Sophomore Mary Stoiana’s championship run at the ITA National Fall Championships fell short Friday, Nov. 4, in the quarterfinals.
Stoiana, No. 58 in the preseason singles ITA rankings, was selected to compete in the tournament after a successful fall season. The tournament took place at the Barnes Tennis Center in San Diego. She was given a 5-8 seed in the tournament and showed why she deserved to be there.
Before the tournament, head coach Mark Weaver said that Stoiana being listed as a 5-8 seed speaks volumes to the level she has been playing throughout the fall.
“There are a lot of good players here,” Weaver said. “And I know she will come out ready to perform.”
In the Round of 32 on Wednesday, Nov. 2, Stoiana faced fifth-year Molly Helgesson from UNLV. Helgessson came into the tournament unranked. Stoiana got the sweep in the match by winning both sets 6-3 and 6-1, respectively.
The following day in the Round of 16, Stoiana faced freshman Julia Garcia Ruiz from Oklahoma. Garcia Ruiz was also unranked coming into the tournament but was having a strong freshman campaign. Stoiana got the sweep again in the match this time winning both sets 6-2 and 6-4, respectively.
Stoiana was faced with much more of a challenge in the quarterfinals on Friday, Nov. 4, as she faced ITA preseason No. 21, No. 1 seed in the singles tournament and eventual singles champion, junior Fiona Crawley from North Carolina. Crawley swept Stoiana in the match by winning both sets 6-3. The match took place on the main stadium court of the Barnes Tennis Center.
Crawley defeated senior Daria Frayman from Princeton in the singles championship match 2-1 on Sunday, Nov. 6.
With the defeat, the fall season for the Aggies came to a close. Texas A&M will begin its spring campaign and SEC title defense when it kicks off its season against Houston on Tuesday, Jan. 17, at the Mitchell Tennis Center.