The Texas A&M women’s tennis team exceeded season expectations and finished the regular season ranked third in SEC play. They head into the postseason as the No. 17 ranked tennis team by the Intercollegiate Tennis Association.
Starting off the year expected to finish sixth in SEC play, the team’s season has been very different for the majority of players with practice and games affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. Despite that, along with a head coach who was able to pick up his 100th career win, the women finish with an undefeated SEC home record.
COVID-19 was an ongoing issue, senior Tatiana Makarova said, as many of these players didn’t have a chance to play or practice during lockdown.
“From the beginning, we were told to be ready for everything. Due to COVID-19 we didn’t get to play last spring, but we got to play a lot of practice matches that have prepared us for this season,” said Makarova, who was recently selected to the SEC community service team.
After Saturday’s victory over Ole Miss, the Aggies finish 17-6 overall. This is the first time since the 2013-2014 season that A&M accomplished an undefeated SEC home slate.
This hasn’t been the only milestone for the Aggies this season. Coach Mark Weaver reached his 100th career win as A&M’s head coach on March 24 against No. 14 ranked Vanderbilt.
Players said the Aggies secured the century mark for Weaver by building on good practices and working every day.
“Coach Weaver has prepared us to succeed by having good practices, working hard everyday, believing in every one of us and building a good culture,” Norweigan native senior Dorthea Faa-Hviding said.
Weaver played for the A&M tennis team from 1990 to 1994 and finished his career with a .724 winning percentage. He was the 2014 ITA Texas Region Assistant Coach of the Year before taking over the reigns in 2015. Weaver has continued to motivate and push this team, and the No. 17 ranked Aggies have a chance to make some noise in the upcoming SEC Tournament.
“With the SEC Tournament coming up, I have a lot of faith in my team and self, and I feel like if we all keep bringing it in as we are, we have a great opportunity to win the tournament,” Makarova said.
Makarova and junior Jayci Goldsmith are the No. 39th ranked doubles pairing, with Makarova ranked 24th as a singles player. Makarova has a program-best 13-match win streak and is unbeaten in her last 15 attempts. She has a 23-5 overall record this season and has an undefeated 10-0 record through 12 matches against SEC opponents.
The Aggies head into the SEC Tournament as the No. 3 team in the SEC.
“We know we are capable of doing great things, and we have proven that we are going into the tournament with a battle tested mindset ready for victory,” Faa-Hviding said.
A&M has had that mindset all year, and No. 3 is the highest the Aggies have been in the Weaver era.
“We’ve had a great run through the regular season, and finishing third in the SEC is quite an accomplishment,” Weaver told 12thman.com. “At the end of the day, I’m going to look for a team that is hungry and ready to battle whatever comes our way.”
The Aggies kick off the SEC Tournament on Wednesday, April 21, against No. 6 Auburn. The Aggies defeated both these teams during the regular season 4-1.
If the Aggies can pull off a win on Wednesday evening they will have a trip to the semifinals. The Aggies’ last SEC title came back in 2013.
“I believe in every one of us, and if we play to our potential, there’s no team that can beat us,” junior Katya Townsend said.