Sunday, January 31
Chapel Hill, N.C.
11:00 AM
Texas A&M
at
North Carolina
Photo by: Texas A&M Athletics
No. 9 Texas A&M takes on No. 5 North Carolina in Top-10 Matchup
Jan 30, 2016 | Women's Tennis
Live Stats | Live Video
CHAPEL HILL, North Carolina – The ninth-ranked Texas A&M women's tennis team takes on No. 5 North Carolina on Sunday in a match-up between unbeaten top-10 opponents. The match will be played indoors with first serve slated for 12 p.m. (11 a.m. CT) at the Cone-Kenfield Tennis Center.
"North Carolina is one of the best teams in the nation," Texas A&M first-year head coach Mark Weaver said. "They've been top five in the nation the last few years, and we are definitely going to have to raise our quality of play. We are certainly more than capable of doing that, and I hope that happens Sunday. Regardless, we are still off to a great start. We are getting more and more match tough every time, and the girls continue to do a great job."
The Aggies are 3-0 and are coming off a 4-0 victory at No. 15 Baylor on Wednesday. The Tar Heels are 6-0, all at home. UNC gave up one point in a 6-1 season-opening victory against Elon and has since shut out each of its last five opponents, including 7-0 victories against both UNC-Greensboro and North Carolina Central in a doubleheader on Wednesday.
The match between the Aggies and Tar Heels represents the final tune-up for both teams before they head to the 16-team ITA National Team Indoor Championships, Feb. 5-8, in Madison, Wisconsin. UNC is the defending national indoor champion and also won the tournament in 2013.
Sophomore Eva Paalma, the reigning SEC Player of the Week, leads the Aggies with a perfect 3-0 slate in dual match play. Junior All-American Saska Gavrilovska leads the Aggies with an overall 9-3 singles record and is A&M's highest nationally ranked player at No. 53. Juniors Rachel Pierson and Rutuja Bhosale are No. 58 and No. 106, respectively. Bhosale and partner Anna Mamalat are 2-0 at the No. 2 doubles line and lead the Aggies with a 10-2 overall mark.
The Tar Heels have five players currently listed in the national singles rankings, including junior Hayley Carter who is No. 6 with a 6-0 record at the No. 1 line and a 23-2 overall mark. Carter is No. 2 in doubles with partner Whitney Kay, and Jessie Aney and Kate Vialle are No. 16.
UNC holds a 9-3 lead in the all-time series against the Aggies and has won the last two meetings. Last year, the third-ranked Tar Heels escaped with a 4-3 victory against the 17th-ranked Aggies in a match that was contested at the Galleria Tennis and Athletic Club indoor courts in Houston.
The last time the two teams met in Chapel Hill (Feb. 4, 2014), seventh-ranked A&M came away with a historic 4-3 victory over No. 3 UNC. Trailing 3-1, Gavrilovska, Bhosale and Ines Deheza posted wins in the last three matches standing to give A&M a 4-3 victory and close out the highest ranked win in program history. The Tar Heels avenged the loss later that year, defeating the Aggies, 4-0, in the NCAA round of 16, played indoors at Georgia Tech's Ken Byers Tennis Complex in Atlanta.
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.
Texas A&M Pronunciation Guide:
Rutuja Bhosale roo-too-jah bo-slay
Ines Deheza ee-NAY de-HAY-za
Saska Gavrilovska saush-ka gav-ril-ahv-ska
Stefania Hristov steff-on-ya RIS-tov
Anna Mamalat an-na MAM-ah-LOT
Eva Paalma A-va paul-ma
CHAPEL HILL, North Carolina – The ninth-ranked Texas A&M women's tennis team takes on No. 5 North Carolina on Sunday in a match-up between unbeaten top-10 opponents. The match will be played indoors with first serve slated for 12 p.m. (11 a.m. CT) at the Cone-Kenfield Tennis Center.
"North Carolina is one of the best teams in the nation," Texas A&M first-year head coach Mark Weaver said. "They've been top five in the nation the last few years, and we are definitely going to have to raise our quality of play. We are certainly more than capable of doing that, and I hope that happens Sunday. Regardless, we are still off to a great start. We are getting more and more match tough every time, and the girls continue to do a great job."
The Aggies are 3-0 and are coming off a 4-0 victory at No. 15 Baylor on Wednesday. The Tar Heels are 6-0, all at home. UNC gave up one point in a 6-1 season-opening victory against Elon and has since shut out each of its last five opponents, including 7-0 victories against both UNC-Greensboro and North Carolina Central in a doubleheader on Wednesday.
The match between the Aggies and Tar Heels represents the final tune-up for both teams before they head to the 16-team ITA National Team Indoor Championships, Feb. 5-8, in Madison, Wisconsin. UNC is the defending national indoor champion and also won the tournament in 2013.
Sophomore Eva Paalma, the reigning SEC Player of the Week, leads the Aggies with a perfect 3-0 slate in dual match play. Junior All-American Saska Gavrilovska leads the Aggies with an overall 9-3 singles record and is A&M's highest nationally ranked player at No. 53. Juniors Rachel Pierson and Rutuja Bhosale are No. 58 and No. 106, respectively. Bhosale and partner Anna Mamalat are 2-0 at the No. 2 doubles line and lead the Aggies with a 10-2 overall mark.
The Tar Heels have five players currently listed in the national singles rankings, including junior Hayley Carter who is No. 6 with a 6-0 record at the No. 1 line and a 23-2 overall mark. Carter is No. 2 in doubles with partner Whitney Kay, and Jessie Aney and Kate Vialle are No. 16.
UNC holds a 9-3 lead in the all-time series against the Aggies and has won the last two meetings. Last year, the third-ranked Tar Heels escaped with a 4-3 victory against the 17th-ranked Aggies in a match that was contested at the Galleria Tennis and Athletic Club indoor courts in Houston.
The last time the two teams met in Chapel Hill (Feb. 4, 2014), seventh-ranked A&M came away with a historic 4-3 victory over No. 3 UNC. Trailing 3-1, Gavrilovska, Bhosale and Ines Deheza posted wins in the last three matches standing to give A&M a 4-3 victory and close out the highest ranked win in program history. The Tar Heels avenged the loss later that year, defeating the Aggies, 4-0, in the NCAA round of 16, played indoors at Georgia Tech's Ken Byers Tennis Complex in Atlanta.
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.
Texas A&M Pronunciation Guide:
Rutuja Bhosale roo-too-jah bo-slay
Ines Deheza ee-NAY de-HAY-za
Saska Gavrilovska saush-ka gav-ril-ahv-ska
Stefania Hristov steff-on-ya RIS-tov
Anna Mamalat an-na MAM-ah-LOT
Eva Paalma A-va paul-ma
Players Mentioned
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
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