Saturday, January 23
College Station
12:00 PM
Texas A&M
vs
South Alabama
Photo by: Texas A&M Athletics
Women’s Tennis Opens Season by Hosting ITA Kick-Off Weekend
Jan 22, 2016 | Women's Tennis
2016 ITA Kick-Off Weekend
Saturday-Sunday, Jan. 23-24
George P. Mitchell Tennis Center, College Station, Texas
Saturday, January 23
12 p.m. #10 Texas A&M (0-0) vs. #73 South Alabama (1-1)
3 p.m. #37 Wichita State (3-0) vs. #61 Minnesota (2-0)
Sunday, January 24
12 p.m. Women's Championship
3 p.m. Women's Consolation
Tickets: http://www.12thmanfoundation.com or at the Mitchell Tennis Center beginning one hour before match time
Live video/scoring: 12thMan.com
COLLEGE STATION, Texas – The 10th-ranked Texas A&M women's tennis team opens its dual match season this weekend as the Aggies play host to South Alabama (1-1), Wichita State (3-0) and Minnesota (2-0) in the ITA Kick-Off Weekend, Saturday and Sunday at the George P. Mitchell Tennis Center.
A&M and first-year head coach Mark Weaver make their debut against No. 73 South Alabama (1-1) at noon on Saturday. No. 37 Wichita State (3-0) faces No. 61 Minnesota (2-0) at 3 p.m. in the other first-round match-up. The two first-round winners will meet in the championship match Sunday at noon, with the winner earning a berth to the ITA National Team Indoor Championship, Feb. 5-8, in Madison, Wis. The consolation match will be played Sunday at 3 p.m.
The Mitchell Tennis Center also will serve as the host site for the men's ITA Kick-Off Weekend on Saturday and Sunday, and one ticket is good for both the men's and women's matches for the entire day. Tickets can be purchased in advance at 12thManFoundation.com or on the day of the match at the entrance to the Mitchell Tennis Center beginning one hour before first serve. Parking on Saturday is $5 for those without a valid Texas A&M parking permit.
Weaver admitted that after serving as the assistant or associate coach for the Aggies over the last eight years, this season will be different as he makes his head coaching debut, but he is up for the challenge.
"I've been coaching for a long time, but there definitely is a different feeling," Weaver said. "I might be a little more anxious, but I don't think there's any player or coach in the country that doesn't have first-match-of-the-year jitters. At the same time, I do feel like we're ready to go. I'm confident in our girls, and they are all capable of competing at any level.
"I'm extremely delighted with how practice has gone. I feel like we've moved forward every day. The girls are excited to finally play -- I think they are tired of beating up on each other in practice and are ready to take it out on other teams. We'll have some tough matches this weekend but the good thing is we're guaranteed two matches win or lose, and we need to get some matches under our belt. These teams have each played a few matches so they kind of have that work against us, but I feel like we're ready to go. We're healthy and we don't have any holes in our lineup against anybody we'll play."
Weaver returns all eight players from last year's team that went 17-6 and was No. 10 in the final rankings after reaching the NCAA Championship round of 16. Highlighting the list of returners is junior Saska Gavrilovska, who garnered All-America status after reaching the round of 16 at the 2015 NCAA Singles Championship. At No. 53, Gavrilovska enters the spring as the highest ranked A&M player in the Oracle/ITA singles rankings published last week.
Junior Rachel Pierson, who competed in both the NCAA singles and doubles championships last year, was a member of the All-SEC team and was the 2015 ITA Texas Region Player to Watch, and Rutuja Bhosale, an All-SEC second team selection in 2015, also return and are No. 58 and No. 106, respectively, in the ITA singles rankings.
Seniors Ines Deheza, Anna Mamalat and Stefania Hristov, who all have been integral members of the team since helping the Aggies reach the NCAA championship match as freshmen in 2013, return for their final season, although Hristov, who carries the most career singles and doubles victories on the team, is out indefinitely after having shoulder surgery during the offseason.
Sophomore Eva Paalma also returns after a record-setting freshman campaign in which she and Pierson teamed together at the NCAA Doubles Championship and ended the season ranked 15th, setting an A&M record for the highest final doubles ranking in program history. In addition, junior Mason Strickland, who was injured last spring and did not compete in the fall has returned to the team.
Domenica Gonzalez, from Ecuador, is the lone freshman on the team and is expected to bolster the Aggies' veteran squad after posting impressive results in her fall debut.
The Aggies went a combined 43-28 in singles and 21-13 in doubles during the fall. Gavrilovska led the team in singles victories with an 8-3 mark, and Bhosale and Mamalat led the way in doubles, going 8-2.
South Alabama enters the tournament 1-1, falling at 28th-ranked South Carolina, 6-1, in the Jaguars' season opener on Saturday and then spoiling Furman's home opener after coming back from a 3-0 deficit to defeat the Paladins, 4-3, on Sunday in Greenville, S.C. Junior Laura Valkova, who is ranked 86th in singles and is the only South Alabama player in the ITA rankings, picked up the only win for the Jaguars in the loss against the Gamecocks, and senior Michaela Meszarosova sealed the victory against Furman with a 6-3, 7-6 (7-4) victory at the No. 5 line in the last match standing.
The Jaguars went 21-3 last year and received an automatic bid to the NCAA Championship by defeating UTA, 4-3, in the finals of the Sun Belt Conference tournament. South Alabama, which was making its first NCAA appearance since 2005, was eliminated by Clemson in the first round.
South Alabama owns a 3-2 lead in the all-time series against the Aggies, including a 2-1 advantage in matches played in College Station. The Jaguars have won the last two meetings, both in College Station, topping A&M, 6-3, on March 3, 1998, and also defeating A&M, 4-3, on April 6, 2003. South Alabama was ranked 17th and 14th, respectively, in those last two match-ups.
Wichita State, the seven-time defending Missouri Valley Conference Champion, is 3-0 on the season after picking up 6-1 victories over both Saint Louis and Missouri State in a doubleheader last Friday and then upsetting No. 35 Oklahoma, 5-2, Sunday in Norman, Okla.
The Shockers return their top four singles players, including 71st-ranked Gabriela Porubin, as well as seven of their top eight from last year's rotation that went 24-4, marking the second highest win total in school history. The Shockers advanced to the NCAA Tournament for a seventh consecutive year in and fell to Georgia Tech, 4-3, in the opening round.
A&M won the only meeting with the Shockers, defeating Wichita State, 7-2, on Feb. 19, 1983, at a neutral location.
Minnesota opened its season by posting 7-0 victories against both Northern Illinois and North Dakota in a doubleheader last weekend. The Gophers, who went 17-10 last year, are led by seniors Julia Courter and Jessika Mozia, who both cracked the top-25 all-time singles win list in Minnesota history last fall. Chuck Merzbacher, a Minnesota alumnus, is in his fourth season as the head coach of the Gophers and is only four wins away from reaching the 400 victory of his overall head coaching career.
Minnesota and Texas A&M have never met.
Fans will notice several changes in the scoring of this weekend's matches as the ITA efforts to "adopt creative and innovative measures to enhance the sport of tennis during this time of seismic change in collegiate athletics." The ITA shortened format includes:
• No-ad scoring in singles and doubles
• Three doubles matches played, each match one set to 6, with a tiebreak at 6-all
• Followed (after a brief intermission; time TBA) by six singles matches, each match 2 out of 3 sets, with tiebreaks at 6-all
• No warm-up with opponents (in doubles and in singles)
"It's a really exciting tournament, and I'm not sure the typical fan quite realizes that it is a national championship-type setup with a 64-team draw just like the NCAA Tournament," Weaver explained. "It's definitely looked at differently than a regular dual match, because there's an opportunity to move on just like in the NCAA Tournament. It's a little tricky because straight off the bat it's like you're competing for a national title, but it's a unique and exciting thing. Credit to all the girls' accomplishments and hard work last year that gave us the opportunity to host the first two rounds which is an honor."
After this weekend's matches, the Aggies face a challenging two-match road swing. A&M faces 14th-ranked Baylor, Wednesday, Jan. 27, in Waco and then takes on No. 5 North Carolina on Sunday, Jan. 31, in Chappell Hill, N.C.
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.
Saturday-Sunday, Jan. 23-24
George P. Mitchell Tennis Center, College Station, Texas
Saturday, January 23
12 p.m. #10 Texas A&M (0-0) vs. #73 South Alabama (1-1)
3 p.m. #37 Wichita State (3-0) vs. #61 Minnesota (2-0)
Sunday, January 24
12 p.m. Women's Championship
3 p.m. Women's Consolation
Tickets: http://www.12thmanfoundation.com or at the Mitchell Tennis Center beginning one hour before match time
Live video/scoring: 12thMan.com
COLLEGE STATION, Texas – The 10th-ranked Texas A&M women's tennis team opens its dual match season this weekend as the Aggies play host to South Alabama (1-1), Wichita State (3-0) and Minnesota (2-0) in the ITA Kick-Off Weekend, Saturday and Sunday at the George P. Mitchell Tennis Center.
A&M and first-year head coach Mark Weaver make their debut against No. 73 South Alabama (1-1) at noon on Saturday. No. 37 Wichita State (3-0) faces No. 61 Minnesota (2-0) at 3 p.m. in the other first-round match-up. The two first-round winners will meet in the championship match Sunday at noon, with the winner earning a berth to the ITA National Team Indoor Championship, Feb. 5-8, in Madison, Wis. The consolation match will be played Sunday at 3 p.m.
The Mitchell Tennis Center also will serve as the host site for the men's ITA Kick-Off Weekend on Saturday and Sunday, and one ticket is good for both the men's and women's matches for the entire day. Tickets can be purchased in advance at 12thManFoundation.com or on the day of the match at the entrance to the Mitchell Tennis Center beginning one hour before first serve. Parking on Saturday is $5 for those without a valid Texas A&M parking permit.
Weaver admitted that after serving as the assistant or associate coach for the Aggies over the last eight years, this season will be different as he makes his head coaching debut, but he is up for the challenge.
"I've been coaching for a long time, but there definitely is a different feeling," Weaver said. "I might be a little more anxious, but I don't think there's any player or coach in the country that doesn't have first-match-of-the-year jitters. At the same time, I do feel like we're ready to go. I'm confident in our girls, and they are all capable of competing at any level.
"I'm extremely delighted with how practice has gone. I feel like we've moved forward every day. The girls are excited to finally play -- I think they are tired of beating up on each other in practice and are ready to take it out on other teams. We'll have some tough matches this weekend but the good thing is we're guaranteed two matches win or lose, and we need to get some matches under our belt. These teams have each played a few matches so they kind of have that work against us, but I feel like we're ready to go. We're healthy and we don't have any holes in our lineup against anybody we'll play."
Weaver returns all eight players from last year's team that went 17-6 and was No. 10 in the final rankings after reaching the NCAA Championship round of 16. Highlighting the list of returners is junior Saska Gavrilovska, who garnered All-America status after reaching the round of 16 at the 2015 NCAA Singles Championship. At No. 53, Gavrilovska enters the spring as the highest ranked A&M player in the Oracle/ITA singles rankings published last week.
Junior Rachel Pierson, who competed in both the NCAA singles and doubles championships last year, was a member of the All-SEC team and was the 2015 ITA Texas Region Player to Watch, and Rutuja Bhosale, an All-SEC second team selection in 2015, also return and are No. 58 and No. 106, respectively, in the ITA singles rankings.
Seniors Ines Deheza, Anna Mamalat and Stefania Hristov, who all have been integral members of the team since helping the Aggies reach the NCAA championship match as freshmen in 2013, return for their final season, although Hristov, who carries the most career singles and doubles victories on the team, is out indefinitely after having shoulder surgery during the offseason.
Sophomore Eva Paalma also returns after a record-setting freshman campaign in which she and Pierson teamed together at the NCAA Doubles Championship and ended the season ranked 15th, setting an A&M record for the highest final doubles ranking in program history. In addition, junior Mason Strickland, who was injured last spring and did not compete in the fall has returned to the team.
Domenica Gonzalez, from Ecuador, is the lone freshman on the team and is expected to bolster the Aggies' veteran squad after posting impressive results in her fall debut.
The Aggies went a combined 43-28 in singles and 21-13 in doubles during the fall. Gavrilovska led the team in singles victories with an 8-3 mark, and Bhosale and Mamalat led the way in doubles, going 8-2.
South Alabama enters the tournament 1-1, falling at 28th-ranked South Carolina, 6-1, in the Jaguars' season opener on Saturday and then spoiling Furman's home opener after coming back from a 3-0 deficit to defeat the Paladins, 4-3, on Sunday in Greenville, S.C. Junior Laura Valkova, who is ranked 86th in singles and is the only South Alabama player in the ITA rankings, picked up the only win for the Jaguars in the loss against the Gamecocks, and senior Michaela Meszarosova sealed the victory against Furman with a 6-3, 7-6 (7-4) victory at the No. 5 line in the last match standing.
The Jaguars went 21-3 last year and received an automatic bid to the NCAA Championship by defeating UTA, 4-3, in the finals of the Sun Belt Conference tournament. South Alabama, which was making its first NCAA appearance since 2005, was eliminated by Clemson in the first round.
South Alabama owns a 3-2 lead in the all-time series against the Aggies, including a 2-1 advantage in matches played in College Station. The Jaguars have won the last two meetings, both in College Station, topping A&M, 6-3, on March 3, 1998, and also defeating A&M, 4-3, on April 6, 2003. South Alabama was ranked 17th and 14th, respectively, in those last two match-ups.
Wichita State, the seven-time defending Missouri Valley Conference Champion, is 3-0 on the season after picking up 6-1 victories over both Saint Louis and Missouri State in a doubleheader last Friday and then upsetting No. 35 Oklahoma, 5-2, Sunday in Norman, Okla.
The Shockers return their top four singles players, including 71st-ranked Gabriela Porubin, as well as seven of their top eight from last year's rotation that went 24-4, marking the second highest win total in school history. The Shockers advanced to the NCAA Tournament for a seventh consecutive year in and fell to Georgia Tech, 4-3, in the opening round.
A&M won the only meeting with the Shockers, defeating Wichita State, 7-2, on Feb. 19, 1983, at a neutral location.
Minnesota opened its season by posting 7-0 victories against both Northern Illinois and North Dakota in a doubleheader last weekend. The Gophers, who went 17-10 last year, are led by seniors Julia Courter and Jessika Mozia, who both cracked the top-25 all-time singles win list in Minnesota history last fall. Chuck Merzbacher, a Minnesota alumnus, is in his fourth season as the head coach of the Gophers and is only four wins away from reaching the 400 victory of his overall head coaching career.
Minnesota and Texas A&M have never met.
Fans will notice several changes in the scoring of this weekend's matches as the ITA efforts to "adopt creative and innovative measures to enhance the sport of tennis during this time of seismic change in collegiate athletics." The ITA shortened format includes:
• No-ad scoring in singles and doubles
• Three doubles matches played, each match one set to 6, with a tiebreak at 6-all
• Followed (after a brief intermission; time TBA) by six singles matches, each match 2 out of 3 sets, with tiebreaks at 6-all
• No warm-up with opponents (in doubles and in singles)
"It's a really exciting tournament, and I'm not sure the typical fan quite realizes that it is a national championship-type setup with a 64-team draw just like the NCAA Tournament," Weaver explained. "It's definitely looked at differently than a regular dual match, because there's an opportunity to move on just like in the NCAA Tournament. It's a little tricky because straight off the bat it's like you're competing for a national title, but it's a unique and exciting thing. Credit to all the girls' accomplishments and hard work last year that gave us the opportunity to host the first two rounds which is an honor."
After this weekend's matches, the Aggies face a challenging two-match road swing. A&M faces 14th-ranked Baylor, Wednesday, Jan. 27, in Waco and then takes on No. 5 North Carolina on Sunday, Jan. 31, in Chappell Hill, N.C.
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.
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