Opening up the spring season, the Texas A&M women’s tennis team took part in its first road trip in 10 months as the Aggies traveled to TCU. The Horned Frogs hosted the TCU Winter Invitational Jan. 9-12, with athletes from TCU, Rice, Houston, Central Arkansas and North Texas also competing.
The Aggies saw plenty of success across the duration of the tournament. Tatiana Makarova earned the title of singles champion as well as a doubles title with Jayci Goldsmith, helping the team earn a total of 28 total wins.
On Saturday, the Aggies won eight singles and four doubles matches, all against Houston. They started off their spring season on a high note, going a perfect 12-0 on the day. Furthermore, they only gave up four sets across their four doubles matches combined.
“We came out on fire in all four doubles matches and only lost four games in four sets of doubles which is not easy to do to say the least,” A&M coach Mark Weaver told 12thman.com.
The next day, the Aggies slowed down as they faced athletes from Central Arkansas and North Texas. The team earned a pair of victories in its eight singles matches, as Makarova and Goldsmith won their individual matchups. In doubles, the Aggies found a little more success. The team went 3-0 in doubles play, giving up only seven total sets en route to five total wins on the day.
On the third day of the invitational, the team matched up with Houston, Rice and North Texas, earning eight wins. A 5-3 record in singles matches was highlighted by a victory by Dorthea Faa-Hviding. Once more, the Aggies continued their doubles success, going 3-0 once more.
Tuesday marked the final day of the TCU Winter Invitational as the Aggies again faced a variety of opponents from different schools. The team went 2-2 in singles matches, with victories coming at the hands of Katya Townsend and Renee McBryde. A&M also went 1-2 in doubles play, with the duo of Tatiana Makarova and Jessica Anzo coming out victorious.
Over the course of four days, the Aggies won 17 of their 28 singles matches and 11 of their 13 doubles matches. Makarova continued her strong season as she improved to 8-2 in singles and 11-0 in doubles, going 3-1 and 4-0 respectively over the invitational. McBryde had an amazing outing in Fort Worth as well, posting a similar 3-1 singles record and 3-0 doubles record.
On Jan. 18, the Aggies will host a doubleheader against Houston and Prairie View A&M, as A&M begins dual match play.