Texas A&M
Tennessee
Women's Tennis Defeats Tennessee, 7-0, in SEC Opener
Feb 27, 2015 | Women's Tennis
"Certainly today's match was a positive step for our group," Texas A&M head coach Howard Joffe said. “Given the scarcity of matches in the past month, our ladies competed hard and played better as the evening wore on, and I am very confident that our best tennis lies ahead.”
The Aggies, playing in only their fifth match of the season and competing for the first time since a sluggish 5-2 victory over UT Arlington on Feb. 12, improve to 3-2 overall. They also move to 3-0 against the Lady Vols since joining the SEC in 2012-13.
Tennessee, also playing its first SEC match of the season, drops to 8-5, but still holds a narrow 6-5 lead in the all-time series against the Aggies.
Juniors Ines Deheza and Stefania Hristov, paired together for the first time in a competition in their careers, gave A&M the early edge in doubles with an 8-0 drubbing over Eve Repic and Laurence Guevremont at the No. 2 line. Meanwhile, the other two courts were being tightly contested with A&M's 35th ranked duo of Eva Paalma and Rachel Pierson trailing 34th-ranked Johanna Henderson and Caitlyn Williams, 5-3, at the top of the lineup, and the No. 3 court knotted at 4-4.
Court 3 remained on serve at 5-5 when A&M sophomores Rutuja Bhosale and Saska Gavrilovska reeled off the next three games to close out an 8-5 victory over Tiffany Tavares and Victoria Olivarez to clinch the point. Tennessee was one game away from winning at the No. 1 line as Henderson and Williams held a 7-4 lead over Paalma and Pierson when the doubles point was decided and the match was halted.
A&M quickly took a 2-0 lead at the start of singles as Bhosale, ranked 59th nationally, jumped out to a 5-0 lead over Williams at No. 3 when the Lady Vol retired.
The remainder of the Aggie lineup went on to post commanding straight-set victories on all five courts to complete the shutout.
Deheza, who moved into the rankings at No. 117 earlier this week, improved to 3-0 at the No. 4 line and gave the Aggies a 3-0 lead. The Bolivian drew praise from Joffe after winning the last seven consecutive games in her 6-3, 6-0 victory over Olivarez.
"The play of Ines Deheza was likely the highlight of the day,” Joffe said. “If Ines continues as she has since the North Carolina match, the Aggies will be a significant threat."
Paalma then clinched the winning point for the Aggies and improved to 3-0 at No. 6 with a 6-2, 6-2 victory against Ashlee Boles.
Hristov, ranked 113th, put the Aggies ahead, 5-0 with a 6-1, 6-3 victory over Tavares at No. 5, and 40th-ranked Pierson followed with a 6-4, 6-4 win against Repic at No. 2.
Gavrilovska, ranked 54th, secured the shutout as she pulled away for a 7-5, 6-3 victory over Henderson at Court 1.
The Aggies now head to Athens, Ga., to take on No. 2 Georgia, Sunday at 12 p.m. (CT) at the Dan Magill Tennis Complex. The Bulldogs are 8-3 after opening SEC play with a 6-1 victory over No. 45 LSU today in Athens. Live scoring of the match will be available at Georgiadogs.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: http://www.facebook.com/?ref=tn_tnmn#!/pages/Aggie-Womens-Tennis/143874782434654
Texas A&M 7, Tennessee 0
Goodfriend Tennis Center (indoors)
Knoxville, Tenn.
Singles
1. #54 Saska Gavrilovska (TAMU) def. Joanna Henderson (UT), 7-5, 6-3
2. #40 Rachel Pierson (TAMU) def. Eve Repic (UT), 6-4, 6-4
3. #59 Rutuja Bhosale (TAMU) def. Caitlyn Williams (UT), 5-0 retired
4. #117 Ines Deheza (TAMU) def. Victoria Olivarez (UT), 6-3, 6-0
5. #113 Stefania Hristov (TAMU) def. Tiffany Tavares (UT), 6-1, 6-3
6. Eva Paalma (TAMU) def. Ashlee Boles (UT), 6-2, 6-2
Doubles (A&M wins the point)
1. #35 Paalma/Pierson (TAMU) vs. #34 Henderson/Williams (UT), 4-7 unfinished
2. Deheza/Hristov (TAMU) def. Repic/Laurence Guevremont (UT), 8-0
3. Gavrilovska/Bhosale (TAMU) def. Tavares/Olivarez (UT), 8-5
Order of finish
Doubles: 2, 3
Singles: 3, 4, 6*, 5, 2, 1
*-clinched the match
Team records
Texas A&M: 3-2, 1-0 SEC
Tennessee: 8-5, 0-1 SEC
Players Mentioned
