tennis. It was great to see him come out and compete knowing there was a lot on the line.
On how the match turned in Jeremy’s favor…
Jeremy won a couple really big points and got that first break of serve which was huge for him. Jeremy is really tough mentally and he hung in there and got himself in front. Getting out front encouraged him to play better then he raised his level even further at the right time and really took over the match.
On Jeremy’s magical senior season…
I can’t say enough how well deserved Jeremy is to be named an All-American. He has worked so hard on his game for the past four years and has been a great ambassador for Texas A&M University beyond just tennis. He is the epitome of a captain on our team and makes everyone else on our roster better. We talked early in the season about the success that the freshman were having, but ultimately the season would be determined by our senior leadership and he exemplified that for us.
2015 NCAA Singles Championship
Waco, Texas – Hurd Tennis Center
Round of 64
#47 Jeremy Efferding (TAMU) def. #27 Ore Ram-Harel (Tulsa) 3-6, 7-6(2), 6-2
Round of 32
#47 Jeremy Efferding (TAMU) def. #16 Romain Bogaerts (WF) 6-2, 6-0
Round of 16
#47 Jeremy Efferding (TAMU) vs. #8 Ryan Shane (UVA) or #46 Benjamin Lock (FSU)
WACO, Texas – Texas A&M’s Saska Gavrilovska (saush-kuh gav-ril-ov-skuh) garnered All-America honors with her 6-4, 6-3 victory over eighth-ranked and No. 8-seed Sydney Campbell of Vanderbilt in the second round of the NCAA Women’s Tennis Singles Championship today at Baylor University’s Hurd Tennis Center.
Gavrilovska, from Vrsac, Serbia, becomes the first-ever A&M underclassman to reach the round of 16, and she is A&M’s first underclassman to achieve All-America distinction, which is earned by meeting any of the following criteria: top 16 seed in NCAA Singles Championship; reach round of 16 in NCAA Singles Championship; finish in the Top 20 of the final ITA national singles rankings.
This is the fourth consecutive year Aggie fourth-year head coach Howard Joffe has produced an All-American, and it marks the eighth time in program history an A&M player has earned the accolade.
Gavrilovska, who tied the second-highest ranked win of her singles career with the victory against Campbell and improved to 20-12 overall in singles, will take on 11th-ranked and No. 9-16 seed Stephanie Wagner of Miami on Friday in the round of 16 at a time to be announced. It will mark only the fifth time in the history of the tournament an A&M player will compete in the round of 16 of the NCAA Singles Championship.
Gavrilovska began her second-round match by jumping out to a 3-0 lead against Campbell, who earlier this week helped lead the Commodores to the team national championship. Campbell eventually put the match back on serve at 4-4, but Gavrilovska broke again to go up 5-4. The Aggie then held serve to take the opening set, 6-4.
The second set was on serve with Campbell leading 2-1 before Gavrilovska won four consecutive games to go up, 5-2. Campbell, who earlier this season fell to A&M’s Rachel Pierson in the last match standing in the Aggies’ thrilling 4-3 victory over the favored Commodores, broke Gavrilovska in the next game to get within 5-3, but Gavrilovska broke back in the ensuing game to clinch the historic 6-4, 6-3 victory.
Gavrilovska is the second A&M player to compete in the 64-player NCAA Singles Championship as both a freshman and sophomore – former Aggie standout Nazari Urbina (2010-13) was a four-time participant but had a 0-4 career record in the tournament. Gavrilovska, who last year was eliminated in the opening round, began the 2015 NCAA tournament with a 6-4, 6-2 first-round victory over 97th-ranked Taylor Ng of Dartmouth on Wednesday. With the win, Gavrilovska became only the second underclassman in Texas A&M history to reach the round of 32, joining Lynn Staley who accomplished the feat as a sophomore in 1990.
Texas A&M’s Rachel Pierson and Eva Paalma will open play in the NCAA Doubles Championship at 5 p.m. today against Desirae Krawczyk and Stephanie Vlad of Arizona State. Pierson, a sophomore from Princeton, N.J., and Paalma, a freshman from Estonia, are 11-5 and ranked 13th in doubles, and the pair is coming off an 8-5 victory over ninth-ranked Robin Anderson and Jennifer Brady of UCLA in the round of 16 of the team championship.
Krawczyk and Vlad are ranked 26th with a 15-4 record. The winner between the Aggies and the Sun Devils will take on the winner between Auburn’s eighth-ranked Pleun Burgmans and Emily Flickinger and Baylor’s 14th-ranked Ema Burgic and Blair Shankle in the round of 16 on Friday.
All matches will be the best of three sets. Regular scoring and a 12-point tiebreaker at six games all will be used for all matches.
Visit 12thMan.com for more information on Texas A&M women’s tennis. Aggie fans also can keep up to date with the A&M women’s tennis team on Twitter by following @AggieWTEN or on Facebook at Facebook.com/AggieWomensTennis.
Quotes:
Texas A&M head coach Howard Joffe
On Saska Gavrilovska’s match today…
“Both sets today actually mimicked each other. In the first set, Saska was up 3-0 and 5-2 before the match got close at 5-4 and Saska was able to close it out. The same situation happened in the second set. She faced a tough opponent, the No. 1 player off the team that just won the national championship, so today was a very good win for Saska. It was not surprising in a sense that I know Saska is a very good player and is capable of playing very high-level tennis, and it was really encouraging to see her handle herself so well in the match. She controlled her nerves, and that was why she was able to close out the match today.”
On Gavrilovska earning All-America honors…
“It was super-duper exciting. This year we have not had that player that has been in the top10 all season like we have the past couple seasons, so (associate head coach Mark Weaver) and I are really proud of Saska going out and performing so well in this tournament. It was a really good day for us.”
Texas A&M Sophomore Saska Gavrilovska
On today’s match…
When I came into the match I was very nervous. I knew I was playing one of the best players here, and she just won the national championship with Vanderbilt. I was very motivated to play her; the match started well for me. She got back into the match and started to get a little control of the match. When the match got tight, I tried to toughen up and not play scared. The motivation was there and I was inspired seeing all the great players around me today.”
On playing tomorrow…
“Playing tomorrow is very exciting, and being an All-American is a great honor. I am looking at the big picture and want to just keep playing well. I hope to get some good experience out of playing in this tournament and am hoping for some good results.”
Texas A&M all-time NCAA Individual Championship results:
2015 (Baylor University, Waco, Texas)
Round of 64
Saska Gavrilovska, Texas A&M def. Taylor Ng, Dartmouth, 6-4, 6-2
Viktoriya Lushkova, Oklahoma State, def. Rachel Pierson, Texas A&M, 6-2, 4-6, 7-5
Round of 32
Saska Gavrilovska, Texas A&M def. Sydney Campbell (8), Vanderbilt, 6-4, 6-3
Rachel Pierson/Eva Paalma, Texas A&M vs. Desirae Krawczyk/Stephanie Vlad, Arizona State, May 21, 5 p.m.
Round of 16
Saska Gavrilovska, Texas A&M vs. Stephanie Wagner, Miami, May 22, TBD
2014 (University of Georgia, Athens, Ga.)
Round of 64
Anett Schutting (9-16), California, def. Saska Gavrilovska, Texas A&M, 6-4, 6-1
Zsofi Susanyi, California, def. Cristina Stancu (9-16), Texas A&M, 6-0, 6-4
Round of 32
Masa Grgan/Abigail Tere-Apisah, Georgia State def. Stefania Hristov/Cristina Stancu, Texas A&M, 6-3, 7-6 (4)
2013 (University of Illinois, Urbana, Ill.)
Round of 64
Cristina Sanchez-Quintanar (4), Texas A&M def. Courtney Collins, Memphis, 6-1, 6-3
Sabrina Santamaria (2) def. Nazari Urbina, Texas A&M, 6-3, 6-2
Round of 32
Cristina Sanchez-Quintanar (4), Texas A&M def. Maho Kowase, Georgia, 6-2, 6-1
Hermon Brhane/Whitney Ritchie (5-8), Oklahoma def. Stefania Hristov/Cristina Stancu, Texas A&M … 5-7, 6-2, 6-4
Round of 16
Nicole Gibbs (9-16), Stanford def. Cristina Sanchez-Quintanar (4), Texas A&M, 6-4, 6-4
2012 (University of Georgia, Athens, Ga.)
Round of 64
Cristina Sanchez-Quintanar (7), Texas A&M def. Alexa Guarachi, Alabama, 6-4, 5-7, 7-6 (3)
Cristina Stancu, Maryland def. Nazari Urbina, Texas A&M, 7-6 (3), 6-0
Round of 32
Cristina Sanchez-Quintanar (7), Texas A&M def. Joelle Kissell, North Carolina State, 6-2, 6-0
Lorraine Guillermo/Khunpak Issara, Pepperdine def. Cristina Sanchez-Quintanar/Wen Sun, Texas A&M … 6-4, 6-2
Round of 16
Cristina Sanchez-Quintanar (7), Texas A&M def. Petra Niedermayerova, Kansas State, 6-4, 6-3
Quarterfinals
Allie Will (1), Florida def. Cristina Sanchez-Quintanar (7), Texas A&M, 6-3, 6-3
2011 (Stanford University, Stanford, Calif.)
Round of 64
Cristina Sanchez-Quintanar, Maryland def. Nazari Urbina, Texas A&M … 6-3, 6-4
2010 (University of Georgia, Athens, Ga.)
Round of 64
Caitlin Whoriskey (9-16), Tennessee def. Nazari Urbina, Texas A&M … 2-6, 6-2, 6-3
Alison Ramos, USC def. Elzé Potgieter, Texas A&M … 3-6, 6-3, 6-2
2007 (University of Georgia, Athens, Ga.)
Round of 64
Susie Babos (5), California def. Anna Lubinsky, Texas A&M … 7-5, 6-7 (6), 6-2
Round of 32
Caitlin Collins/Sanaz Marand, North Carolina def. Tiffany Clifford/Sarah Foster, Texas A&M … 6-2, 6-2
2006 (Stanford University, Palo Alto, Calif.)
Round of 64
Anna Lubinsky, Texas A&M def. Gira Schofield, South Carolina … 5-7, 6-4, 6-4
Round of 32
Amber Liu (8), Stanford def. Anna Lubinsky, Texas A&M … 6-1, 6-2
Tiffany Clifford/Sarah Foster, Texas A&M def. Megan Moulton/Katrina Zoricic, William & Mary … 2-6, 7-6 (5), 6-2)
Round of 16
Sara Anundsen/Jenna Long (5-8), North Carolina def. Tiffany Clifford/Sarah Foster, Texas A&M … 6-2, 7-6 (4)
2005 (University of Georgia, Athens, Ga.)
Round of 64
Helga Vieira, Texas A&M def. Nicole Leimbach (9-16), Southern California … 7-5, 6-2
Round of 32
Helga Vieira, Texas A&M def. Zsuzsanna Fodor, Mississippi State … 5-7, 6-4, 6-2
Round of 16
Riza Zalameda, UCLA def. Helga Vieira, Texas A&M … 6-1, 7-5
2004 (University of Georgia, Athens, Ga.)
Round of 64
Dianne Hollands (9-16), Arizona def. Jessica Roland, Texas A&M … 6-0, 6-2
Round of 32
Jessica Roland/Helga Vieira, Texas A&M def. Sofia Holden/Barbora Zahnova, BYU … 6-2, 6-4
Round of 16
Maja Kovacek/Sandy Lukowski, New Mexico def. Jessica Roland/Helga Vieira, Texas A&M … 6-1, 6-4
2003 (University of Florida, Gainesville, Fla.)
Round of 64
Jessica Roland, Texas A&M def. Alicia Pillay, Tulsa … 2-6, 6-4, 6-0
Round of 32
Amber Liu (5), Stanford def. Jessica Roland, Texas A&M … 6-3, 6-3
Ziva Grasic/Kendra Strohm, Texas def. Jessica Roland/Roberta Spencer, Texas A&M … 6-4, 6-4
2002 (Stanford University, Palo Alto, Calif.)
Round of 32
Simone Jardim/Kim Niggemeyer, Fresno State def. Ashley Hedberg/Jessica Roland, Texas A&M … 7-5, 7-6 (6)
1997 (Stanford University, Palo Alto, Calif.)
Round of 32
Caroline Hora/Victoria Hunt, Miami (Fla.) def. Lisa Dingwall/Nancy Dingwall, Texas A&M … 6-7 (5), 6-2, 6-2
1996 (Florida State University, Tallahassee, Fla.)
Round of 32
Bonnie Bleeker/Divya Merchant, Florida def. Wilson Pate/Nancy Dingwall, Texas A&M … 6-4, 7-5
1994 (University of Georgia, Athens, Ga.)
Round of 32
Rebecca Jensen/Nora Koves (3), Kansas def. Wilson Pate/Nancy Dingwall, Texas A&M … 7-5, 6-1
1993 (University of Florida, Gainesville, Fla.)
Round of 64
Katrin Guenther, William & Mary def. Janine Burton-Durham, Texas A&M … 6-2, 6-2
1990 (University of Florida, Gainesville, Fla.)
Round of 64
Lynn Staley, Texas A&M def. Camilla Ohrman, Pepperdine … 6-3, 6-2
Round of 32
Susan Gilchrist (9-16), Texas def. Lynn Staley, Texas A&M … 6-1, 6-2
1989 (University of Florida, Gainesville, Fla.)
Round of 32
Sharon Fletcher/Jean-Marie Lozano (5-8), California def. Robin Mawdsley/Lisa Keller, Texas A&M … 6-1, 6-1
1988 (UCLA, Los Angeles, Calif.)
Round of 32
Allyson Cooper/Stella Sampras (3), UCLA def. Gaye Lynne Gensler/Lisa Keller, Texas A&M … 4-6, 6-3, 6-4
1987 (UCLA, Los Angeles, Calif.)
Round of 64
Kim Labuschagne (9-16), Texas A&M def. Leslie Hakala, BYU … 6-0, 6-4
Round of 32
Kim Labuschagne (9-16), Texas A&M def. Mary Dineen, Rollins … 6-3, 4-6, 6-2
Round of 16
Kim Labuschagne (9-16), Texas A&M def. Ranata Baranski, Oklahoma State … 7-5, 6-4
Quarterfinals
Jennifer Santrock (9-16), SMU def. Kim Labuschagne (9-16), Texas A&M … 7-5, 6-2
1986 (University of Texas, Austin, Texas)
Round of 32
Jill Hetherington/Jan Martin (5-8), Florida def. Vanne Akagi/Gaye Lynne Gensler, Texas A&M … 6-1, 7-5
Jennifer Fuchs/Jane Thomas, UCLA def. Kim Labuschagne/Karen Marshall, Texas A&M … 6-3, 6-4
Texas A&M All-Americans
2015 Saska Gavrilovska (Soph.) singles
2014 Cristina Stancu (Sr.) singles
2013 Cristina Sanchez-Quintanar (Sr.) singles
2012 Cristina Sanchez-Quintanar (Jr.) singles
2005 Helga Vieira (Sr.) singles
2004 Jessica Roland (Sr.) singles
1991 Lynn Staley (Jr.) singles
1987 Kim Labuschagne (Jr.) singles
Stories courtesy of Texas A&M Athletics