Texas A&M women’s tennis traveled to the Bayard H. Friedman Tennis Center in Fort Worth to compete at the ITA Texas Regional Championship. The tournaments’ main draw lasts from Oct. 10 to 14, consisting of 13 regions, each one containing 64 competitors in singles and 32 teams in doubles. The doubles’ champion and two singles’ finalists will compete in the NCAA Individual Championships in Orlando, starting in November.
The Maroon and White were represented by senior Daria Smetannikov, senior Mia Kupres, freshman Anna Perelman, senior Violeta Martinez and senior Avery Esquivel. All Fightin’ Farmers were eager to claim a spot in Orlando and put on a string of dominant performances.
Day 1
Starting with doubles on Day 1, the No. 38 duo of Kupres and Smetannikov received a first-round bye to automatically secure a spot in Round 2. In the second round, the pair took on Tarleton State sophomore Duru Kuscu and freshman Dariia Medviedieva. While both squads held their own early in the set, the incredible baseline and net brilliance from the Aggie duo propelled them forward as they cruised to an easy win, 8-4.
Martinez and Perelman matched up against Texas A&M-Corpus Christi sophomores Juliette Jalai and Ofer Kivity in a very lopsided match. Once play began, it was clear that the Maroon and White would dominate with their serve and retrieves. Bullet-like returns allowed them to break early in the match and from there they never looked back, winning 8-2.
Round 2 paired Martinez and Perelman up against Tarleton State seniors Emma Persson and Clara Sobius. While the match was a back-and-forth brawl, A&M managed to break late in the set. The one-two punch of a heavy forehand combined with a quick volley scored the Fightin’ Farmers easy points on the return. After some close games, the Aggie duo held serve to claim the win, 8-6.
Moving into singles play, Kupres dominated Tarleton State senior Ximena Morales from start to finish. Every shot that Morales took seemed to be countered by Kupres’ skill at the net and baseline. Perfect topspin strikes from the Aggie forced Morales into several errors, causing her to break multiple times. Incredible defense and net skills allowed Kupres to jump in front and maintain the lead through the match. A massive backhand winner down the line to break early in the second set took the hope out of Morales as Kupres prevailed, 6-2, 6-2.
Perelman demonstrated her all-around game against Baylor sophomore Alian Zack. After warming up in the qualifiers, she displayed expertise in baseline play, allowing her to come away with a straight-sets win, 6-3, 7-5.
Smetannikov took care of business against Texas Tech freshman Ella Brownback in a commanding straight-sets win. A colossal amount of errors from Brownback paved the way for Smetannikov to take advantage on the return. After the blink of an eye, Smetannikov handed Brownback a breadstick in the first set before running away with the Set 2, 6-1, 6-4.
Securing the first day sweep for the Aggies, Martinez put on a show against A&M-Corpus Christi sophomore Kseniya Ramanouskaya. A display of perfection from the baseline forced Ramanouskaya to play long and exhausting rallies. While up 40-15 on her serve, Martinez delivered a heavy forehand crosscourt that clinched the game and set the tone for the rest of the match. After breaking in the second set, she got through in straight-sets, 6-4, 6-3.
Day 2
Following an undefeated performance on the first day, the Maroon and White continued their dominance in doubles play on Day 2. The duo of Martinez and Perelman once again prevailed against Texas Tech sophomore Elena Daskalova and Brownback, showing incredible chemistry on their way to another win, 8-5.
Kupres and Smetannikov found themselves in a nail-biting match against Texas Tech freshman Kseniia Logvin and senior Yekaterina Dmitrichenko. Neither pair gained momentum or gave up serve, leading to a tiebreak decision. Both teams traded blows before a single mini-break allowed A&M to move on to the quarterfinals, 8-7.
In singles play, Kupres was a force to be reckoned with. University of Incarnate Word senior Estefania Gonzalez was no match for Kupres’ consistency and power. In a sub-one hour match, Kupres gave up just one game while serving up Gonzalez a breadstick and bagel on a platter, 6-0, 6-1.
Experience once again prevailed for the Fightin’ Farmers in a battle that pinned Smetannikov against Baylor sophomore Wenfei Yu. While there was no pure show of dominance in this match, Yu failed to gain momentum to generate points on her return unlike Smetannikov who dominated the roundwho dominated the round. This resulted in a break of serve to secure Set 1 before Smetannikov ultimately pulled away with straight-sets, 6-4, 6-4.
While Martinez had great success in the first round, the incredible ability and feel for the ball from Rice junior Divna Ratkovic was too much to overcome as the Aggie was taken down, 6-3, 7-5.
Perelman took on Dmitrichenko in a tough battle and while she gave great effort and showed superb skill, Dmitrichenko ultimately prevailed, 6-4, 6-3.
Day 3
Diving straight into doubles, Perelman and Martinez continued to shine against TCU sophomore Cristina Ramos Sierra and junior Raquel Caballero Chica. Electrifying consistency and chemistry didn’t give the TCU duo a chance to strike back after being broken. Volleys and smashes became normalized for the A&M duo as they quickly got in front and took off to advance to the semifinals, 8-3.
Kupres and Smetannikov found themselves in another tiebreak, this time against Stephen F. Austin seniors Ksenia Mamontova and Jemma Cave. While they had no problem holding serve, predictable shots hurt the Aggies on the return as they weren’t able to generate enough long rallies to break. However, they turned the tables in the tiebreak, securing multiple mini-breaks to move onto the semifinals, 8-7.
Following singles play, Smetannikov showed heart and resilience on the defensive end against Rice senior Darya Schwartzman. Set 1 came and went with Smetannikov fully in control of the match. However, Schwartzman proved to be a warrior herself, handing Smetannikov a breadstick before taking this match in three sets, 2-6, 6-1, 6-4.
Kupres continued to perform at a high level against SMU sophomore Sophie Llewellyn. An expert in returning, it wasn’t long before Kupres was able to break a couple points off of Llewellyn’s serve and break in Set 1. The second set proved to be even more one-sided as Kupres gave Llewellyn no room to breathe, forcing her to play long rallies and non-stop defense to claim the straight-sets win and advance to the semifinals, 6-4, 6-2.
Day 4
The Maroon and White’s reign in doubles came to an end on Day 4. Martinez and Perelman fought hard against TCU senior Yu-Chin Tsai and graduate student Victoria Gomez O’Hayon, but after two tiring tiebreaks, lost the match the match, 7-6, 7-6.
Kupres and Smetannikov also were unable to convert against Baylor senior Na Dong and junior Zuzanna Kubacha. The pinpoint accuracy and versatility from the Bears’ duo had the Aggie pairing scrambling on defense. Failing to hold serve at the right time cost the Maroon and White, as they lost a close first set before being destroyed in the second, 7-5, 6-1.
The last Aggie standing in singles was Kupres — a specialist on the return and at the net. Against Chica, Kupres demonstrated her all-around impressive game. Baseline strikes, volleys, smashes, cross-court shots and down-the-line shots kept Chica guessing. What set the tone in the match was a beautiful passing shot by Kupres when Chica approached the net, pushing the match to 5-0.
While the first set was all Kupres, Chica made some noise in the second, refusing to drop serve leading to 5-all in the second set. It was only a matter of time until Kupres got her hands on a breakpoint, and when she finally did, she took it to claim a straight-sets win that advanced her to the finals and punched her ticket to Orlando.
Day 5
In the singles championship, Kupres stood against Schwartzman, a hard-hitting, fiercely competitive player who wanted the win as much as Kupres did.
The match began slowly as both players held serve while no breakpoints were earned. Kupres kept the pressure coming with heavy ball strikes to push Schwartzman beyond her baseline. This strategy paid dividends for a player who loves to approach the net. Once Schwartzman was far beyond the baseline, Kupres was able to hit silky smooth volleys to capture easy points.
A string of errors on Schwartzman’s serve finally gave Kupres a chance to break, and when the opportunity presented itself, Kupres delivered to claim the first set, 6-4.
The second set was similar to the first, however, it seemed that Kupres was testing the consistency of Schwartzman. Backhand-to-backhand rallies took place as both players stood strong in a test of “who will miss first.” Errors began to crop up for both players in the second set, but it was Kupres who was able to rise up when it mattered most. While Schwartzman was given breakpoint opportunities, she failed to convert on them. Kupres was given a single chance, and a forehand passing shot sealed the break for her, paving the way for the title, 6-4, 6-4.
