The new-look Texas A&M women’s tennis team saw its first action of the season as the Aggies competed in the Baylor Invitational this weekend.
To kick off the tournament, the Aggies faced off against Baylor, the University of Southern California and Alabama. This outing was the first official tournament for head coach Howard Joffe under his new contract extension, which runs through 2018.
Six Aggies who competed Sunday faced off against the Crimson Tide in singles matches, going 3-3, with victories by juniors Anna Mamalat and Stephania Hristov and sophomore Rachel Pierson. This was also the team’s first tournament without graduated senior Cristina Stancu, who finished No. 9 in the nation in singles play last year.
Joffe said he was pleasantly surprised by how his players performed this weekend.
“With school and classes starting up a week later than usual, I was waiting to see how our players were going to respond,” Joffe said. “To face some tough competition and do as well as we did with less time to prepare, I was happy.”
Joffe said Pierson’s performance showed promise.
“Although [Pierson] is an excellent singles player, she is also a really good doubles player,” Joffe said. “Rachel and Eva Paalma took down an excellent doubles team from USC, and that was great.”
The Aggies continue their fall season Sunday by heading to Amelia Island, Fla., to participate in the Amelia Island Women’s Championships.