Wednesday, February 24
College Station
4:00 PM
Texas A&M
4
vs
2
Baylor
Photo by: Texas A&M Athletics
Aggies defeat Baylor 4-2 to close out non-conference play
Feb 24, 2016 | Women's Tennis
COLLEGE STATION, Texas – No. 20 Texas A&M closed out its non-conference schedule with a 4-2 come-from-behind victory over 45th-ranked Baylor on a cool and windy day at the George P. Mitchell Tennis Center.
A&M improved to 8-3 -- including 6-0 in home matches -- while notching its ninth consecutive victory in the series against the former Southwest Conference and Big 12 foe. Baylor, the three-time defending Big 12 regular-season champion and two-time defending conference tournament champion, suffered its fourth consecutive loss and dropped to 4-6 on the season.
"I knew it was going to be a tough match going in," A&M first-year head coach Mark Weaver said. "Baylor is a way under-ranked team. They just haven't gotten the wins in. They are definitely a top 20-25 level team at a minimum. I went into the match thinking the doubles point is always the first task at hand. You think about that a lot, and my thought process was if we win the doubles point, there is a very good chance we win (the match). On the other hand, I knew if we didn't win the doubles point, we would probably be just fine."
Baylor, whose six losses this season have been against ranked teams, including a 4-0 loss to then-No. 9 A&M in January, as well as losses to No. 3 Florida and No. 6 Vanderbilt also of the Southeastern Conference, gained the early momentum by winning the doubles point, getting wins on two of the three courts. The Bears' 15th-ranked duo of Kiah Generette and Blaire Shankle jumped out to a 4-1 lead over Eva Paalma and Rachel Pierson at the No. 1 line and went on to win 6-1.
A&M evened the match as 48th-ranked Rutuja Bhosale and Anna Mamalat won three consecutive games to close out a 6-2 victory over Gabriela Ferreira and Rhiann Newborn at No. 2.
Elizabeth Profit and Theresa Van Zyl then clinched the go-ahead point for the Bears, jumping out to a 5-1 lead over A&M's Saska Gavrilovska and Domenica Gonzalez en route to a 6-2 victory at the No. 3 line.
"We were a little bit down after the doubles point, and credit to the girls, they all kind of perked up and we discussed how we have six excellent singles players and (the doubles point) was one of only seven points. I thought the girls responded well. We got a couple of quick first sets and a couple of tight first sets. The key to that is after you lose the doubles point, how do you respond. If you respond with a good start, that definitely can make life a little bit easier on you when you are trying to win four of the six matches."
A&M, which entered the contest 1-3 when dropping the doubles point, slowly began to turn the match in favor of the Aggies once singles began, easily winning the first set on two courts and narrowly pulling away for first-set wins on three of the other four courts.
Ines Deheza quickly tied the team score at 1-1, winning nine consecutive games to cap a 6-1, 6-0 victory over Gabriela Ferreira at the No. 6 line. Baylor, however, swiftly regained the lead as Shankle soon followed with a 6-1, 6-2 win over Pierson at No. 2.
Gonzalez was down a break early in her first set against Karina Traxler at No. 5, but A&M's only freshman eventually went up a break at 5-4 and then held serve to win the first set, 6-4. Gonzalez shut out Traxler in the second set, racing to a 6-0 victory to run her team-leading win streak to six while tying the team score for the second time, 2-2.
Bhosale gave the Aggies the lead for good, winning the only three-set contest of the day. Bhosale cruised to a 6-0 first-set victory over Generette at the No. 3 line, but Generette pulled away for a 6-4 second-set win to force a third set. Bhosale would get back on track, reeling off four consecutive games to close out a 6-1 third-set win to put the Aggies ahead, 3-2.
Gavrilovska, ranked 53rd in the nation in singles, would clinch the victory for A&M despite suffering an ankle injury late in the second set. The Serbian trailed Newborn, 5-3, in the opening set at No. 1 but rallied to win the next four games -- including two no-ad points -- to win the set, 7-5. Gavrilovska had a 5-3 lead in the second set and was trailing 30-15 when she went down with the ankle injury. After a medical timeout, Gavrilovska returned to play but dropped the game as Newborn got within 5-4. Gavrilovska, however, persevered by winning the next game, 6-4, to clinch the victory for the Aggies while also improving to 3-0 in dual matches.
"The wind affected our quality of play in the doubles and in the early part of singles," Weaver added. "We kind of toughed out the early stages of the singles, and then the wind kind of died down and I felt like we were able to raise our quality of play. The wind kind of died down halfway through, and I thought that was kind of a key for us turning it around."
Paalma fought off at least three set points in her opening set against Van Zyl and was leading the second set 4-1 when play was stopped. Van Zyl held a 6-5 lead and was serving for the first set but double faulted at 40-40 to even the set at 6-6 and force a tiebreaker. With the tiebreaker tied at 4-4, Van Zyl scored two points to go up, 6-4. Paalma, however, won the next four points to win the most tightly contested set of the entire match. Paalma carried the momentum into the second set, jumping out to the 4-1 lead, but the match went unfinished.
The Aggies, riding a four-match win streak following the win against the Bears, open SEC play at No. 61 Auburn and at No. 28 Alabama, Thursday and Saturday, March 3 and 5, respectively.
"It is nice to get the non-conference out of the way," Weaver said. "I think we survived just fine. We've gone 8-3, and the three losses were to three of the best teams in the nation, all three of the best indoor teams. I felt like we survived Round 1, and we are off to Round 2. The good news is we are progressing as a team. We are getting better and better every day. We seem to be getting healthier – hopefully Saska will be just fine – but it is nice to move on from the first stage. We passed, and now it is time to move on to the second phase."
A&M, which finished in a three-way tie with eventual national champion Vanderbilt and Georgia last year, is picked to finish fourth this season behind Florida, Vanderbilt and Georgia, according to a preseason vote of the league's head women's tennis coaches.
The SEC leads the nation with three teams in this week's Oracle/ITA Tennis Rankings top 10 and nine teams in the top 25: Vanderbilt (4), Georgia (5), Florida (7), LSU (12), Kentucky (15), South Carolina (17), Texas A&M (20), Mississippi (22), and Mississippi State (25). No other conference has more than four teams in the top 25.
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
#20 Texas A&M 4, #45 Baylor 2
George P. Mitchell Tennis Center
College Station, Texas
February 24, 2016
Singles
1. #53 Saska Gavrilovska (A&M) def. Rhiann Newborn (BU), 7-5, 6-4
2. Blaire Shankle (BU) def. Rachel Pierson (A&M), 6-1, 6-2
3. Rutuja Bhosale (A&M) def. Kiah Generette (BU), 6-0, 4-6, 6-1
4. Eva Paalma (A&M) vs. Theresa Van Zyl (BU), 7-6 (6), 4-1 unfinished
5. Domenica Gonzalez (A&M) def. Karina Traxler (BU), 6-4, 6-0
6. Ines Deheza (A&M) def. Gabriela Ferreira (BU), 6-1, 6-0
Doubles (Baylor wins the point)
1. #15 Generette/Shankle (BU) def. Paalma/Pierson (A&M), 6-1
2. #48 Bhosale/Mamalat (A&M) def. Newborn/Ferreira/ (BU), 6-2
3. Profit/Ferriera (BU) def. Gavrilovska/Gonzalez (A&M), 6-2
Order of finish
Doubles: 1, 2, 3
Singles: 6, 2, 5, 3, 1
Team records
Texas A&M: 8-3
Baylor: 4-6
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 anna MAM-ah-LOT
Eva Paalma A-va paul-ma
A&M improved to 8-3 -- including 6-0 in home matches -- while notching its ninth consecutive victory in the series against the former Southwest Conference and Big 12 foe. Baylor, the three-time defending Big 12 regular-season champion and two-time defending conference tournament champion, suffered its fourth consecutive loss and dropped to 4-6 on the season.
"I knew it was going to be a tough match going in," A&M first-year head coach Mark Weaver said. "Baylor is a way under-ranked team. They just haven't gotten the wins in. They are definitely a top 20-25 level team at a minimum. I went into the match thinking the doubles point is always the first task at hand. You think about that a lot, and my thought process was if we win the doubles point, there is a very good chance we win (the match). On the other hand, I knew if we didn't win the doubles point, we would probably be just fine."
Baylor, whose six losses this season have been against ranked teams, including a 4-0 loss to then-No. 9 A&M in January, as well as losses to No. 3 Florida and No. 6 Vanderbilt also of the Southeastern Conference, gained the early momentum by winning the doubles point, getting wins on two of the three courts. The Bears' 15th-ranked duo of Kiah Generette and Blaire Shankle jumped out to a 4-1 lead over Eva Paalma and Rachel Pierson at the No. 1 line and went on to win 6-1.
A&M evened the match as 48th-ranked Rutuja Bhosale and Anna Mamalat won three consecutive games to close out a 6-2 victory over Gabriela Ferreira and Rhiann Newborn at No. 2.
Elizabeth Profit and Theresa Van Zyl then clinched the go-ahead point for the Bears, jumping out to a 5-1 lead over A&M's Saska Gavrilovska and Domenica Gonzalez en route to a 6-2 victory at the No. 3 line.
"We were a little bit down after the doubles point, and credit to the girls, they all kind of perked up and we discussed how we have six excellent singles players and (the doubles point) was one of only seven points. I thought the girls responded well. We got a couple of quick first sets and a couple of tight first sets. The key to that is after you lose the doubles point, how do you respond. If you respond with a good start, that definitely can make life a little bit easier on you when you are trying to win four of the six matches."
A&M, which entered the contest 1-3 when dropping the doubles point, slowly began to turn the match in favor of the Aggies once singles began, easily winning the first set on two courts and narrowly pulling away for first-set wins on three of the other four courts.
Ines Deheza quickly tied the team score at 1-1, winning nine consecutive games to cap a 6-1, 6-0 victory over Gabriela Ferreira at the No. 6 line. Baylor, however, swiftly regained the lead as Shankle soon followed with a 6-1, 6-2 win over Pierson at No. 2.
Gonzalez was down a break early in her first set against Karina Traxler at No. 5, but A&M's only freshman eventually went up a break at 5-4 and then held serve to win the first set, 6-4. Gonzalez shut out Traxler in the second set, racing to a 6-0 victory to run her team-leading win streak to six while tying the team score for the second time, 2-2.
Bhosale gave the Aggies the lead for good, winning the only three-set contest of the day. Bhosale cruised to a 6-0 first-set victory over Generette at the No. 3 line, but Generette pulled away for a 6-4 second-set win to force a third set. Bhosale would get back on track, reeling off four consecutive games to close out a 6-1 third-set win to put the Aggies ahead, 3-2.
Gavrilovska, ranked 53rd in the nation in singles, would clinch the victory for A&M despite suffering an ankle injury late in the second set. The Serbian trailed Newborn, 5-3, in the opening set at No. 1 but rallied to win the next four games -- including two no-ad points -- to win the set, 7-5. Gavrilovska had a 5-3 lead in the second set and was trailing 30-15 when she went down with the ankle injury. After a medical timeout, Gavrilovska returned to play but dropped the game as Newborn got within 5-4. Gavrilovska, however, persevered by winning the next game, 6-4, to clinch the victory for the Aggies while also improving to 3-0 in dual matches.
"The wind affected our quality of play in the doubles and in the early part of singles," Weaver added. "We kind of toughed out the early stages of the singles, and then the wind kind of died down and I felt like we were able to raise our quality of play. The wind kind of died down halfway through, and I thought that was kind of a key for us turning it around."
Paalma fought off at least three set points in her opening set against Van Zyl and was leading the second set 4-1 when play was stopped. Van Zyl held a 6-5 lead and was serving for the first set but double faulted at 40-40 to even the set at 6-6 and force a tiebreaker. With the tiebreaker tied at 4-4, Van Zyl scored two points to go up, 6-4. Paalma, however, won the next four points to win the most tightly contested set of the entire match. Paalma carried the momentum into the second set, jumping out to the 4-1 lead, but the match went unfinished.
The Aggies, riding a four-match win streak following the win against the Bears, open SEC play at No. 61 Auburn and at No. 28 Alabama, Thursday and Saturday, March 3 and 5, respectively.
"It is nice to get the non-conference out of the way," Weaver said. "I think we survived just fine. We've gone 8-3, and the three losses were to three of the best teams in the nation, all three of the best indoor teams. I felt like we survived Round 1, and we are off to Round 2. The good news is we are progressing as a team. We are getting better and better every day. We seem to be getting healthier – hopefully Saska will be just fine – but it is nice to move on from the first stage. We passed, and now it is time to move on to the second phase."
A&M, which finished in a three-way tie with eventual national champion Vanderbilt and Georgia last year, is picked to finish fourth this season behind Florida, Vanderbilt and Georgia, according to a preseason vote of the league's head women's tennis coaches.
The SEC leads the nation with three teams in this week's Oracle/ITA Tennis Rankings top 10 and nine teams in the top 25: Vanderbilt (4), Georgia (5), Florida (7), LSU (12), Kentucky (15), South Carolina (17), Texas A&M (20), Mississippi (22), and Mississippi State (25). No other conference has more than four teams in the top 25.
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
#20 Texas A&M 4, #45 Baylor 2
George P. Mitchell Tennis Center
College Station, Texas
February 24, 2016
Singles
1. #53 Saska Gavrilovska (A&M) def. Rhiann Newborn (BU), 7-5, 6-4
2. Blaire Shankle (BU) def. Rachel Pierson (A&M), 6-1, 6-2
3. Rutuja Bhosale (A&M) def. Kiah Generette (BU), 6-0, 4-6, 6-1
4. Eva Paalma (A&M) vs. Theresa Van Zyl (BU), 7-6 (6), 4-1 unfinished
5. Domenica Gonzalez (A&M) def. Karina Traxler (BU), 6-4, 6-0
6. Ines Deheza (A&M) def. Gabriela Ferreira (BU), 6-1, 6-0
Doubles (Baylor wins the point)
1. #15 Generette/Shankle (BU) def. Paalma/Pierson (A&M), 6-1
2. #48 Bhosale/Mamalat (A&M) def. Newborn/Ferreira/ (BU), 6-2
3. Profit/Ferriera (BU) def. Gavrilovska/Gonzalez (A&M), 6-2
Order of finish
Doubles: 1, 2, 3
Singles: 6, 2, 5, 3, 1
Team records
Texas A&M: 8-3
Baylor: 4-6
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 anna 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
/ Women's Tennis
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