To kick off the 2025 season, defending national champion Texas A&M women’s tennis traveled to Honolulu, Hawaii to participate in the Weinman Foundation Invitational hosted by the University of Hawaii. The Aggies headed to Hawaii as the No. 2 ranked team in the nation in the ITA preseason poll.
Day one began with the powerful A&M duo junior Nicole Khirin and senior Jeanette Mireles winning their doubles match 6-0 against Hawaii’s sophomore Hannah Galindo and freshman Makeilah Nepomuceno. The Aggies followed up with another doubles victory led by sophomore Lucciana Perez and freshman Lexington Reed, defeating Hawaii’s senior Ana Vilcek and senior Nikola Homolkova, 7-5.
The day’s final matchup between A&M and USC was a tough one, featuring the Aggies’ junior duo Mia Kupres and Daria Smetannikov and Trojans sophomore Lily Fairclough and senior Grace Piper. After a long match, USC came out on top 7-6.
The Aggies were perfect in singles with a record of 7-0 after day one. No. 15 Khirin and Kupres claimed two ranked wins for the Aggies, defeating USC’s No. 45 Emma Charney 6-2, 6-2 and USC’s No. 57 Immi Haddad 6-3, 6-2 respectively.
Adding on to the Aggies’ perfect day, Mireles claimed a victory over Hawaii’s Joelle Lanz 6-2, 6-0 for her first singles victory of the year, followed by a dominating performance from No. 102 Smetannikov with a win against Hawaii’s Peppi Ramstedt, 6-4, 6-3. Perez, Reed and junior Lizanne Boyer ended the day strong for the Maroon and White, winning their matches putting the Aggies up 7-0 in the singles division.
Day two was tough competition, as the Aggies posted an 8-2 record overall, with a 6-1 singles record. Two of the singles matches went to hard-fought third sets, both of which were ultimately claimed by the Maroon and White. Perez claimed a ranked comeback victory over USC’s No. 37 Piper, 2-6, 6-3, 6-2. Reed was also faced with a three set match against Hawaii’s Sheena Masuda, 6-1, 3-6, 6-4.
Kupres, Mireles, Smetannikov and Khirin registered the remaining four wins in the singles category for the Aggies. The one loss came from Boyer, who dropped a tough 6-4, 6-3 match against Hawaii’s Makeilah Nepomuceno.
Doubles play was quiet yet successful on day two, as the Aggies posted a 2-1 score. Kupres and Smetannikov handed USC’s senior Parker Fry and graduate Maia Sung a 6-2 loss, immediately followed by another Aggie victory featuring Reed and Perez with a dominant 6-2 win over Hawaii freshman Emma Forgac and Lanz. Hawaii’s Ramstedt and Masuda defeated Khirin and Mireles, handing the Aggies a loss in the doubles category on day two.
Heading into day three with an overall 17-3 record, A&M continued to dominate the competition by adding on eight more wins with only one loss. The Maroon and White had another perfect day in the singles category with a 6-0 record. Perez added on another ranked singles win against Charney of USC 3-6, 6-3, 6-1, her second day in a row defeating a ranked opponent.
Mireles battled from behind after losing her first set 4-6 against USC’s Fairclough, ultimately claiming the last two sets 6-4, 7-5 and the match. The remaining singles matches from Reed, Kupres, Khirin and Smetannikov came in straight sets, giving the Aggies a 6-0 singles record for day three.
The Maroon and White posted a 2-1 doubles record for day three, including a dominant win from Mireles and Perez over Hawaii’s Hannah Galindo and Nepomuceno, while Khirin and Smetannikov easily disposed of Hawaii’s Ana Vilcek and Homolkova. USC’s Charney and Fry had a beat-down performance against A&M’s Kupres and Reed with a shutout score of 6-0.
Day four was full of doubles action with an even 3-3 record for the Aggies. Khirin and Reed claimed two victories for A&M after defeating Hawaii’s Ramstedt and Masuda 7-5 and continued on to beat Hawaii’s Vilcek and Homolkova 6-2. The last win of the tournament for the Maroon and White came from duo Perez and Smetannikov after they topped Hawaii’s Lanz and Forgac 7-6.
“We are very happy with how our time went out here in Hawaii,” coach Mark Weaver said after finishing the tournament with a 28-7 record. “We got a ton of good practices in, and most importantly, we were able to get a lot of matches in, which will give us a great jumpstart to the season.”
The No. 2 Aggies head back to College Station to host its home opener against Prairie View A&M on Jan. 18 at 1 p.m.
