No. 5 Texas A&M women’s tennis took on Kentucky on Sunday, March 22, at Mitchell Tennis Center, securing its third straight win in a 6-1 victory over the Wildcats, boosting the Aggies’ record to 16-3.
The Maroon and White started the day off hot on the doubles courts after previously struggling with a tendency of forcing comebacks after losing the doubles point in the early goings. Court 2 was the first to finish, with senior Violeta Martinez and freshman Ilinca Amariei leading the charge. The No. 75 duo finished the set with a 6-2 win over Kentucky senior Zoe Hammond and sophomore Marina Fuduric.
On Court 3, which hosted the sophomore and senior duo Lexington Reed and Daria Smetannikov versus junior the Wildcats’ pair of Julia Zhu and freshman Donna Le Roux, the Aggies finished the set victorious, with a final score of 6-4, securing the doubles point for A&M.
With an early lead, the Fightin’ Farmers looked to strip away any hope of a comeback in the singles matches that followed. They did just that, and went on an early tear, sweeping the first two courts. On Court 1, No. 2 Luciana Perez set the tone with an early singles point. She cleared out the first set, dominating 6-0, and followed with a strong 6-2 win in the second set. Over on Court 6, Smetannikov set out to get her second victory of the day. She took down Le Roux in just two sets, 6-1, 6-2.
Following a powerful lead boost in the first and second matches, the Aggies looked to send the Wildcats home in a clean sweep. On Court 5, No. 96 Martinez and sophomore Asuncion Jadue duked out in three sets. Martinez secured the first set, winning 6-2, but Jadue responded, clinching the second set 6-4. In the final set of the match, the Aggies had an opportunity to come out on top with one more singles point. Martinez took it home in utter domination, digging the Wildcats deeper in a hole with a 6-0 win.
Both teams decided to play out, having three more matches still in play. Following this decision, Court 4 finished its match led by Reed and freshman Elena Molla. In the first set, Molla bested Reed 6-3 but lost the remaining two sets by the same score, securing A&M’s fifth point of the day. No. 31 senior Mia Kupres and Zhu were next to finish in the singles matchups.
Kupres won the first set 6-4, but fell to Zhu ultimately as she lost the next two sets 6-3 and 10-6. That upset put Kentucky on the board, now down 5-1 looking at one final singles match. On Court 3 No. 54 Amariei took on freshman Reese Sager in a close three-set match. In the first set, Amariei won 7-6, followed by a 6-2 clapback for Sager. In the final set of the day, Amariei took home the final point, winning a tight third set 7-6.
Next, A&M will travel to Palmer/Salloum Tennis Center in Oxford, Mississippi, to play Ole Miss on Friday, March 27.
