Thursday, March 17
Nashville, Tenn.
4:00 PM
Texas A&M
at
Vanderbilt
Photo by: Texas A&M Athletics
No. 14 Texas A&M Faces Defending National Champion Vanderbilt
Mar 16, 2016 | Women's Tennis
No. 14 Texas A&M (11-4, 3-1 SEC) at No. 7 Vanderbilt (8-4, 1-2 SEC)
Thursday, March 17, 4 p.m.
Currey Tennis Center, Nashville, Tennessee
SEC+ Video Stream | Live Stats
COLLEGE STATION, Texas – The 14-ranked Texas A&M women's tennis team faces defending national champion and seventh-ranked Vanderbilt on Thursday in a marquee match that is part of USTA's College MatchDay series. The match, which will be broadcast on the SEC Network + and available through WatchESPN and the ESPN app, begins at 4 p.m. at the Currey Tennis Center in Nashville.
"The entire group is looking forward to the match with Vanderbilt for a variety of reasons," Aggie head coach Mark Weaver said. "It's not every day that you get the opportunity to play against the defending national champions. They are loaded with some very good and well-coached tennis players. Having said that, we have a very strong squad of our own that is also playing some very good tennis. We have still yet to reach our peak, but I truly feel that we are getting better and better each and every day, which is all that one can really hope for throughout the course of the season.
"It is also a unique opportunity to be a part of one of the first women's tennis matches broadcasted by ESPN and the SEC network. It is a nice reward for the girls to be recognized for having a great start to the season and to be a part of such a highly anticipated match."
Texas A&M is riding a three-match win streak and has won seven of its last eight matches to improve to 11-4 overall and 3-1 in SEC matches only. Most recently, the Aggies opened their SEC home slate with a 5-2 victory over No. 28 Mississippi State on Friday, followed by a thrilling 4-3 win against No. 27 Ole Miss on Sunday.
In the victory against the Rebels, A&M trailed, 3-2, before senior Ines Deheza came back to defeat Allie Sanford, 4-6, 6-2, 6-0, to tie the score. Aggie freshman Domenica Gonzalez then pulled off a dramatic comeback after losing the first set and being down 2-5, match point in the second set against 73rd-ranked Tea Jandric. Gonzalez fought back to force a tiebreaker to decide the second set and went on to win the last match standing, 3-6, 7-6 (5), 6-2, to clinch A&M's 4-3 victory.
It was a team-leading eighth consecutive win for Gonzalez, who was named SEC Freshman Player of the Week for the first time in her career earlier today. The Ecuador native is 3-0 in SEC matches only and leads Texas A&M in singles wins with a 15-6 overall record, as well as a team-best 9-2 ledger in dual matches only.
All-American Saska Gavrilovska is the Aggies' top-ranked singles player at No. 40. The junior from Serbia has won her last three matches to improve to 14-4 overall, including 5-1 at the No. 1 line. Last weekend, Gavrilovska came from behind to defeat ninth-ranked Jasmine Lee of Mississippi State, 6-7 (4), 6-3, 6-4, to post the highest ranked singles victory by an A&M player in 2015-16. Gavrilovska also recorded a critical 6-2, 6-1 victory over 49th-ranked Arianne Hartono of Ole Miss.
Junior Rachel Pierson and sophomore Eva Paalma returned to the doubles rankings in the most recent ITA listing, jumping in at a team-high No. 41 following their 6-3 victory over Alabama's then-20th-ranked duo of Andie Daniell and Erin Routliffe on March 5. It marked the highest ranked victory by an A&M doubles team in 2015-16. The Aggie tandem also defeated 34th-ranked Madison Harrison and Georgiana Patrasc in A&M's victory against Mississippi State.
Junior Rutuja Bhosale and senior partner Anna Mamalat are No. 56 in the ITA doubles rankings and lead the Aggies with a 15-5 overall mark, including a 7-3 record in dual matches only.
The Aggies are a combined 48-21 in singles and 19-14 in doubles in dual matches only and have won the doubles point in eight of 15 matches.
Vanderbilt is looking to get back into the win column after falling to then-No. 12 South Carolina, 4-3, and then-No. 18 and defending SEC champion Florida, 4-2 last week on the road. The Commodores, 4-0 in home matches, are led by senior Frances Altick, who is 9-0 in singles this spring – including 3-0 in SEC matches only -- and ranked a team-high No. 16. Junior Sydney Campbell, who last year set the Vanderbilt record for singles victories with 36, is ranked 24th with a 17-9 overall record, including a 7-2 mark in dual match play, and sophomore Astra Sharma is No. 33 with a 7-1 record in dual matches.
In doubles, Campbell and Courtney Colton are ranked ninth, and Sharma and Ellie Yates are No. 61.
The Commodores are a combined 43-18 in singles matches this spring and 16-16 in doubles matches.
Although A&M is 3-7 in the all-time series against Vanderbilt, including 1-4 in matches played in Nashville, A&M is 3-0 against the Commodores since joining the SEC. Last year, 10th-ranked A&M upset eighth-ranked Vandy, 4-3, in College Station as then-39th-ranked Pierson, playing the No. 1 line, won a third-set tiebreaker against No. 7 Campbell in the last match standing to close out the Aggie victory.
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 anna MAM-ah-LOT
Eva Paalma A-va paul-ma
Thursday, March 17, 4 p.m.
Currey Tennis Center, Nashville, Tennessee
SEC+ Video Stream | Live Stats
COLLEGE STATION, Texas – The 14-ranked Texas A&M women's tennis team faces defending national champion and seventh-ranked Vanderbilt on Thursday in a marquee match that is part of USTA's College MatchDay series. The match, which will be broadcast on the SEC Network + and available through WatchESPN and the ESPN app, begins at 4 p.m. at the Currey Tennis Center in Nashville.
"The entire group is looking forward to the match with Vanderbilt for a variety of reasons," Aggie head coach Mark Weaver said. "It's not every day that you get the opportunity to play against the defending national champions. They are loaded with some very good and well-coached tennis players. Having said that, we have a very strong squad of our own that is also playing some very good tennis. We have still yet to reach our peak, but I truly feel that we are getting better and better each and every day, which is all that one can really hope for throughout the course of the season.
"It is also a unique opportunity to be a part of one of the first women's tennis matches broadcasted by ESPN and the SEC network. It is a nice reward for the girls to be recognized for having a great start to the season and to be a part of such a highly anticipated match."
Texas A&M is riding a three-match win streak and has won seven of its last eight matches to improve to 11-4 overall and 3-1 in SEC matches only. Most recently, the Aggies opened their SEC home slate with a 5-2 victory over No. 28 Mississippi State on Friday, followed by a thrilling 4-3 win against No. 27 Ole Miss on Sunday.
In the victory against the Rebels, A&M trailed, 3-2, before senior Ines Deheza came back to defeat Allie Sanford, 4-6, 6-2, 6-0, to tie the score. Aggie freshman Domenica Gonzalez then pulled off a dramatic comeback after losing the first set and being down 2-5, match point in the second set against 73rd-ranked Tea Jandric. Gonzalez fought back to force a tiebreaker to decide the second set and went on to win the last match standing, 3-6, 7-6 (5), 6-2, to clinch A&M's 4-3 victory.
It was a team-leading eighth consecutive win for Gonzalez, who was named SEC Freshman Player of the Week for the first time in her career earlier today. The Ecuador native is 3-0 in SEC matches only and leads Texas A&M in singles wins with a 15-6 overall record, as well as a team-best 9-2 ledger in dual matches only.
All-American Saska Gavrilovska is the Aggies' top-ranked singles player at No. 40. The junior from Serbia has won her last three matches to improve to 14-4 overall, including 5-1 at the No. 1 line. Last weekend, Gavrilovska came from behind to defeat ninth-ranked Jasmine Lee of Mississippi State, 6-7 (4), 6-3, 6-4, to post the highest ranked singles victory by an A&M player in 2015-16. Gavrilovska also recorded a critical 6-2, 6-1 victory over 49th-ranked Arianne Hartono of Ole Miss.
Junior Rachel Pierson and sophomore Eva Paalma returned to the doubles rankings in the most recent ITA listing, jumping in at a team-high No. 41 following their 6-3 victory over Alabama's then-20th-ranked duo of Andie Daniell and Erin Routliffe on March 5. It marked the highest ranked victory by an A&M doubles team in 2015-16. The Aggie tandem also defeated 34th-ranked Madison Harrison and Georgiana Patrasc in A&M's victory against Mississippi State.
Junior Rutuja Bhosale and senior partner Anna Mamalat are No. 56 in the ITA doubles rankings and lead the Aggies with a 15-5 overall mark, including a 7-3 record in dual matches only.
The Aggies are a combined 48-21 in singles and 19-14 in doubles in dual matches only and have won the doubles point in eight of 15 matches.
Vanderbilt is looking to get back into the win column after falling to then-No. 12 South Carolina, 4-3, and then-No. 18 and defending SEC champion Florida, 4-2 last week on the road. The Commodores, 4-0 in home matches, are led by senior Frances Altick, who is 9-0 in singles this spring – including 3-0 in SEC matches only -- and ranked a team-high No. 16. Junior Sydney Campbell, who last year set the Vanderbilt record for singles victories with 36, is ranked 24th with a 17-9 overall record, including a 7-2 mark in dual match play, and sophomore Astra Sharma is No. 33 with a 7-1 record in dual matches.
In doubles, Campbell and Courtney Colton are ranked ninth, and Sharma and Ellie Yates are No. 61.
The Commodores are a combined 43-18 in singles matches this spring and 16-16 in doubles matches.
Although A&M is 3-7 in the all-time series against Vanderbilt, including 1-4 in matches played in Nashville, A&M is 3-0 against the Commodores since joining the SEC. Last year, 10th-ranked A&M upset eighth-ranked Vandy, 4-3, in College Station as then-39th-ranked Pierson, playing the No. 1 line, won a third-set tiebreaker against No. 7 Campbell in the last match standing to close out the Aggie victory.
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 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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