COLLEGE STATION, Texas – The 14th-ranked Texas A&M men’s tennis team welcomes 11th-ranked Mississippi State to the George P. Mitchell Tennis Center for its final home stand of the season. First serve is slated for 6 p.m. on Friday. The Aggies enter the contest looking to build on a 14-11 record with a 5-5 mark in conference play while the Bulldogs come into the match as winners of five of their last six matches on their way to a 17-6 record including a 6-5 mark in SEC action.
Free streaming video and live scoring will be available on AggieAthletics.com
All three doubles pairs for the Aggies boast double-digit win totals and at least five conference wins. The tandem of Junior Ore and Jackson Withrow, the ninth-ranked tandem in the nation, sits at 13-7 and 5-4 in conference action with all 13 wins coming from the top doubles position. The 26th-ranked duo of Harry Adams and Shane Vinsant is tied for the team lead in doubles victories with a 13-7 record. The freshman duo boasts a 6-3 record in conference action and an 11-7 mark from the No. 2 position. Rounding out the projected doubles lineup for Texas A&M is Jeremy Efferding and Jordan Szabo with a 12-7 record on the season and a 5-2 mark in SEC play. All of the sophomore pair’s conference decisions have come from the No. 3 line.
78th-ranked Vinsant leads the team in singles wins with a 15-7 mark, including a 5-3 mark in conference matches. The Keller, Texas, native boasts a 12-7 mark from the No. 4 line.
40th-ranked Efferding is the highest-ranked singles player for the Aggies. The Boca Raton, Florida, native has knocked off the No. 1 and No. 18 ranked players this season on his way to a 14-8 record in the spring and sits at 5-4 from the top singles position. The sophomore also holds a 6-4 mark in conference play.
No. 119 Adams is third on the team in singles wins with a record of 12-8. The freshman holds a 6-3 mark in conference action and a 9-5 record from the No. 3 position.
Szabo also boasts a double-digit win total for the spring, holding an 11-8 record, with a 4-2 mark in conference play and sits at 5-4 from the No. 6 line.
Ore (8-12, 4-4 SEC) and Withrow (8-5, 3-1 SEC) round out the projected singles lineup for Texas A&M.
Mississippi State boasts two top-60 players in its talented singles lineup. 12th-ranked Romain Bogaerts is tied for the team lead in singles wins with a 15-5 record, going 6-3 in conference action and 13-5 from the No. 1 line. 58th-ranked Malte Stropp holds a 13-5 mark on the spring, including a 3-4 mark in the SEC and 11-5 from the No. 2 line. Jordan Angus (15-4, 4-4 SEC) and Pedro Dumont (12-5, 7-2 SEC) also feature double digit wins in dual matches.
The Bulldogs hold a .500 win percentage in doubles play, going 23-23 in the spring. Leading the charge is the 12th-ranked pair of Angus and Stropp with a 9-9 mark from the top doubles line. Zach White and Ethan Wilkinson have seen action at the No. 2 line, going 6-9 from that position. Rounding out the projected doubles lineup for the Bulldogs is Bogaerts and Dumont with a record of 7-6 from the No. 3 line.
The last time these two squads faced off, Mississippi State downed the Aggies, 4-0, in Seattle at the ITA National Indoor Championships.
Texas A&M will conclude its spring season on Sunday when it welcomes the University of Mississippi to College Station. To learn more about the men’s tennis team, visit AggieAthletics.com and follow @AggieMTEN on Twitter.