Thursday, April 21
Baton Rouge, La.
10:00 AM
Texas A&M
vs
Alabama
Photo by: Rob Havens
Texas A&M to Face Alabama in SEC Championship Second Round
Apr 20, 2016 | Women's Tennis
No. 18 Texas A&M (15-9, 7-6 SEC) vs. No. 61 Alabama (5-17, 0-13 SEC)SEC Women's Tennis Championship (Second Round)
Thursday, April 21, 10 a.m.
LSU Tennis Complex, Baton Rouge, Louisiana
Tournament Central | Live Stats
BATON ROUGE, La. – Texas A&M will face Alabama in the second round of the SEC Women's Tennis Championship, Thursday at 10 a.m. at the LSU Tennis Complex.
The 18th-ranked Aggies (15-9, 7-6 SEC) are the No. 6 seed in the 14-team tournament field and received a first-round bye. Alabama (5-17, 0-13 SEC) is the No. 14 seed and advanced to the second round by defeating No. 11 seed Missouri, 4-0, today in the opening round.
The A&M-Alabama winner advances to the quarterfinals to take on No. 3 seed Georgia on Friday at 10 a.m.
"We are looking forward to the competing in the SEC tournament," A&M first-year head coach Mark Weaver said. "The draw is stacked from top to bottom, and there is nowhere to hide. Our girls have been playing some excellent tennis in the recent weeks and hopefully we can continue that level of play into tomorrow.
"Alabama has a good team that has lost a ton of 4-3 matches, so their record is a bit deceiving. We will definitely need to be ready to play some good tennis against them."
In the regular season, A&M defeated Alabama, 4-1, on March 5 in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. The Aggies won the first two doubles matches to be completed and then got straight-set singles victories from Saska Gavrilovska, Rutuja Bhosale and Ines Deheza at the Nos. 1, 3 and 6 lines to clinch the victory. It was A&M's first-ever victory against the Crimson Tide in Tuscaloosa, and the win evened the all-time series at 4-4.
The match on Thursday will mark the second time the teams will meet at the SEC Tennis Championship. Alabama won the only other tournament meeting, a 4-2 decision over the Maroon and White in the semifinals of the 2014 championship in Columbia, Missouri.
Gavrilovska leads the Aggies with a career-high No. 25 singles ranking according to the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA). The junior from Serbia is 18-9 overall, including 10-6 in dual matches, and she went 7-6 in SEC matches, all at the No. 1 line.
Bhosale, who enters the tournament riding a team-best four-match win streak in singles, including three against ranked opponents, is No. 74 in the ITA singles rankings, her highest showing since a No. 50 listing in the 2015 fall preseason rankings. With a 19-11 overall record, Bhosale has the most wins on the team. The junior from India also leads in dual matches only with a 13-7 record.
Senior Ines Deheza led the team in wins in SEC matches only with an 8-3 record, including 4-1 at the No. 4 line and 3-1 at No. 5.
In doubles, Eva Paalma and Rachel Pierson check in at team-high No. 31 in the ITA doubles rankings after a season-high No. 30 showing last week. Bhosale and Anna Mamalat are No. 72 in doubles and enter the tournament riding a team-best six-match win streak. They went 7-1 in SEC matches only and lead the Aggies with a 21-5 overall record, including a 13-3 ledger in dual matches only.
Alabama, whose win against Missouri snapped a 14-match losing skid which included six 4-3 losses in SEC matches, is led by junior Erin Routliffe and freshman Andie Daniell, who are ranked 27th and 49th, respectively, in singles. Daniell leads the Tide with a 20-13 overall record, but she is 8-10 in dual matches, including 4-9 in SEC matches only. Routliffe, 17-11 overall, is a team-best 13-6 in dual matches only, including 7-0 at the No. 2 line. She went a team-leading 9-4 in SEC matches.
In doubles, Daniell and Routliffe are ranked a team-high No. 64 in the nation with a 14-7 overall record. Routliffe, the two-time defending NCAA doubles champion with Maya Jansen, also is ranked 78th with Natalia Maynetto.
At the 2015 SEC Championship in Columbia, South Carolina, A&M received a double bye as the No. 3 seed and fell to No. 6 seed LSU, 4-3, in the quarterfinals. Alabama, the No. 5 seed, also was eliminated in the quarterfinals after falling to eventual tournament champion and No. 4 seed Vanderbilt, 4-0.
Texas A&M SEC Tennis Championship History
Texas A&M All-Time Championship Seeds:
Seed Total Year
No. 2 1 2013
No. 3 1 2015
No. 5 1 2014
No. 6 1 2016
Texas A&M All-Time Championship Finishes:
Semifinals (2) 2013, 2014
Quarterfinals (1) 2015
Texas A&M All-Time Championship Series Records:
Alabama 0-1
Auburn 1-0
Florida 1-1
LSU 0-1
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, April 21, 10 a.m.
LSU Tennis Complex, Baton Rouge, Louisiana
Tournament Central | Live Stats
BATON ROUGE, La. – Texas A&M will face Alabama in the second round of the SEC Women's Tennis Championship, Thursday at 10 a.m. at the LSU Tennis Complex.
The 18th-ranked Aggies (15-9, 7-6 SEC) are the No. 6 seed in the 14-team tournament field and received a first-round bye. Alabama (5-17, 0-13 SEC) is the No. 14 seed and advanced to the second round by defeating No. 11 seed Missouri, 4-0, today in the opening round.
The A&M-Alabama winner advances to the quarterfinals to take on No. 3 seed Georgia on Friday at 10 a.m.
"We are looking forward to the competing in the SEC tournament," A&M first-year head coach Mark Weaver said. "The draw is stacked from top to bottom, and there is nowhere to hide. Our girls have been playing some excellent tennis in the recent weeks and hopefully we can continue that level of play into tomorrow.
"Alabama has a good team that has lost a ton of 4-3 matches, so their record is a bit deceiving. We will definitely need to be ready to play some good tennis against them."
In the regular season, A&M defeated Alabama, 4-1, on March 5 in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. The Aggies won the first two doubles matches to be completed and then got straight-set singles victories from Saska Gavrilovska, Rutuja Bhosale and Ines Deheza at the Nos. 1, 3 and 6 lines to clinch the victory. It was A&M's first-ever victory against the Crimson Tide in Tuscaloosa, and the win evened the all-time series at 4-4.
The match on Thursday will mark the second time the teams will meet at the SEC Tennis Championship. Alabama won the only other tournament meeting, a 4-2 decision over the Maroon and White in the semifinals of the 2014 championship in Columbia, Missouri.
Gavrilovska leads the Aggies with a career-high No. 25 singles ranking according to the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA). The junior from Serbia is 18-9 overall, including 10-6 in dual matches, and she went 7-6 in SEC matches, all at the No. 1 line.
Bhosale, who enters the tournament riding a team-best four-match win streak in singles, including three against ranked opponents, is No. 74 in the ITA singles rankings, her highest showing since a No. 50 listing in the 2015 fall preseason rankings. With a 19-11 overall record, Bhosale has the most wins on the team. The junior from India also leads in dual matches only with a 13-7 record.
Senior Ines Deheza led the team in wins in SEC matches only with an 8-3 record, including 4-1 at the No. 4 line and 3-1 at No. 5.
In doubles, Eva Paalma and Rachel Pierson check in at team-high No. 31 in the ITA doubles rankings after a season-high No. 30 showing last week. Bhosale and Anna Mamalat are No. 72 in doubles and enter the tournament riding a team-best six-match win streak. They went 7-1 in SEC matches only and lead the Aggies with a 21-5 overall record, including a 13-3 ledger in dual matches only.
Alabama, whose win against Missouri snapped a 14-match losing skid which included six 4-3 losses in SEC matches, is led by junior Erin Routliffe and freshman Andie Daniell, who are ranked 27th and 49th, respectively, in singles. Daniell leads the Tide with a 20-13 overall record, but she is 8-10 in dual matches, including 4-9 in SEC matches only. Routliffe, 17-11 overall, is a team-best 13-6 in dual matches only, including 7-0 at the No. 2 line. She went a team-leading 9-4 in SEC matches.
In doubles, Daniell and Routliffe are ranked a team-high No. 64 in the nation with a 14-7 overall record. Routliffe, the two-time defending NCAA doubles champion with Maya Jansen, also is ranked 78th with Natalia Maynetto.
At the 2015 SEC Championship in Columbia, South Carolina, A&M received a double bye as the No. 3 seed and fell to No. 6 seed LSU, 4-3, in the quarterfinals. Alabama, the No. 5 seed, also was eliminated in the quarterfinals after falling to eventual tournament champion and No. 4 seed Vanderbilt, 4-0.
Texas A&M SEC Tennis Championship History
Texas A&M All-Time Championship Seeds:
Seed Total Year
No. 2 1 2013
No. 3 1 2015
No. 5 1 2014
No. 6 1 2016
Texas A&M All-Time Championship Finishes:
Semifinals (2) 2013, 2014
Quarterfinals (1) 2015
Texas A&M All-Time Championship Series Records:
Alabama 0-1
Auburn 1-0
Florida 1-1
LSU 0-1
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
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