The Aggies (1-2) are eager to return to competition as they have not played a match since a narrow 4-3 loss to eventual ITA National Team Indoor Champion and current No. 1-ranked North Carolina on Feb. 1 in Houston.
"I am pretty sure that our ladies are thoroughly looking forward to facing an opponent other than themselves,” A&M head coach Howard Joffe said. “Since our match with UNC, the team has spent the past 10 days practicing diligently and beating up on each other. Our UTA match will allow us to see how our preparations for SEC play are going."
The Aggies, who have no seniors on the squad, boast three players listed in the ITA national singles rankings, including sophomore Rutuja Bhosale, ranked for the first time in her career with a team-high No. 57 showing. Bhosale, 2-0 in singles in dual match play, is coming off the highest ranked win of her career, having defeated then-No. 22 Caroline Price of UNC in the Aggies' most recent outing.
Sophomore Rachel Pierson, who leads A&M in overall singles victories with a 12-6 mark, is No. 64, and sophomore Saska Gavrilovska is No. 67.
Pierson and freshman Eva Paalma sport a team best No. 35 ranking in doubles. Pierson also is No. 37 with junior Ines Deheza with a 9-2 overall record.
UTA is 5-1 and riding a five-match win streak. Most recently, the Mavericks defeated Dallas Baptist, 6-1, and Seminole State, 4-0, in a doubleheader on Feb. 7. Four players are undefeated in singles in dual matches, including Augustina Serio (6-0), Elizabeth Thoms, 5-0 with all matches played at the No. 1 line, and Angeles de los Rios (4-0). Serio also is undefeated in doubles, having gone 4-0 with partner Christine Foote at the No. 3 line.
This will be only the second meeting in the all-time series between the two in-state teams. A&M won the first match-up, blanking the Mavericks, 9-0, on April 14, 1996, at the Omar Smith Tennis Center, the former home court of the Aggies before the Mitchell Tennis Center was completed for the 1999 season.
The Aggies conclude their pre-conference schedule on Saturday, Feb. 21, as they take on Abilene Christian at the Mitchell Tennis Center. The match, which was a late addition to the schedule, is slated to begin at noon.
Live scoring of the A&M-UTA match will be available at 12thMan.com.
Visit 12thMan.com for more information on Texas A&M women's tennis. Aggie fans also can keep up to date with the A&M women's tennis team on Twitter by following @AggieWTEN or on Facebook at Facebook.com/AggieWomensTennis.