Coming off a breathtaking win that saw No. 1 Texas A&M women’s tennis comeback from 3-1 down against No. 6 Auburn in the semifinals, the Aggies reached their toughest opponent yet against the No. 2 Georgia Bulldogs in the final of the Southeastern Conference Tournament in Auburn, Alabama.
Aggie errors and Bulldog winners decided this match. While A&M stayed sound from the baseline, Georgia’s heavyweights overpowered the Maroon and White as they put heavy speed on the ball. While the Aggies attempted a comeback in singles play, they would eventually fall short, 4-2.
Doubles play began on a low note for the Maroon and white as two of their three duos began by going down a break. Court 2 saw A&M’s junior pair of Daria Smetannikov and 2024 doubles All-American Mia Kupres fight tooth and nail on their return. However, the serving and baseline shots from Georgia’s No. 74 duo of senior Guillermina Grant and junior Anatasiia Lopata was just too much to overcome as they took the win, 6-3.
Court 3 was a similar story. After the Aggies’ duo of junior Nichole Khirin and freshman Lexington Reed went down a break early against the Bulldogs’ No. 21 sophomore Aysegul Mert and freshman Hayden Mulberry, they fought back on the return, earning their first break points after a passing shot from Khirin went down the line. However, failing to convert kept the Bulldogs in front where they would eventually prevail, 6-4.
“Unfortunately the doubles point didn’t go our way and likely determined the match out there,” coach Mark Weaver said. “Perhaps it did, perhaps it didn’t. I felt like the doubles was right there for us to take, and we just didn’t cross the finish line. Overall there was a little bit of streakiness on our end. We have to be a little bit more stable throughout the matches, but all credit to Georgia, the two best players in the nation battling out once again in my opinion, and congratulations to them.”
Moving onto singles play on Court 3, No. 72 Kupres did all she could against Georgia senior Mell Reasco. While errors piled up in the first set, the main factor of her downfall was her return on serve. Many shots were shanked short or out of bounce and after dropping serve twice in the second, Reasco would take the win, 6-3, 6-1.
An identical scoreline took place on Court 4 between A&M’s No. 51 sophomore Lucciana Perez and Georgias’ No. 54 Mert. While Perez played solid defense at the start, the force and accuracy from Mert simply overpowered her. Perez’s baseline game gave her trouble running up to the net then back to the baseline as she managed to win just four games. After breaking twice in the second set, Mert took Georgia’s third point, 6-3, 6-1.
Reed gave the Aggies hope on Court 6. A dominant first set against the Bulldogs’ junior Sofia Rojas had her confidence sky high entering the second. Smooth backhand-to-backhand rallies favored Reed as consistency was her game. Rojas got off to a hot start in the second by breaking early but Reed responded with a break back with a smooth backhand winner to get back on serve. Both teams sitting at five-all, Reed broke once again to seal the Aggies’ first point, 6-3, 7-5.
No. 2 senior Mary Stoiana has proved again and again this season why she is a top player in the country. An extraordinary all-around playstyle from the baseline and net had Georgia’s No. 1 senior Dasha Vidmanova in shambles. Stoiana would combine serve and volleys, down-the-line shots and drop shots to keep Vidmanova guessing, after a close first set, Stoiana would get through in straight-sets, 6-4, 6-3.
The champions were crowned on Court 5 after No. 85 Grant took down No. 102 Smetannikov in a gritty battle. While Smetannikov didn’t make many mistakes, Grant hit winner after winner with her bullet-like baseline strokes. Smetannikov attempted to fight back in the second but broke at the wrong time as Grant sealed the championship for Georgia, 6-2, 7-5.
“We’ve hardly had a day off in quite a long time,” Weaver said. “We’re going to get back to College Station and get a couple of days of rest. The good news is, if all things go the way they should, we should be hosting the first few rounds of the NCAA tournament, so we’re excited to be at home for a while, which we haven’t been for about four or five weeks. I think the wear and tear has kind of caught up with us somewhat as a group, so we are definitely ready to be home in our own beds and in our own courts for the next few weeks.”
The Aggies will be back in action when they compete in the NCAA Tournament beginning on Friday, May 2. Opponent and time is to be determined with the NCAA Tournament Selection Show falling on Monday, April 28.
