The road trip to Alabama came to a successful end for No. 2 Texas A&M women’s tennis as they swept its way through the state during the weekend, finishing 2-0.
After defeating Alabama on Friday, March 24, 4-0, the Aggies knocked off No. 11 Auburn at the Yarbrough Tennis Center in Auburn, Alabama, on Sunday, March 26, 5-2. The win continued the undefeated start for the maroon and white in conference play as they moved to 7-0 and 19-1 on the season. A&M also extended its winning streak to 11 games and 23 games in the conference, dating back to last season.
Sunday’s match began the way most matches begin for A&M, with a doubles point victory. A&M has only fallen in doubles play three times throughout its 20 matches this season.
The Aggies claimed first blood in doubles play with the pair of freshman Mia Kupres and sophomore Mary Stoiana taking down the No. 80 doubles pair of junior Adeline Flach and freshman Angella Okutoyi, 6-3.
The No. 46 doubles pair of graduate senior Jayci Goldsmith and graduate transfer Salma Ewing defeated the No. 20 doubles pair of senior Carolyn Ansari and junior Ariana Arseneault, 7-5, to close out the doubles point. The pair of Goldsmith and Ewing extended its team high dual match doubles wins to 14 on the year.
Match 3 in doubles play went unfinished with the Aggie pair of sophomore Gianna Pielet and freshman Daria Smetannikov leading freshmen DJ Bennett and Kaitlyn Carnicella, 6-5.
After doubles play, the Aggies closed out the match in singles play.
A&M struck first in singles play, with No. 101 Smetannikov knocking off Okutoyi in straight sets on Court 5. Smetannikov won in convincing fashion, claiming both games 6-1.
The Tigers responded on Court 4 with an upset victory as Bennett took down No. 120 Goldsmith in straight sets. Bennett won both sets 6-3 and 6-2, respectively, ending the nine-match win streak for Goldsmith.
Court 3 finished next, giving the Aggies a 3-1 advantage as No. 100 Kupres handled Carnicella in straight sets, winning 6-2 and 6-4, respectively. Kupres came into the match leading the team in singles winning percentage at 92.9%.
Sophomore Jeanette Mireles finished off the victory for the Aggies as she knocked off Flach on Court 6, winning 6-4 and 6-3.
Despite losing the match, Auburn gained another point on Court 2 as No. 50 Arseneault defeated Ewing in straight sets. Both sets required Arseneault winning in close fashion, 7-5.
The only singles match between ranked opponents finished last as No. 3 Stoiana took down No. 32 Ansari, 2-1. Ansari claimed the first set 7-6 before Stoiana stormed back in Set 2, winning 6-3 and then winning the tiebreaker, 10-8.
The maroon and white will continue conference play Friday, March 31, as they host No. 12 Tennessee at 5 p.m.