Saturday, May 14
Palo Alto, Calif.
2:00 PM
Texas A&M
3
vs
4
Stanford
Photo by: Texas A&M Athletics
Texas A&M’s Season Comes to an End as Aggies Fall to Stanford, 4-3
May 14, 2016 | Women's Tennis
STANFORD, Calif. – No. 19 Texas A&M battled No. 15 Stanford to the bitter end before the Cardinal narrowly won the third set of the last match standing to nip the Aggies, 4-3, in the second round of the NCAA Division I Women's Tennis Championship today at Taube Family Tennis Stadium.
Stanford (17-5), which had eked out a dramatic 4-3 victory against the Aggies in the 2013 NCAA national championship match in the most recent meeting between the two teams, advances to the round of 16 and will face Southeastern Conference-champion Florida in Tulsa, Oklahoma. The Aggies end their season 17-11.
"Today was what college athletics is all about," Texas A&M first-year head coach Mark Weaver said. "It was a high-energy college tennis match that came down to the wire. With any sort of luck or one point happens to go our way, we win that match today."
The match came down to No. 2 singles where Texas A&M's 69th-ranked Rutuja Bhosale had won the first set against 46th-ranked Taylor Davidson, 6-4. Davidson, who entered the match having played much of the season at the No. 1 line, recovered and jumped out to a 4-1 lead in the second set en route to taking the frame, 6-2, to force a third set. The Cardinal then took an apparent commanding 4-0 lead in the final set before Bhosale charged back, winning four consecutive games to knot the score at 4-4. Davidson then won a no-ad point to break Bhosale and take a 5-4 lead and then held serve to close out the 6-4 third-set, clinching the victory for the Cardinal.
The Aggies, making an NCAA second round appearance for the fourth consecutive year, were impressive in doubles, posting two convincing wins at the top of the lineup to take a 1-0 lead. Bhosale and Anna Mamalat, ranked 75th in the nation, were first off after recording their highest ranked win of the season. After jumping out to a 5-0 lead against 31st-ranked Melissa Lord and Carol Zhao at the No. 2 line, the Texas A&M pair went on to win, 6-1, to tally their ninth consecutive victory.
Texas A&M's Eva Paalma and Rachel Pierson soon followed and notched the highest ranked win of their Aggie careers by knocking off fifth-ranked Davidson and Caroline Doyle, 6-2, at No. 1, to clinch the doubles point and put the Aggies up, 1-0, heading into singles play.
Stanford's Krista Hardebeck and Caroline Lampl were up a break at 4-3 against Texas A&M's Ines Deheza and Saska Gavrilovska at No. 3 when the doubles point was decided, and the match was stopped.
"We came out on fire in the doubles and played perhaps the best doubles we have played all year," Weaver said. "Stanford has always been known for playing great doubles, and we really did a great job of dictating the play and were controlling the points."
In singles, Texas A&M continued to keep the heat on the Cardinal, winning the first set on three courts and narrowly missing out on winning a fourth after falling in a tiebreaker.
The Cardinal would even the score at 1-1 as Lord posted a 6-2, 6-1 win over Paalma at No. 6. Stanford then took a 2-1 lead when 100th-ranked Hardebeck pulled away for a 6-2, 6-4 victory over Deheza at No. 4.
Pierson tied the score at 2-2, posting her team-leading sixth consecutive victory – all in straight sets – with a 6-4, 6-1 win against 67th-ranked Doyle at No. 3. Pierson broke Doyle to close out the first set and carried the momentum into the second, jumping out to a 3-0 lead before Doyle won her only game of the set.
Stanford took a 3-2 lead after Cardinal freshman Lampl fought off Aggie freshman Domenica Gonzalez at No. 5. Gonzalez had overcome a 4-2 first-set deficit to take a 5-4 lead, but Lampl rallied, and the set would be determined by a tiebreaker. Gonzalez scored the first two points of the tiebreaker, but Lampl came back to win seven of the next nine points to win the tiebreaker, 7-4. With the second set tied at 1-1, Lampl reeled off five consecutive games to win the set and the match and return the lead to the Cardinal.
Gavrilovska knotted the score for a third time with a thrilling 7-6 (9), 6-2 win over 25th-ranked Zhao, who is currently No. 320 in the world rankings. Gavrilovska had built a 5-2 first-set lead when Zhao rallied and tied the score at 5-5. Both players then held serve to force a tiebreaker.
Gavrilovska jumped out to a seemingly comfortable 6-0 lead in the tiebreaker, but Zhao countered, scoring the next six points to even the score. The marathon tiebreaker then became a back-and-forth affair before Gavrilovska pulled away to win, 11-9.
Zhao held her only lead of the second set at 2-1 before Gavrilovska won the next five games to close out the victory, pulling Texas A&M into a 3-3 tie and forcing the match to come down to the No. 2 line, where Davidson had established a 3-0 lead in the third set.
"Saska had perhaps her best win of the year by beating Zhao," Weaver summarized. "Zhao has been competing in pro events for most of the college season and reached a career high of 250 in the WTA. Rachel had a very definitive win against a good, tricky lefty in Caroline Doyle, and Rutuja had a great comeback after being down 4-0 in the third and had game points to go up 5-4, and if we get that game I really like our chances to close it out.
"It is definitely a lot to take in for a first year head coach to lose a heartbreaker like that, but the encouraging thing is we have done a lot of good things this year to get us in a position to win a match of this magnitude against the most storied program in women's tennis, playing them on their home courts in the NCAA tournament. Our team really turned it on towards the end of the season, and that is ultimately what you want accomplished going into the end of the season. We can end the season with our heads held high."
The match marked the final collegiate match for seniors Mamalat and Deheza, who were both freshman and played key roles in the Aggies' historic 2013 NCAA tournament run that led to the match-up against the Cardinal in the championship 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.
#15 Stanford 4, #19 Texas A&M 3
NCAA Championship, Second Round
Taube Family Tennis Stadium, Stanford, Calif.
Singles
1. #24 Saska Gavrilovska (A&M) def. #25 Carol Zhao (STAN), 7-6 (9), 6-2
2. #46 Taylor Davidson (STAN) def. #69 Rutuja Bhosale (A&M), 4-6, 6-2, 6-4
3. Rachel Pierson (A&M) def. #67 Caroline Doyle (STAN), 6-4, 6-1
4. #100 Krista Hardebeck (STAN) def. Ines Deheza (A&M), 6-2, 6-4
5. Caroline Lampl (STAN) def. Domenica Gonzalez (A&M), 7-6 (4), 6-1
6. Melissa Lord (STAN) def. Eva Paalma (A&M), 6-2, 6-1
Doubles (A&M wins the point)
1. #35 Paalma/Pierson (A&M) def. Davidson/Doyle (STAN), 6-2
2. #75 Bhosale/Anna Mamalat (A&M) def. Lord/Zhao (STAN), 6-1
3. Deheza/Gavrilovska (A&M) vs. Hardebeck/Lampl (STAN), 3-4 unfinished
Order of finish
Doubles: 2, 1
Singles: 6, 4, 3, 5, 1, 2
Team records:
Texas A&M: 17-11
Stanford: 17-5
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
Stanford (17-5), which had eked out a dramatic 4-3 victory against the Aggies in the 2013 NCAA national championship match in the most recent meeting between the two teams, advances to the round of 16 and will face Southeastern Conference-champion Florida in Tulsa, Oklahoma. The Aggies end their season 17-11.
"Today was what college athletics is all about," Texas A&M first-year head coach Mark Weaver said. "It was a high-energy college tennis match that came down to the wire. With any sort of luck or one point happens to go our way, we win that match today."
The match came down to No. 2 singles where Texas A&M's 69th-ranked Rutuja Bhosale had won the first set against 46th-ranked Taylor Davidson, 6-4. Davidson, who entered the match having played much of the season at the No. 1 line, recovered and jumped out to a 4-1 lead in the second set en route to taking the frame, 6-2, to force a third set. The Cardinal then took an apparent commanding 4-0 lead in the final set before Bhosale charged back, winning four consecutive games to knot the score at 4-4. Davidson then won a no-ad point to break Bhosale and take a 5-4 lead and then held serve to close out the 6-4 third-set, clinching the victory for the Cardinal.
The Aggies, making an NCAA second round appearance for the fourth consecutive year, were impressive in doubles, posting two convincing wins at the top of the lineup to take a 1-0 lead. Bhosale and Anna Mamalat, ranked 75th in the nation, were first off after recording their highest ranked win of the season. After jumping out to a 5-0 lead against 31st-ranked Melissa Lord and Carol Zhao at the No. 2 line, the Texas A&M pair went on to win, 6-1, to tally their ninth consecutive victory.
Texas A&M's Eva Paalma and Rachel Pierson soon followed and notched the highest ranked win of their Aggie careers by knocking off fifth-ranked Davidson and Caroline Doyle, 6-2, at No. 1, to clinch the doubles point and put the Aggies up, 1-0, heading into singles play.
Stanford's Krista Hardebeck and Caroline Lampl were up a break at 4-3 against Texas A&M's Ines Deheza and Saska Gavrilovska at No. 3 when the doubles point was decided, and the match was stopped.
"We came out on fire in the doubles and played perhaps the best doubles we have played all year," Weaver said. "Stanford has always been known for playing great doubles, and we really did a great job of dictating the play and were controlling the points."
In singles, Texas A&M continued to keep the heat on the Cardinal, winning the first set on three courts and narrowly missing out on winning a fourth after falling in a tiebreaker.
The Cardinal would even the score at 1-1 as Lord posted a 6-2, 6-1 win over Paalma at No. 6. Stanford then took a 2-1 lead when 100th-ranked Hardebeck pulled away for a 6-2, 6-4 victory over Deheza at No. 4.
Pierson tied the score at 2-2, posting her team-leading sixth consecutive victory – all in straight sets – with a 6-4, 6-1 win against 67th-ranked Doyle at No. 3. Pierson broke Doyle to close out the first set and carried the momentum into the second, jumping out to a 3-0 lead before Doyle won her only game of the set.
Stanford took a 3-2 lead after Cardinal freshman Lampl fought off Aggie freshman Domenica Gonzalez at No. 5. Gonzalez had overcome a 4-2 first-set deficit to take a 5-4 lead, but Lampl rallied, and the set would be determined by a tiebreaker. Gonzalez scored the first two points of the tiebreaker, but Lampl came back to win seven of the next nine points to win the tiebreaker, 7-4. With the second set tied at 1-1, Lampl reeled off five consecutive games to win the set and the match and return the lead to the Cardinal.
Gavrilovska knotted the score for a third time with a thrilling 7-6 (9), 6-2 win over 25th-ranked Zhao, who is currently No. 320 in the world rankings. Gavrilovska had built a 5-2 first-set lead when Zhao rallied and tied the score at 5-5. Both players then held serve to force a tiebreaker.
Gavrilovska jumped out to a seemingly comfortable 6-0 lead in the tiebreaker, but Zhao countered, scoring the next six points to even the score. The marathon tiebreaker then became a back-and-forth affair before Gavrilovska pulled away to win, 11-9.
Zhao held her only lead of the second set at 2-1 before Gavrilovska won the next five games to close out the victory, pulling Texas A&M into a 3-3 tie and forcing the match to come down to the No. 2 line, where Davidson had established a 3-0 lead in the third set.
"Saska had perhaps her best win of the year by beating Zhao," Weaver summarized. "Zhao has been competing in pro events for most of the college season and reached a career high of 250 in the WTA. Rachel had a very definitive win against a good, tricky lefty in Caroline Doyle, and Rutuja had a great comeback after being down 4-0 in the third and had game points to go up 5-4, and if we get that game I really like our chances to close it out.
"It is definitely a lot to take in for a first year head coach to lose a heartbreaker like that, but the encouraging thing is we have done a lot of good things this year to get us in a position to win a match of this magnitude against the most storied program in women's tennis, playing them on their home courts in the NCAA tournament. Our team really turned it on towards the end of the season, and that is ultimately what you want accomplished going into the end of the season. We can end the season with our heads held high."
The match marked the final collegiate match for seniors Mamalat and Deheza, who were both freshman and played key roles in the Aggies' historic 2013 NCAA tournament run that led to the match-up against the Cardinal in the championship 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.
#15 Stanford 4, #19 Texas A&M 3
NCAA Championship, Second Round
Taube Family Tennis Stadium, Stanford, Calif.
Singles
1. #24 Saska Gavrilovska (A&M) def. #25 Carol Zhao (STAN), 7-6 (9), 6-2
2. #46 Taylor Davidson (STAN) def. #69 Rutuja Bhosale (A&M), 4-6, 6-2, 6-4
3. Rachel Pierson (A&M) def. #67 Caroline Doyle (STAN), 6-4, 6-1
4. #100 Krista Hardebeck (STAN) def. Ines Deheza (A&M), 6-2, 6-4
5. Caroline Lampl (STAN) def. Domenica Gonzalez (A&M), 7-6 (4), 6-1
6. Melissa Lord (STAN) def. Eva Paalma (A&M), 6-2, 6-1
Doubles (A&M wins the point)
1. #35 Paalma/Pierson (A&M) def. Davidson/Doyle (STAN), 6-2
2. #75 Bhosale/Anna Mamalat (A&M) def. Lord/Zhao (STAN), 6-1
3. Deheza/Gavrilovska (A&M) vs. Hardebeck/Lampl (STAN), 3-4 unfinished
Order of finish
Doubles: 2, 1
Singles: 6, 4, 3, 5, 1, 2
Team records:
Texas A&M: 17-11
Stanford: 17-5
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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