After over a year, SEC play returned to Mitchell Tennis Center on Friday when the Texas A&M women’s tennis team trounced the Mississippi State Bulldogs in a 4-0 victory.
The maroon and white will ride the win into its March 7 home matchup against Ole Miss with first serve starting at noon. The No. 22 Aggies are now 10-3 overall and 2-1 in SEC play after notching their sixth shutout of the season. The Aggies moved up from No. 24 in the most recent ITA rankings, one of the seven SEC teams to make the top 25.
After the Aggies knocked out quick doubles wins, senior Dorthea Faa-Hviding maintained her team-best dual match record to give the Aggies a 2-0 lead. The 6-3, 6-1 win over Alexandra Mikhailuk brings Faa-Hviding’s dual match record to 9-0.
Singles play was slowed down a bit as both teams struggled to score as efficiently as they had in doubles. As the sun went down, strong gusts began to bash the courts, making play a little more uncomfortable.
“The conditions were difficult,” Faa-Hviding told 12thman.com. “I wasn’t expecting to hit the pretty winners, but I feel like I fought well and did my best to win every single point.”
The Aggies went on to have plenty of “pretty winners” in singles. Tatiana Makarova ended her day with a 7-5, 6-2 win over Tamara Racine on court 1, where she holds a 5-3 record. Renee McBryde called lights out with her third clinch win of the season when the Wollongong, Australia, native defeated Lilian Poling 6-1, 6-4.
“This one was going to be a battle,” A&M coach Mark Weaver told 12thman.com “But sometimes battles can be won very decisively and that’s exactly what happened today.”
Doubles play was a quick clinch for the Aggies as No. 39 Tatiana Makarova and Jayci Goldsmith earned a 6-4 victory over Mississippi State’s No. 41 Tamara Racine and Magda Adaloglou. Riley McQuaid and Katya Townsend also walked away with a 6-4 victory of their own, defeating Lilian Poling and Chloe Cirotte and handing the Aggies the doubles point.
A win over the Rebels on Sunday would give Weaver his 100th win overall since becoming the head women’s tennis coach in 2015. Weaver’s current record is 99-50.