Players from Texas A&M and University of Missouri gathered on an adjoining tennis court as Aggie sophomore Anna Blagodarova served to Missouri’s Erika Josbena at double match point at the George P. Mitchell Tennis Center. Within seconds, Josbena netted the ball, sealing the final victory in the No. 36 Aggies 7-0 shutout of the Missouri Tigers on Sunday.
Add Sunday’s win to Saturday’s 6-1 victory of No. 63 Kansas and the Aggies are tied with the University of Texas for the No. 2 spot in the Big 12 Conference. They have also secured the second seed for the Big 12 Tournament, which begins next Thursday.
The Aggies, who did not drop any sets during singles play, secured their first point early in the competition after winning doubles 3-0. The team’s first singles point came only four games in to play after the Tiger’s Ylena Olshanskaya retired from her match against No. A&M’s Anna Lubinsky. The match was at 4-0 in favor of Lubinsky, who is ranked No. 54 in the nation.
Texas A&M head coach Bobby Kleinecke said that while he was impressed with the team’s single’s play, its double’s performance left something to be desired.
“The girls took charge right from the beginning,” Kleinecke said. “I was a little bit disappointed with the doubles. I feel like we should have put it away quicker, because that is the sort of thing that can hurt you during tournaments sometimes.”
Blake Starkey, head coach of the Tigers, said a combination of factors affected his team’s performance.
“Anytime you lose, it’s a disappointment,” Starkey said. “We had a few spots where we competed great, but with the crowd and the heat, we definitely had some spots where we could have played better. I think anytime you travel, it is hard.”