A&M Aims for Another Top-10 Win; Hosts No. 2 Florida Tuesday at 2 p.m.

COLLEGE STATION, Texas – The Texas A&M women's tennis team aims for another top-10 victory and its six consecutive win overall as the Aggies welcome back No. 2 Florida on Tuesday for a match that was rained out on March 8. The match begins at 2 p.m. at the George P. Mitchell Tennis Center and concludes A&M's four-match home stand.

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“Ordinarily playing four vicious matches in as many days is a tall order,” A&M head coach Howard Joffe said. “However, I know that our ladies understand that this is what playing at a great place like Texas A&M involves, as well as the privilege it is to compete as part of the Southeastern Conference. On this basis I'm confident the Aggies will rise to the occasion and fight tooth and nail against an excellent Florida team.”

The Aggies (8-3, 5-1 SEC) are riding a season-best five-match win streak, including victories over No. 6 Baylor and No. 9 Alabama since the home stand began Thursday. Most recently, A&M's lone freshman, Eva Paalma, won in the last match standing to clinch a thrilling 4-3 victory over the defending Southeastern Conference-champion Crimson Tide on Sunday.

A&M enters the match against Florida in fourth place in the SEC standing, just behind Georgia and Vanderbilt, who are tied for second with 6-1 marks. The Gators are atop the standings with a perfect 7-0 record in conference play and have won 10 consecutive matches overall to improve to 15-1. Their only loss was against eventual champion North Carolina in the semifinals at the ITA National Team Indoor Championship on Feb. 8.

The all-time series, which did not begin until the Aggies joined the SEC in 2013, is knotted at 2-2 with A&M posting thrilling 4-3 last-match-standing upsets against the favored Gators in each of the last two seasons.

A&M is 1-0 against Florida in matches played at the Mitchell Tennis Center, the site of the first-ever meeting on March 3, 2013. The Aggies upset the then-two-time defending national champion Gators, 4-3, snapping Florida's 45-match winning streak against SEC teams in conference regular-season, SEC Tournament and NCAA Championship matches combined after A&M's Nazari Urbina topped Florida's Alexandra Cercone, 6-7 (6), 6-3, 6-1 in the last match standing.

Florida took a 2-1 lead in the series after defeating A&M at the 2013 SEC Tournament and also downing the Aggies during the 2014 regular season. In the most recent meeting, however, then-No. 8 Texas A&M evened the series, 2-2, after knocking off four-time defending tournament champion and fourth-ranked Florida, 4-3, in the quarterfinals of the 2014 SEC Women's Tennis Championship at the Mizzou Tennis Complex in Columbia, Mo.

Rachel Pierson leads the Aggies in singles victories with an 18-7 overall mark and is tied for the team lead with a four-match win streak. The sophomore transfer from the University of Virginia is coming off the highest ranked win of her collegiate career with a 7-6 (4), 6-4 victory over 26^th-ranked Erin Routliffe of Alabama at the No. 1 line on Sunday. Aggie sophomore Rutuja Bhosale also has won her last four singles matches, and Pierson and Bhosale are each a team-best 5-1 in SEC play.

In doubles, junior Ines Deheza is 14-4 overall to lead A&M, which lost the doubles point for only the second time this season on Sunday. She and junior partner Stefania Hristov are 3-1 in conference doubles matches.

The Gators, who have won or tied for 10 SEC regular-season championships since 2000, including four of the last five season titles, entered the week with six players listed in the ITA singles rankings. Freshman Brooke Austin is No. 5 in the nation, followed by No. 6 freshman Josie Kuhlman, who is riding a six-match win streak and is 6-0 at the second singles line in SEC matches. Others ranked players are Brianna Morgan (20), who also is 6-0 in SEC matches without having dropped a set, Belinda Woolcock (32), Kortney Keegan (38) and Peggy Porter (119). (Note: new rankings will be posted Tuesday prior to the start of the match.)

Florida also boasts four ranked doubles teams: No. 5 Austin/Keegan, No. 22 Kuhlman/Porter, No. 69 Austin/Morgan and No. 78 Morgan/Woolcock.

Live scoring of the 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.