ATHENS, Georgia – Texas A&M sophomore Shane Vinsant advanced to the Round of 16 in the NCAA Men’s Tennis Singles Championships to claim All-American honors. The singles and doubles competition will continue through May 26 at the Dan Magill Tennis Complex in Athens, the University of Georgia will serve as host.
“Shane was very resilient today,” Texas A&M head coach Steve Denton said. “He got down 5-2 in the first set, but never got rattled. He is a tremendous competitor and is a great problem solver on the court. Once he got the first set under his belt, he really loosened up and went for his shots. He dictated when he could, but also played some great defense. By the middle of the second set he had his opponent discouraged.”
Vinsant dispatched of Jonny Wang of Southern Cal in straight sets 7-5, 6-2 in Georgia. The 22nd ranked player moved on to face No. 16 Soren Hess-Olesen of Texas at 11 a.m. Friday morning. Vinsant entered postseason play ranked No. 22 in the poll after primarily featuring on the SEC Tournament champions number two line, Vinsant went 8-0 in league matches and was 5-3 against ranked foes en route to being names All- SEC First Team and SEC Tournament MVP
“Yesterday Shane moved great in his match, but today he was so tough mentally,” Denton said. He give nothing away free especially in the hot swirly conditions. We are very happy with his performance thus far. The competition steps up tomorrow but I know he will be ready to battle.”
Texas A&M’s No. 6 ranked tandem of Junior Ore and Jackson Withrow suffered a straight set defeat at the hands of Henry Craig and Alex Gasson of Denver. The 67th ranked duo advanced to face Hess-Olesen and Lloyd Glasspool of Texas in the Round of 16 Friday at 4:30 p.m.
“Sadly we have to say goodbye to one of the most entertaining and talented Aggies that Bob and I have had the privilege in coaching in Junior Ore,” Denton said. “He was our lone senior this season. We thank him for his contribution and wish him only the best in his quest to be a professional tennis player. He and Jackson have been our number one team the past two seasons.”
Ore and Withrow earned their second straight bid to the doubles championship, claiming a 5-8 seed in both appearances. The duo has played all of its matches at the number one doubles lines, going 12-4 this spring including an 9-3 record against ranked pairs.
“It was quite an feat that they were ranked number one earlier this season,” Denton said. “That team will be remembered as one of the most athletic doubles duos to don the maroon and white. I know they are bitterly disappointed with the result today, but they will one day be able to look back and see what they accomplished as a team. Both of them are All-Americans and that is quite an honor.”
Stay tuned to AggieAthletics.com and follow @AggieMTEN on Twitter to stay up to date with the Aggies in the postseason. Live scoring for the NCAA matches can be accessed from georgiadogs.com.
Story courtesy of Texas A&M Athletics