No. 2 Texas A&M women’s tennis will play for the conference championship. As a result of a 4-0 sweep of No. 21 South Carolina, the Aggies are now set to take on the Georgia Bulldogs for the outright Southeastern conference title this Sunday.
The Maroon and White welcomed the Gamecocks to College Station for a highly anticipated conference matchup. Unfortunately for the visitors, their time at Mitchell Tennis Center went no better than the previous 66 teams that made the trip to Aggieland. At the end of the afternoon’s play, the Aggies recorded their 67th straight win at home.
As per usual, Texas A&M’s doubles lineup got the Fightin’ Farmers off to a hot start. On court two, the junior duo of Mia Kupres and Daria Smetannikov defeated freshman Bella Bergqvist Larsson and senior Olympe Lancelot 6-2. To secure the doubles point, the dependable duo of junior Nicole Khirin and freshman Lexington Reed cashed in for the Aggies, defeating seniors Lauren Friedman and Misa Malkin 6-4.
This narrow victory cemented the point and prevented the home team from needing a win from the duo of No. 38 senior Mary Stoiana and sophomore Lucciana Perez, who were tied 5-5 with senior Sarah Hamner and sophomore Kaitlyn Carnicella.
Once again, the Maroon and White continue to follow the winning formula. A doubles point combined with the already difficult task of winning as a visitor to Mitchell Tennis Center makes the Aggies hard to beat.
The focus then shifted to singles play. A&M’s lineup, which includes five players ranked inside the top 100, made quick work of the Gamecocks. However, the only Aggie in today’s lineup not inside the top 100 was the first to make an impact. Reed smoked fellow freshman Anna Claire Roof 6-0, 6-2. Soon after, No. 68 Kupres joined the party, torching senior Misa Malkin 6-2, 6-1. To finish off the sweep, No. 55 Lucciana Perez defeated Lancelot 6-1, 6-3.
The Aggies once again memorably defend their home turf. However, today’s match is unique for one specific reason. No.2 Mary Stoiana did not register a point in either stage of the match. While she wasn’t defeated in either stage, it was impressive to see the rest of the team step up and secure the win without a box score impact from their best player.
Coach Weaver will need the entire lineup to be firing on all cylinders at noon on Sunday, April 13, when the No. 1 University of Georgia Bulldogs come to the Brazos Valley, as the winner of this titanic clash will be crowned champion of the SEC. This matchup will be a test of not only the lineup’s strength but also the impact of Mitchell Tennis Center.
