No. 3 Texas A&M women’s tennis narrowly defeated No. 5 Auburn, 4-3 in a road trip to Yarbrough Tennis Center, remaining undefeated in conference play.
Going into Friday’s match, A&M has been on a good run of form. Most recently, the Aggies comfortably defeated the Oklahoma Sooners at Mitchell Tennis Center. However, the battle with the Tigers proved not to be as straightforward.
The Maroon and White’s doubles slate has been phenomenal this season, but it ran into a difficult opponent in Auburn. Junior Nicole Khirin and freshman Lexington Reed did not get the Aggies off to a hot start. The Aggie duo fell victim to sophomore Ava Esposito and freshman Maria Garcia, 6-3.
The junior duo of Mia Kupres and Daria Smetannikov also failed to continue their impressive form. Junior Angella Okutoyi and Freshman Merna Refaat sealed the doubles point for the Tigers with a resounding 6-2 win.
Singles play started well for A&M as freshman Lexington Reed made up for her poor doubles performance, dominating fellow freshman Alice Battesti, 6-1, 6-0. Reed has been a force to be reckoned with this season and impressively bounced back from a difficult doubles match.
No. 62 Smetannikov and No. 51 Kupres both failed to win their singles matches, resulting in the Maroon and White falling into a 3-1 hole. Esposito defeated Smetannikov 6-4, 6-4. In her return to the lineup, Smetannikov failed to make an impact, losing both of her matches. No. 71 Okutoyi comfortably defeated Kupres, 6-3, 6-3. The two losses required the rest of the singles lineup to be perfect in their duels.
Fortunately for the Aggies, No. 57 sophomore Lucciana Perez came through when it mattered. Perez defeated No. 28 Refaat, 6-3, 6-1. No. 3 senior Mary Stoiana kept the ball rolling, defeating No. 4 junior DJ Bennett, 6-4, 6-3. These results tied the match for the Maroon and White, leaving the game in the hands of No. 15 Khirin.
On Court 3, Khirin took on No. 99 graduate Ava Hrastar. Khirin put the hammer down in set one, blanking Hrastar, 6-0. However, Hrastar struck back forcefully, winning the next set, 6-4. The following set would determine the fate of the match. Fortunately for the Aggies, the winner was wearing maroon. The Israel native bounced back and defeated Hrastar 6-4 in the final set to clinch the victory for A&M.
Texas A&M travels to Gainesville to take on the Gators at Alfred A. Ring Tennis Complex on Sunday, March 9.
