Texas A&M
Missouri
No. 11 Texas A&M Shuts Out Missouri, 7-0
Apr 03, 2015 | Women's Tennis
With the victory, Texas A&M improves to 11-4 overall, including 8-2 in Southeastern Conference matches. Missouri suffered its 10th consecutive loss and drops to 8-14, 8-10 SEC.
"I was very impressed by our ladies tonight,” A&M head coach Howard Joffe said. “Everyone is understanding that with five-odd weeks left in the season, it's time to try to toughen up and improve versus survive each match.”
The Aggies began by winning both doubles matches to be completed to jump out to a 1-0 lead. Rutuja Bhosale and Saska Gavrilovska were first off as they cruised to an 8-0 victory over Cassidy Spearman and Madison Rhyner at the No. 2 line.
Eva Paalma and Rachel Pierson then clinched the point, breaking away from a 3-3 tie by reeling off five consecutive games to defeat Alex Clark and Brianna Lashway at No. 1. It marked the fourth consecutive win for the Aggie duo.
At the No. 3 line, A&M's Ines Deheza and Anna Mamalat were tied with Missouri's Kelli Hine and Brittany Lashway, 5-5, when the doubles point was clinched and play was stopped before a winner was determined.
The Aggies won all six singles matches in straight sets en route to the commanding victory. Gavrilovska won her fourth consecutive match and gave A&M a 2-0 lead after racing to a 6-3, 6-0 victory over Brianna Lashway at No. 4 singles.
Deheza, who did not play last weekend at Mississippi State and Ole Miss, returned to the lineup and won her first five games against Bea Machado Santos at the No. 3 line. Deheza went on to win, 6-1, 6-2, to put A&M ahead, 3-0.
Bhosale clinched the Aggies' winning point, defeating Spearman, 6-3, 6-4, at the No. 2 line. With the victory, Bhosale extended her singles win streak to nine matches and improved to 11-2 in dual matches, including 9-1 in conference matches only.
Mamalat put the Aggies on top, 5-0, as she quickly followed Bhosale with a 6-3, 6-2 win over Clare Raley at No. 6.
Pierson, ranked No. 32 in singles, had won her first set at the No. 1 line against Hine, 6-3, and the second set was tied at 3-3 when Bhosale clinched the win. Pierson dropped the next two games to trail, 5-3, before winning four consecutive games to complete the 6-3, 7-5 straight-set victory and keep the Tigers scoreless.
Paalma had just finished her first set when Bhosale clinched the team victory. Paalma, the Aggies lone freshman, had dropped the opening three games against Brittany Lashway at the No. 5 line but countered by winning the next four games to take her first lead, 4-3. It turned into a back-and-forth affair before Paalma pulled away in the tiebreaker to win the set, 7-6. Paalma then held a narrow 3-2 lead in the second set before breaking away by winning the next three games to finish the set and complete the Aggies' shutout.
"It was great to have Ines back in the lineup and playing well,” Joffe added. “Pierson competed as well as I've seen all year. Saska played with extra venom, and the doubles was impressive. All-in-all, it was a good night for our group"
Texas A&M wraps up its regular-season SEC road schedule Sunday as the Aggies face the 46th-ranked Razorbacks, Sunday at 12 p.m. at the Billingsley Tennis Center in Fayetteville, Ark. The Razorbacks are coming off a 5-2 victory over LSU to improve to 14-11, 3-7 SEC.
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.
#11 Texas A&M 7, Missouri 0
Singles – Order of finish: 4, 3, 2, 6, 1, 5
1. #32 Rachel Pierson (A&M) def. Kelli Hine (MU), 6-3, 7-5
2. #57 Rutuja Bhosale (A&M) def. Cassidy Spearman (MU), 6-3, 6-4
3. Ines Deheza (A&M) def. Bea Machado Santos (MU), 6-1, 6-2
4. #77 Saska Gavrilovska (A&M) def. Brianna Lashway (MU), 6-3, 6-0
5. Eva Paalma (A&M) def. Brittany Lashway (MU), 7-6, 6-2
6. Anna Mamalat (A&M) def. Clare Raley (MU), 6-3, 6-2
Doubles – Order of finish: 2, 1
1. #56 Paalma/Pierson (A&M) def. Alex Clark/Brianna Lashway (MU), 8-3
2. #80 Bhosale/Gavrilovska (A&M) def. Spearman/Madison Rhyner (MU), 8-0
3. Deheza/Mamalat (A&M) vs. Hine/Brittany Lashway (MU), 5-5 unfinished
Team records:
Texas A&M: 11-4, 8-2 SEC
Missouri: 8-14, 0-10 SEC
Players Mentioned
