After spending roughly a week in Cary, N.C., for the ITA Intercollegiate All-American Championships, the Texas A&M women’s tennis team’s run came to an end in the quarterfinals of both the singles and doubles competitions.
The last Aggies standing were No. 58 sophomore Mary Stoiana in the singles main draw — who fell to No. 21 junior Fiona Crawley of North Carolina in three sets, 6-3, 1-6, 2-6 — and the No. 21 duo of senior Carson Branstine and graduate student Jayci Goldsmith in the doubles main draw — who lost to Michigan’s junior duo of Kari Miller and Jaedan Brown 6-2, 6-2.
“[Stoiana] has now had two excellent weeks against the nation’s best,” coach Mark Weaver said. “She continues to improve each and every day, which comes to no surprise because she is such a great athlete, and her work ethic is off the charts.”
Stoiana’s run was highlighted by two ranked victories, including an upset of No. 10 Irina Cantos Siemers of Ohio State on Thursday, Oct. 6 in the Round of 16 by a margin of 7(8)-6(6), 6-1. Branstine and Goldsmith also secured two ranked wins despite never having competed as a duo before the event. They took down Oklahoma State’s No. 43 duo and Boston College’s No. 27 duo.
“We look forward to a much-needed and quick rest over the weekend before we get back to work on Monday in preparation for our Texas A&M Fall Invitational on Oct. 21 against some very good opponents,” Weaver said.
Of the other Aggies who competed in the invitational, the journeys were short. Freshman Daria Smetannikov and sophomores Jeanette Mireles and Gianna Pielet each fell in the first round of the pre-qualifying rounds of the women’s singles draws.
Goldsmith, who ranked No. 109 in singles competition and made it to the quarterfinals of the main doubles draw, also advanced to the Round of 16 of the main singles draw. Goldsmith, however, fell to No. 19 redshirt sophomore Alexa Noel of Miami on Thursday, Oct. 6. Branstine, ranked No. 9, lost in the first round of the singles main draw to No. 15 graduate student Abbey Forbes of North Carolina by a score of 6-4, 6-2.
In doubles play, two Aggie duos fell in the qualifying rounds. Mireles and Smetannikov lost 8-1 in the first round, and Stoiana and Pielet lost 8-3 in the Round of 16.
A&M looks ahead to the Texas A&M Fall Invitational on Oct. 21-23, hosted in College Station at the Mitchell Tennis Center.