Coming off an unexpected 0-2 start to the season, the No. 10 Texas A&M women’s tennis team looked to get the momentum rolling in its return to the Lone Star State on Saturday, Jan. 20. Originally planned to be home matches, the Aggies faced Harvard and Abilene Christian after a location change to Waco.
The Maroon and White picked up their first wins of the young spring campaign with a 6-1 and 7-0 victory over the Crimson and the Wildcats, respectively.
In doubles play against Harvard, the No. 3 duo of junior Mary Stoiana and sophomore Mia Kupres were the first pair to secure a 6-2 win against Crimson junior Holly Fischer and freshman Stephanie Yakoff, picking up momentum to start the match.
The Aggies looked to Court 3 for another win, but fifth-year Sydney Fitch and sophomore Daria Smetannikov could not make it happen as they fell 6-3. On Court 2, sophomore Nicole Khirin and freshman Lucciana Perez gained an early lead in the set over Crimson junior Angel You and senior Iveta Daujotaite to pick up a 6-2 win and secure A&M’s first doubles point of the season.
Entering the singles round, all eyes were on No. 1 Stoiana, who claimed a 6,0, 6-2 sweep against Yakoff. After reaching the halfway point of Set 1, five out of six Aggies were ahead of Harvard opponents. Kupres and Khirin finished right behind Stoiana in securing the first three matches and the victory for the Aggies.
In the second match of the doubleheader against Abilene Christian, Stoiana and Kupres took the first doubles win against sophomore Olivia Sears and sophomore Maria Cascos, 6-2.
Not far behind were sophomore Lizanne Boyer and junior Ellie Pittman, who took the 6-1 win from freshman Libby Blair and senior Maryjoe Crisologo. Going into the singles round A&M led, 1-0.
In the singles round, Kupres was off to a quick start with a 6-2, 6-2 triumph over Sears. She did so alongside three of her teammates in Pittman, Fitch and Boyer, who swept their opponents to clinch an A&M victory. A pair of wins from Mireles and Perez rounded out the day.
The Aggies will begin the ITA Kickoff Weekend against Northwestern on Saturday, Jan. 27, at 2 p.m. at the Mitchell Tennis Center.
