No. 11 Texas A&M women’s tennis hosted Alabama at the Mitchell Tennis Center on Sunday, April 14. The defending back to back SEC champs were looking to capture a third consecutive SEC title and would accomplish this incredible feat with a win over Alabama.
“It has not been easy in the previous years, but we are a very resilient group and we’ve done nothing but get better every day,” coach Mark Weaver said. “We are truly playing the best tennis we’ve played all season and are headed in the right direction.”
Starting off with doubles play, the Aggie duo of freshman Lucciana Perez and junior Jeanette Mireles took down Alabama’s senior Anna Parkhomenko and junior Petra Sedlackova, 6-3.
The Aggies’ first point of the day came from fifth-year Sydney Fitch and sophomore Nichole Khirin after dominating Alabama’s graduate Ola Pitak and sophomore Klara Milicevic, 6-4.
The Maroon and White kept their foot on the gas moving into singles play. On Court 5, Mireles put on a show while destroying Parkhomenko in a very quick match, 6-0, 6-0.
On Court 2, Khirin secured the third point of the day for A&M, defeating Sedlackova in a two-set match, 6-4, 6-2, respectively.
The Maroon and White secured their 3rd consecutive SEC title after Perez took down Pitak, 6-3, 6-2, respectively, on Court 4.
Unable to finish their match on Court 1, A&M junior Mary Stoiana played Alabama junior Loudmilla Bencheikh, and sophomore Mia Kupres took on Alabama senior Anne Marie Hiser. Aggie sophomore Daria Smetannikov was also unable to finish her match on Court 6 against Milicevie.
“Our team chemistry has clicked in the last six weeks,” Weaver said. “We are hard workers and try to better ourselves everyday. If we felt sorry for ourselves early in the season, we wouldn’t be standing here with our third-straight trophy.”
With the victory over Alabama, the Maroon and White became the first team since the Florida Gators from 2010-2012 to win three SEC titles in a row. A&M looks to improve its winning streak to nine in the SEC Tournament quarterfinals as it takes on either Ole Miss or Vanderbilt on Friday, April 19 in Athens, Georgia.
