Sunday, April 10
College Station
12:00 PM
Texas A&M
2
vs
5
Georgia
Photo by: Texas A&M Athletics
No. 4 Georgia holds off No. 18 Texas A&M, 5-2
Apr 10, 2016 | Women's Tennis
COLLEGE STATION, Texas – No. 18 Texas A&M recorded one straight-set victory and pushed three other singles matches to three sets, but fourth-ranked Georgia managed to hold off the Aggies, 5-2, today at the George P. Mitchell Tennis Center.
The Aggies fall to 14-9, including 6-6 in Southeastern Conference matches. Georgia, meanwhile, keeps its title hopes alive, as the Bulldogs improve to 17-2 overall and 10-1 in SEC matches heading into a meeting against league-leading and defending SEC-champion Florida later this week in Athens, Georgia.
The Bulldogs, who also improved to 11-0 in the all-time series against the Aggies, won the doubles point as Caroline Brinson and Laura Patterson raced to a 6-0 victory over Ines Deheza and Domenica Gonzalez at the No. 3 line. Georgia's 23rd-ranked duo of Mariana Gould and Ellen Perez then clinched the point for the Bulldogs, winning three consecutive games to pull away from A&M's 32nd-ranked Eva Paalma and Eva Pierson at No. 1 to win, 6-3.
A&M's Rutuja Bhosale and Anna Mamalat, ranked 61st in the nation, held a 4-2 lead over 80th-ranked Silvia Garcia and Kennedy Shaffer at the No. 2 line when play was stopped.
Pierson quickly evened the team score at 1-1 at the start of singles, cruising to a 6-2, 6-1 victory over 92nd-ranked Garcia at the No. 3 line. It would be another 30 minutes before Patterson put the Bulldogs back on top, fighting off Paalma, 7-5, 6-4, at No. 6.
Three of the remaining four matches would be back-and-forth affairs that would have to be settled with a third set, while the other one was a two-setter decided by a tiebreaker.
In a meeting of ranked opponents, No. 6 Perez battled back to topple 35th-ranked Saska Gavrilovska, 4-6, 6-3, 6-2, at Court 1 to put Georgia ahead, 3-1.
Brinson, ranked 27th, downed Deheza, 6-3, in the opening set at No. 4 and then jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the second set. Deheza, who entered the match riding a team-best four-match win streak, managed to get the set back on serve at 3-3, and each player then held to force the set to be decided by a tiebreaker. Brinson jumped out to a 5-0 lead in the tiebreaker and was up 6-1, before Deheza rallied to get within 6-5. Brinson then won the next point to win the match, 6-3, 7-6 (5), to put the Bulldogs ahead, 4-1, and clinch the team victory.
Gould scored Georgia's final point with a win over Gonzalez at No. 5. Gould won the first set, 6-4, but Gonzalez evened the match with a 6-3 second-set victory. Gonzalez rode the momentum into the third set, jumping out to a 5-1 lead before Gould stormed back, winning six consecutive games to win the final set, 7-5, putting Georgia up, 5-1.
Bhosale capped the match by scoring the Aggies' final point. After dropping her first set, 6-4, to 51st-ranked Shaffer at No. 2, Bhosale won four consecutive games to close out a 6-2 second-set win. The third set was on serve until Bhosale broke Shaffer to take a 5-4 lead. Bhosale then held serve to complete the 6-4 victory.
A&M plays its final match of the regular season and celebrates Senior Day on Saturday, April 16 as the Aggies play host to 16th-ranked LSU. First serve is at 12 p.m. at the Mitchell Tennis Center, and seniors Ines Deheza, Stefania Hristov and Anna Mamalat will be honored prior to the match.
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 Head Coach Mark Weaver quotes:
His general thoughts on the match…
"Today was a great opportunity for us. I thought we played some really good tennis. The very encouraging thing is we've come a long ways with our tennis. Earlier on in the season, we were playing some of these really, really high-ranked teams and we really weren't that competitive. The positive side was that we played very good tennis. Every single court out there with maybe the exception of No. 3 doubles, we had chances to win or were right in the mix of things. We were up in a lot of the matches, had a few set points, and we probably just didn't capitalize on our opportunities.
"Saying they slipped away is way too harsh. Georgia is a very good team, and they tended to outplay us on some of those points. It looked for a while, there was hardly a match that we didn't have a shot at winning, so that is the encouraging side. The disappointing side is that it is a match I wouldn't say we should have won but we definitely could have won. It was a high-quality match."
On closing out the regular season against LSU on Saturday…
"That was one of the big talks in the lock room is don't let this match get us down, because we are playing some very good tennis right now. We are definitely headed in the right direction. LSU definitely is a very strong team, but they are not at the level of Georgia. I felt like today was a match that could have gone either way. I felt like if we can play this level of tennis, we are going to be in great shape for LSU. It will be Senior Day, and I know the girls will come out with a lot of pride and a lot of energy on that day."
#4 Georgia 5, #18 Texas A&M 2
George P. Mitchell Tennis Center
College Station, Texas
April 10, 2016
Singles
1. #6 Ellen Perez (UGA) def. #35 Saska Gavrilovska (A&M), 4-6, 6-3, 6-2
2. Rutuja Bhosale (A&M) def. #51 Kennedy Shaffer (UGA), 4-6, 6-2, 6-4
3. Rachel Pierson (A&M) def. #92 Silvia Garcia (UGA), 6-2, 6-1
4. #27 Caroline Brinson (UGA) def. Ines Deheza (A&M), 6-3, 7-6 (5)
5. Mariana Gould (UGA) vs. Domenica Gonzalez (A&M), 6-4, 3-6, 7-5
6. Laura Patterson (UGA) def. Eva Paalma (A&M), 7-5, 6-4
Doubles (UGA wins the point)
1. #23 Gould/Perez (UGA) def. #32 Paalma/Pierson (A&M), 6-3
2. #61 Bhosale/Anna Mamalat (A&M) vs. #80 Garcia/Shaffer (UGA), 4-2 unfinished
3. Brinson/Patterson (UGA) def. Deheza/Gonzalez (A&M), 6-0
Order of finish
Singles: 3, 6, 1, 4, 5, 2
Doubles: 3, 1
Team records:
Texas A&M: 14-9, 6-6 SEC
Georgia: 17-2, 10-1 SEC
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
The Aggies fall to 14-9, including 6-6 in Southeastern Conference matches. Georgia, meanwhile, keeps its title hopes alive, as the Bulldogs improve to 17-2 overall and 10-1 in SEC matches heading into a meeting against league-leading and defending SEC-champion Florida later this week in Athens, Georgia.
The Bulldogs, who also improved to 11-0 in the all-time series against the Aggies, won the doubles point as Caroline Brinson and Laura Patterson raced to a 6-0 victory over Ines Deheza and Domenica Gonzalez at the No. 3 line. Georgia's 23rd-ranked duo of Mariana Gould and Ellen Perez then clinched the point for the Bulldogs, winning three consecutive games to pull away from A&M's 32nd-ranked Eva Paalma and Eva Pierson at No. 1 to win, 6-3.
A&M's Rutuja Bhosale and Anna Mamalat, ranked 61st in the nation, held a 4-2 lead over 80th-ranked Silvia Garcia and Kennedy Shaffer at the No. 2 line when play was stopped.
Pierson quickly evened the team score at 1-1 at the start of singles, cruising to a 6-2, 6-1 victory over 92nd-ranked Garcia at the No. 3 line. It would be another 30 minutes before Patterson put the Bulldogs back on top, fighting off Paalma, 7-5, 6-4, at No. 6.
Three of the remaining four matches would be back-and-forth affairs that would have to be settled with a third set, while the other one was a two-setter decided by a tiebreaker.
In a meeting of ranked opponents, No. 6 Perez battled back to topple 35th-ranked Saska Gavrilovska, 4-6, 6-3, 6-2, at Court 1 to put Georgia ahead, 3-1.
Brinson, ranked 27th, downed Deheza, 6-3, in the opening set at No. 4 and then jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the second set. Deheza, who entered the match riding a team-best four-match win streak, managed to get the set back on serve at 3-3, and each player then held to force the set to be decided by a tiebreaker. Brinson jumped out to a 5-0 lead in the tiebreaker and was up 6-1, before Deheza rallied to get within 6-5. Brinson then won the next point to win the match, 6-3, 7-6 (5), to put the Bulldogs ahead, 4-1, and clinch the team victory.
Gould scored Georgia's final point with a win over Gonzalez at No. 5. Gould won the first set, 6-4, but Gonzalez evened the match with a 6-3 second-set victory. Gonzalez rode the momentum into the third set, jumping out to a 5-1 lead before Gould stormed back, winning six consecutive games to win the final set, 7-5, putting Georgia up, 5-1.
Bhosale capped the match by scoring the Aggies' final point. After dropping her first set, 6-4, to 51st-ranked Shaffer at No. 2, Bhosale won four consecutive games to close out a 6-2 second-set win. The third set was on serve until Bhosale broke Shaffer to take a 5-4 lead. Bhosale then held serve to complete the 6-4 victory.
A&M plays its final match of the regular season and celebrates Senior Day on Saturday, April 16 as the Aggies play host to 16th-ranked LSU. First serve is at 12 p.m. at the Mitchell Tennis Center, and seniors Ines Deheza, Stefania Hristov and Anna Mamalat will be honored prior to the match.
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 Head Coach Mark Weaver quotes:
His general thoughts on the match…
"Today was a great opportunity for us. I thought we played some really good tennis. The very encouraging thing is we've come a long ways with our tennis. Earlier on in the season, we were playing some of these really, really high-ranked teams and we really weren't that competitive. The positive side was that we played very good tennis. Every single court out there with maybe the exception of No. 3 doubles, we had chances to win or were right in the mix of things. We were up in a lot of the matches, had a few set points, and we probably just didn't capitalize on our opportunities.
"Saying they slipped away is way too harsh. Georgia is a very good team, and they tended to outplay us on some of those points. It looked for a while, there was hardly a match that we didn't have a shot at winning, so that is the encouraging side. The disappointing side is that it is a match I wouldn't say we should have won but we definitely could have won. It was a high-quality match."
On closing out the regular season against LSU on Saturday…
"That was one of the big talks in the lock room is don't let this match get us down, because we are playing some very good tennis right now. We are definitely headed in the right direction. LSU definitely is a very strong team, but they are not at the level of Georgia. I felt like today was a match that could have gone either way. I felt like if we can play this level of tennis, we are going to be in great shape for LSU. It will be Senior Day, and I know the girls will come out with a lot of pride and a lot of energy on that day."
#4 Georgia 5, #18 Texas A&M 2
George P. Mitchell Tennis Center
College Station, Texas
April 10, 2016
Singles
1. #6 Ellen Perez (UGA) def. #35 Saska Gavrilovska (A&M), 4-6, 6-3, 6-2
2. Rutuja Bhosale (A&M) def. #51 Kennedy Shaffer (UGA), 4-6, 6-2, 6-4
3. Rachel Pierson (A&M) def. #92 Silvia Garcia (UGA), 6-2, 6-1
4. #27 Caroline Brinson (UGA) def. Ines Deheza (A&M), 6-3, 7-6 (5)
5. Mariana Gould (UGA) vs. Domenica Gonzalez (A&M), 6-4, 3-6, 7-5
6. Laura Patterson (UGA) def. Eva Paalma (A&M), 7-5, 6-4
Doubles (UGA wins the point)
1. #23 Gould/Perez (UGA) def. #32 Paalma/Pierson (A&M), 6-3
2. #61 Bhosale/Anna Mamalat (A&M) vs. #80 Garcia/Shaffer (UGA), 4-2 unfinished
3. Brinson/Patterson (UGA) def. Deheza/Gonzalez (A&M), 6-0
Order of finish
Singles: 3, 6, 1, 4, 5, 2
Doubles: 3, 1
Team records:
Texas A&M: 14-9, 6-6 SEC
Georgia: 17-2, 10-1 SEC
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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