No. 2 Texas A&M women’s tennis took on Prairie View A&M in its home opener at the Mitchell Tennis Center on Saturday, Jan. 18. The Aggies finished their fall campaign with juniors Nicole Khirin and Daria Smetannikov ranked inside the ITA’s top 125 for singles and looking to continue their 55-match home winning streak.
A&M did not disappoint the home crowd, refusing to drop a single set on its way to a 7-0 sweep behind senior Jeanette Mireles’ and Smetannikov’s double-bagels in their singles matches.
“There is always that little extra bit of excitement for the season opener, and we are ready to get after it,” coach Mark Weaver said. “We have been having some excellent practices, along with a lot of matches under our belt from the Hawaii trip, and our group is ready to go.”
Beginning with doubles on Court 1, 2024 doubles All-American junior Mia Kupres and Smetannikov meant all business, striking forehands and delivering powerful serves on their way to a smooth victory over PVAM sophomore Pascual Blanca and freshman Daniela García, 6-1.
On Court 3, Mireles, who was named to the 2024 SEC and NCAA All-Tournament teams in singles and doubles respectively, paired with Khirin to hand Prairie View sophomore Amaya Bobadilla and junior Yasmin El Fadilil a bagel to clinch the first point for the Maroon and White, 6-0.
Unable to finish their match on Court 5, freshman Lexington Reed and 2024 SEC freshman of the year, Lucciana Perez were up on Prairie View’s senior Cierra García and junior Joanne Fernandes, 5-1.
Moving into singles, Mireles was the first to strike for A&M on Court 6, showing no mercy for Prairie View freshman Precious Ugochukwu as she refused to drop a game, 6-0, 6-0.
Khirin showed why she is ranked No. 15 in the country, giving A&M a promising 3-0 victory after defeating Prairie View junior Ainara Vegal Rodriguez in straight sets, 6-0, 6-3.
Smetannikov sealed the deal on Court 4 for A&M, knocking off Prairie View Bobadilla in a double-bagel victory, 6-0, 6-0.
Finishing out their matches on Court 5, Reed showed that she can be dangerous in singles as well, using her consistent backhand to take down Fernandes in straight sets, 6-1, 6-4.
On Court 2, big serves and powerful returns were the key for Kupres, dropping just one game to Blanca on her way to a comfortable victory, 6-1, 6-0.
Perez clinched the sweep for A&M. The former Roland Garros Junior Championship finalist took care of business against García, 6-2, 6-3.
“Overall, today was very good for our team,” Weaver said. “There’s always a little bit of nerves in the first match of the season, so it’s nice to get that first match under our belts. We really went out there and took care of business from the start.”
“One of our big messages today was keeping our focus and concentrating hard. We talked a lot about our preparation with our feet. I thought we handled all those things really well. If we’re doing the things we do well, focusing on our type of tennis that we want to play, then we’re always in great shape, and that’s what we did today.”
The Aggies will be back in action as they travel to the Grand Harbor in Flaro Beach, Florida to play at the Vero Beach International Open from Monday, Jan. 20 to Sunday, Jan. 26.
