The No. 21 Texas A&M women’s tennis team welcomed the No. 39 SMU Mustangs to the Mitchell Tennis Center on Tuesday, Feb. 27. In a much anticipated top 40 matchup, it was the Aggies who came out on top with a 4-1 victory.
The Mustangs came out of the stables hot, sweeping the Aggies in doubles play to earn the point. Starting on Court 3 with the SMU combo of graduate Hadley Doyle and junior Drew Morris defeating the A&M team of fifth year Sydney Fitch and sophomore Nicole Khirin, 6-1.
Next on Court 1 was a huge upset in favor of the Mustangs as graduates Lana Mavor and Taylor Johnson stomped out the Aggie team of No. 4 junior Mary Stoiana and sophomore Mia Kupres, 6-3.
The final doubles match was played to an end with an unfinished match in the Mustang team of senior Maja Makoric and freshman Caroline McGinley rallying with the Aggies’ junior Jeanette Mireles and freshman Lucciana Perez.
This strong showing gave SMU a much deserved 1-0 lead entering singles play. A&M completely flipped the script in singles play, as not a single SMU player managed to win a set.
The first victorious member of the Maroon and White was Mireles, who swiftly shutdown SMU’s McGinley, 6-1, 6-0 on Court 6.
Next in the winning column for the Aggies was No. 1 Stoiana, who walked right over Morris in two lopsided sets, 6-1, 6-1 on Court 1.
Then, No. 19 Khirin defeated SMU’s Johnson in rather quick fashion, 6-2, 6-1.
Capping off the win for A&M was sophomore Daria Smetannikov, who managed to quickly defeat SMU’s Makoric 6-2, 6-4 on Court 5.
Despite falling behind early, A&M managed to stage a comeback and now boasts a 4-0 record at home.
“Overall, I’m pleased with the match,” coach Mark Weaver said. “I give SMU a lot of credit for coming out with a lot of energy and being aggressive in doubles. I thought our team responded well in singles and came out firing on all cylinders, we just have to close out some matches better.”
After the 4-1 win, the Aggies move to 8-5 on the season and are building the momentum they need as the squad prepares for the first match of SEC play when they welcome the No. 18 South Carolina Gamecocks to the Mitchell Tennis Center on Friday, March 1.
