Aggie women’s tennis made their third straight sweet 16 this year,despite not having a senior on the roster. On Friday, however, their tournament run came to a close with a 4-1 loss to defending national champion UCLA in Waco.
A&M gained the momentum early, posting a lead in the doubles point before the rain began to fall in Waco. When the match was moved indoors, the team of Rutuja Bhosale and Saska Gavrilovska gave the Aggies their only lead of the day, a 1-0 advantage.
When the match moved to singles, however, UCLA took full control as the seventh seeded team in the NCAA Tournament. Bhosale fell 6-3, 6-2, and Gavrilovska fell by the same score to help UCLA gain a 2-1 lead.
The Aggies made it an interesting match though. Rachel Pierson turned heads when she won her first set against top-ranked Catherine Harrison, but she dropped the next two sets and UCLA held a 3-1 lead.
Not wanting their seasons to end, a combination of Eva Paalma, Ines Deheza and Anna Mamalat fought until the end. All three battled to have a chance, but top-ranked Harrison from UCLA ended the comeback hopes with a 6-1, 7-5 straight set win to clinch a 4-1 victory for the Bruins.
A&M ends the season at 17-6, and is expected to have all its main components back next season.
