The beginning of summer brought along with it the conclusion of Aggie tennis and golf. The women’s golf team as well as both the A&M tennis teams saw their seasons come to a close recently as they bowed out of their respective NCAA Championship tournaments.
The SEC Champion women’s golf team finished their season by taking 18th place at the NCAA Championships in Bradenton, Florida. The top-18 finish was the sixth in the past eight years under head coach Trelle McCombs.
The strong finish for the Aggies personified the notable year that they had put together on the course. In addition to winning three tournaments, A&M set new team records in scoring average (72.58), par-or-better rounds (13) and birdies (528).
The 18th place finish left the Aggies three positions away from advancing further. A&M will be welcoming back seven of the eight golfers from this year’s team next season.
Finishing their season as the No. 10 ranked team in the nation was the A&M women’s tennis team. The top-10 finish for the Aggies marked the third time in program history as well as the third consecutive year they have reached that mark.
The Aggies finished the year in a three way tie for second in the SEC and entered the NCAA tournament as the No. 10 seed. Unfortunately, A&M clashed with 2015 NCAA runner-up UCLA in the round of 16 and was eliminated from competition.
In addition to the team’s great success, individually, sophomore Saska Gavrilovska earned All-American honors in the NCAA’s individual tournament. Gavrilovska, as well as the entirety of the women’s roster will be returning to A&M next season.
The Texas A&M men’s tennis team finished their season with a program-best No. 5 national ranking. The Aggies finished in the top-10 for the sixth time in program history. Head coach Steve Denton said the team has had a historic season.
“I am beyond thrilled for our senior class to be able to go out with back-to-back SEC titles and a Top-5 finish,” Denton said. “This season was one of the best in program history, we are looking to build off this momentum and are very excited and optimistic about next season and the future of Texas A&M tennis.”
After capturing the SEC tournament championship, the Aggies entered the NCAA Tournament as a six seed and advanced to the Elite 8 for just the second time in program history where they fell to the eventual national champion Virginia Cavaliers.
The Aggies finished the season with a 24-5 record in which all of their five losses were at the hands of teams ranked among the top eight in the nation at the season’s end. Fortunately for A&M, the men’s roster is full of young talent and will make for a team that will be a legitimate contender for a national title come next season.
