Texas A&M women’s tennis earned its first ever trip to the ITA National Team Indoor Championships with back-to-back victories over the weekend against Arizona and North Texas.
A&M came away victorious against Arizona defeating them 4-0, also giving the Aggies their first win in four games against Arizona. The Aggies also defeated North Texas 4-1, marking the 14th consecutive time they have beaten the Mean Green.
The doubles team secured the first point on the board for A&M against Arizona. The team of Stefania Hristov and Cristina Stancu defeated Inge Hendrikx and Kim Stubb 8-4 to get the decisive victory after the doubles games were tied at one each.
“Our girls definitely played with more passion and energy in the doubles today,” A&M head coach Howard Joffe said. “I don’t know that we played a ton better but certainly with a little bit more focus and commitment.”
The singles team had an easier time, winning the first set on five out of the six courts. Stancu got the second win for A&M, defeating Stubb again after the doubles round.
“The matches were sort of all hotly contested, but when one looked at the scoreboards, we sort of were winning five out of the six matches or won them very, very handily,” Joffe said. “It does speak to the depth of our team.”
The other singles winners were Cristina Sanchez-Quintanar and Stefania Hristov. Sanchez-Quintanar, ranked No. 3 in singles, the highest in A&M history, defeated Lacey Smyth 6-2, 6-1 comfortably to give a 3-0 lead for the Aggies. However, Hristov, after securing the first set against Shayne Austin 6-2, had to fight hard in the second set, which came down to a tie-breaker. Hristov was down by a break of serve 5-4, but she managed to break and hold serve. She then led in the tie-break and clinched the game to secure the tie.
“It was a hard-fought win, and I’m very pleased with the results,” Joffe said. “Now we’ll get a day or two off and then get back to work to see if we can prepare to take on some of the stalwart, big-name schools at the University of Virginia in two weeks.”
The Aggies are now 2-0 this season and head to the National Indoor Championships at Charlottesville, Va. on Feb. 18.
“More than anything I’m really excited for the girls on the team, for [assistant coach Mark Weaver] and interestingly enough for myself, because none of us have ever made it to the round of 16 of the National Indoors,” Joffe added. “Even though it is super early in the season, it is a nice achievement and it is something to enjoy a little bit.”