The Texas A&M women’s tennis team remained perfect in SEC play, defeating Vanderbilt 6-1 on Friday, March 18 at the Mitchell Tennis Center.
Following the victory, the Aggies improved to an SEC best 19-1 this season. The lone loss of the year for A&M came at the hands of then-No.3 Cal during the ITA National Indoor Championships.
The match against Vanderbilt was highlighted by a flawless showing from A&M graduate Tatiana Makarova. Beginning with doubles, Makarova and senior Jayci Goldsmith secured an early victory over the Vanderbilt duo of graduate Yofei Long and junior Anna Ross on Court 1. The Aggies secured the doubles point shortly after when junior Carson Branstein and freshman Mary Stoiana won their match on Court 2.
Struggles for the Commodores continued in singles, as the Aggies won four of six first sets. Branstein and Stoiana each stayed hot by winning their matches in straight sets, giving A&M a 3-0 lead. In her fifth-straight singles match against a ranked opponent, Makarova captured her 14th-straight victory, securing the win for A&M in the process.
Vanderbilt junior Marcella Cruz gained the edge over Goldstein on Court 4, earning Vanderbilt’s lone point of the day, but the effort was too little too late as the match ended with a 6-1 win for the maroon and white.
Since opening SEC play on March 4, the Aggies have been nothing short of dominant, only giving up six points during the span.
“We have really been working hard and pushing the team in our practices. One of our mottos as a team is to get better each and every day, and I think that’s something we’ve done well with this year,” coach Mark Weaver told 12thman.com. “We are playing with a chip on our shoulder that motivates us and fuels us to be the best we can be. At the end of the day, we have a lot of very good tennis players. That has translated to really great results.”
A&M is currently ranked No. 12 nationally, and a big contributor to this ranking has been the tremendous season from Makarova. In her final year wearing maroon and white, the former All American has controlled just about every match she has played thus far, as she currently has an 18-2 record in singles and a 24-4 record in doubles. Makarova opened the year with high expectations, seeing as she was the first Aggie in program history to open a season ranked in the top 10 for singles and doubles simultaneously.
“I am definitely building a lot of confidence right now. In the beginning of the season, I got off to a bit of a slow start. More recently, I have been adding to my win streak,” Makarova told 12thman.com. “No matter how good or bad I’m playing, I know that there are multiple ways to win a match. Choosing from a variety of game styles allows me to build my confidence and find ways to win for our team.”
With the win, A&M improves to 5-0 in SEC play, leading the conference. The Aggies look to keep this streak alive as they face Kentucky on Sunday, March 20 in the final game of a brief home stretch.