The No. 11-ranked Texas A&M women’s tennis team is looking to make a name for itself not just in the SEC, but on the national stage.
The red-hot Aggies continued conference play with a 5-2 win over Ole Miss on Sunday, March 13 at the Galtney Indoor Tennis Center in Oxford, Miss. The victory increased A&M’s win streak to an SEC-best nine matches and gave it a 4-0 mark against conference opponents this season, good for first atop the SEC standings.
The Aggies are in the middle of a historic season, as their 18-1 overall record is a program-best start. A&M’s win streak has seen the team take down the likes of No. 17 Old Dominion, No. 10 USC and No. 13 Florida.
The Aggies found themselves trailing early on, as the Rebels took the first doubles match over freshmen Jeanette Mireles and Gianna Pielet. However, the No. 27-ranked duo of junior Carson Branstine and freshman Mary Stoiana came out of their match on top 7-5, while the No. 3-ranked duo of senior Jayci Goldsmith and graduate Tatiana Makarova earned the doubles point for the maroon and white with a 7-5 win.
The Aggies rode their doubles success into singles play, winning the first three matches. No. 37 Makarova continued her dominance with a 6-4, 6-1 win over the No. 110-ranked freshman Anaëlle Leclercq-Ficher. Later, Goldsmith defeated sophomore Reka Zadori 6-1, 7-5, while No. 80 Stoiana rebounded from a first set loss to win her match 2-6, 6-2, 6-1, securing an overall win for A&M. But the Aggies wouldn’t stop there, as No. 41 Branstine came from behind to take down No. 79 senior Sabina Machalova 3-6, 6-3, 6-3.
The Aggies’ response to falling behind early within their matches drew praise from coach Mark Weaver who commended their resiliency as the visiting team.
“I think that these types of matches really build a lot of character for our team,” Weaver said. “Beating an SEC team in their home indoor facility is extremely difficult, and we haven’t done that in quite a while. We survived a match point in the doubles and survived that early on, and then we weathered multiple first set losses in singles to come back and win 5-2. We found ways to win when we weren’t necessarily playing our best tennis. This experience is going to make us an even stronger team down the stretch of the regular season.”
A&M will return to the courts during Spring Break against Vanderbilt on Friday, March 18. First serve is set for 5 p.m. at the Mitchell Tennis Center.