Texas A&M
Sam Houston State
Joffe Earns 50th Win as A&M Cruises by Sam Houston State
Feb 16, 2014 | Women's Tennis
“We're a team that has very fine recruits so the outcome is not that surprising, but in terms of the substance of the match, I was pleased with the way our kids handled themselves,” Joffe said. “They were focused. It was a good match for us for sure.”
The Aggies got off to an extremely hot start on all doubles courts, dropping a combined two games in the three matches. The 18th-ranked duo of Stefania Hristov and Cristina Stancu had no problem dispatching Olivia Battye and Natalie Petaia, 8-0, at the No. 1 line. It was a race to the finish on courts two and three as to who would claim the second victory for A&M. Rutuja Bhosale and Anna Mamalat downed Karen Martinez and Isabella Costa, 8-0, at the No. 3 line to secure the doubles point. The match between Ines Deheza/Saska Gavrilovska and Imke Jagau/Kayla Stevnson remained unfinished with A&M leading 7-2.
A&M wasted no time in expanding the lead in singles, losing a combined nine games in the first two sets on all six courts. Gavrilovska, the 47th-ranked player nationally, had no problem with Stevenson at the No. 1 line, 6-0, 6-1. The freshman was up 3-0 in her second set before losing her first game. Hristov defeated Jagau, 6-2, 6-1, at the No. 4 line to stake the Aggies a 3-0 lead before No. 103 Mamalat posted a victory in straight sets, 6-0, 6-0, to secure the A&M win.
Mason Strickland and Bhosale, both freshmen, earned victories on the afternoon. Strickland, making her spring season debut, earned her first victory in the Maroon and White after besting Costa, 6-0, 6-1, at the No. 6 line while Bhosale posted her second win on the spring by defeating Martinez, 6-0, 6-1, at the No. 5 slot.
“Probably the most exciting thing for us today was Mason Strickland earning her first victory for A&M,” Joffe said on the freshmen. “She's really outworked our entire team in the weight room and practices. I thought she performed great in her first match. It's nice to see her get the win.”
A&M completed the sweep when Deheza topped Stevenson, 6-1, 6-2, at the No. 2 line.
The women's tennis team will be in action again on Thursday, Feb. 20, as it welcomes former Big 12 foe, Baylor to the Mitchell Center for a 4 p.m. matchup. To learn more about the women's tennis team, visit AggieAthletics.com and follow @AggieWTEN on Twitter.
No. 11 Texas A&M def. Sam Houston State, 7-0
A&M (5-2); SHSU (3-1)
Singles
No. 1 – No. 47 Saska Gavrilovska, A&M def. Olivia Battye, SHSU 6-0, 6-1
No. 2 – Ines Deheza, A&M def. Kayla Stevenson, SHSU 6-1, 6-2
*No. 3 – No. 103 Anna Mamalat, A&M def. Maddie Mortimore, SHSU 6-0, 6-0
No. 4 – Stefania Hristov, A&M def. Imke Jagau, SHSU 6-2, 6-1
No. 5 – Rutuja Bhosale, A&M def. Karen Martinez, SHSU 6-0, 6-1
No. 6 – Mason Strickland, A&M def. Isabella Costa, SHSU 6-0, 6-1
Doubles (A&M wins the doubles point)
No. 1 – No. 18 Hristov/Stancu, A&M def. Petaia/Battye, SHSU 8-0
No. 2 – Deheza/Gavrilovska, A&M vs. Jagau/Stevenson, SHSU 7-2 (unfinished)
No. 3 – Bhosale/Mamalat, A&M def. Costa/Martinez, SHSU 8-0
Order of finish: Doubles 1, 3; Singles 1, 4, 3, 6, 5, 2
*clinched the match
Players Mentioned
