The No. 25 Texas A&M women’s tennis team won a spectacular game this Friday afternoon after beating the No. 8 South Carolina Gamecocks. The Aggies have had great success against South Carolina since their move to the SEC. Since 2012 A&M is a perfect 4-0 against the Gamecocks and improve to 5-4 overall this year in conference play.
Head coach Mark Weaver spoke to 12thman.com after the win and said the win was great for his team.
“I am so proud and happy for our group of young ladies,” Weaver said. “We have faced some adversity in recent weeks, and they couldn’t have responded any better today with a very decisive road with against a strong team in South Carolina.”
Each team stepped out on the right foot claiming at least one court win in doubles. The group of Eva Paalma and Rachel Pierson defeated South Carolina’s Hadley Berg and Paige Cline which put A&M ahead 1-0.
After the Aggies went ahead 2-0 in singles, the Gamecocks then made it a closer match at 2-1. Rachel Pierson was the only Aggie to suffer a loss in the matchup but that did not stop A&M. The Aggies were able to claim a victory in the rest of the courts leaving the final at 6-1 for the maroon and white.
The Aggie women’s tennis showed their strength against South Carolina and now travel to Gainesville to face an even tougher team in the No. 6 Florida Gators.
Back in College Station, it was another top-10 matchup Friday evening at the Mitchell Tennis Center for the men’s team. The No. 10 Aggie men’s tennis team hosted the No. 7 Georgia Bulldogs and Aggies had their sights on a win after falling to TCU earlier in the week.
The court with Jackson Withrow and Aleksandre Bakshi was the only court abandoned in doubles play as the Aggies were able to claim the first point of the match. Just like the women’s tennis team claimed the doubles point earlier the same day, the Aggie men’s tennis team struck first against Bulldogs and went up 1-0.
On the other hand, it was a different story for the Aggies in singles play. A&M suffered their second loss this week at the hands of Georgia. It was Georgia’s Austin Smith who defeated Aggie sophomore Arthur Rinderknech 7-5, 6-2 to clinch it for the Bulldogs. The remaining courts were left unfinished and the final on the night was 4-1 Georgia.
“I was real pleased with the doubles point again,” A&M head coach Steve Denton said. “We started, in you know, some matches that we got ahead and we just couldn’t keep the lead. Give Georgia a lot of credit.”
The Aggies now wait on their doubleheader Sunday afternoon to take on South Carolina and UT Arlington at the Mitchell Tennis Center.
