Aggie women’s tennis won 7-0 twice in double-header matches against the University of Houston and Prairie View A&M at the Mitchell Tennis Center on Jan. 17 at 12 p.m. and 4:30 p.m.
“The double headers are always a great way to open up the season and get some of the first match nerves out of the way,” coach Mark Weaver said to 12thMan.com.
The Aggies secured the doubles point against the Cougars after leading at the half point of all three matches.
Graduate students Salma Ewing and Jayci Goldsmith outplayed Houston’s sophomore Elena Trencheva and freshman Sophie Schouten with a final score of 6-3.
Similarly, senior Carson Branstine and freshman Daria Smetannikov defeated their red and white opponents freshman Sonya Kovalenko and junior Laura Slisane with a score of 6-1.
The maroon and white’s Smetannikov took the first singles win of the six matches on Court 4 with double scores of 6-2 over the red and white’s Azul Pedemonti.
A few minutes after the conclusion of Smetannikov’s match, Goldsmith triumphed over the Cougar’s Trencheva on Court 2 with scores of 6-1 and 6-5.
On Court 1, Ewing defeated Maria Dzemeshkevich. The Aggie came away from each set with a score of 6, and her opponent scored 1 point in the first set and 4 in the second.
In one of the three courts to go to three sets, Court 5 also saw an Aggie victory in Pielet. She beat Houston’s Schouten in the end with final scores of 4-6, 6-3 and 6-2.
Freshman Lizanne Boyer got the fifth singles point for A&M with her win over Kovalenko. The scores of the three sets were 2-6, 6-2 and 6-3.
The final singles match between the newly added freshman Mia Kupres and Slisane ended in scores of 6-0, 6-7 and 1-0 in favor of the Aggies.
“We had some new faces out there today and it was great to see them competing and not just practicing,” Weaver told 12thMan.com.
To start off the match against the Panthers, sophomore Kayal Gownder and junior Elise Robbins fortified the Aggies’ doubles point that was initiated by Goldsmith and Ewing. Both doubles teams won 6-1.
Freshman Avery Esquivel, Kupres and Smetannikov all defeated their opponents by the same margin of 6-1 and 6-0.
Gownder rallied in a singles match that followed her doubles victory. She won both sets by a score of 6-1. On Court 4, Boyer defended the clean sheet for the maroon and white.
Pielet overcame her opponent 6-3 in both sets, and sealed the deal for the Aggies by earning the seventh and final point
The Aggie women’s tennis team will stay in College Station for another double-header on Friday, Jan. 20. They will take on Tulane at 12 p.m. and Sam Houston at 4:30 p.m. in the Mitchell Tennis Center.
