COLLEGE STATION, Texas – The Texas A&M women's tennis team officially reports for its first practice of the year today at the George P. Mitchell Tennis Center in preparation of its 2017 season campaign.
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"This year's roster brings a wealth of experience to the table with a group that has shown that they can perform at the highest of levels," second-year head coach Mark Weaver said. "This is a team that has the ability to have a very successful year if we can progress over the course of the next four months or so. We will have a lot of added depth to our lineup in both the singles and the doubles from the past season, and I am both eager and excited to get things going and see how well we shape out in the early part of the season."
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The Aggies, No. 21 in the preseason 2017 Oracle/ITA national team rankings, return six players from last year's team that went 17-11 and finished with a No. 19 national ranking after advancing to the second round of the NCAA Championship before falling to eventual national champion Stanford, 4-3. Highlighting the returners are seniors Saska Gavrilovska and Rutuja Bhosale, who were members of the 2016 All-SEC first and second teams, respectively, as well as senior Rachel Pierson, who is No. 85 in the 2017 ITA preseason singles rankings. Also returning are senior Mason Strickland, junior Eva Paalma and sophomore Domenica Gonzalez, as well as fifth-year senior Stefania Hristov, who redshirted last season after having shoulder surgery.
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Weaver also welcomes junior transfers Tina Bokhua, the 2015 ITA Mountain Region Rookie of the Year while at Colorado and ranked No. 57 in the 2017 preseason singles rankings, and Macarena Olivares, a two-time All-American in both singles and doubles at ASA College in Miami. Sophomore Margo Taylor, a transfer from Tennessee, rounds out the roster.
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The Aggies open the 2017 season with two home matches, hosting Stephen F. Austin on Saturday, Jan. 21 and Louisiana Tech on Wednesday, Jan. 25, before competing in the ITA Kick-Off Weekend at Miami on Jan. 28-29 for a chance to qualify for the ITA National Team Indoor Championship.
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"I look forward to the process of getting our team prepared for our opening home matches against SFA and Louisiana Tech," Weaver said. "In recent years, we have gone straight into the ITA Kick-Off Weekend without having played any matches beforehand. However, with this year's schedule, I like the fact that we can get two quality home matches in before we travel to Miami as we will be looking to advance to the prestigious ITA National Indoor Championship."
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Texas A&M is scheduled to host 12 home matches during the regular season, including March 3 and 5 when the Aggies open SEC play against South Carolina and Florida, the No. 1-ranked team in the nation and the defending SEC regular season and tournament champion.
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Season tickets to all home matches are available for purchase online at http://12thmanfoundation.com/ticket-center.aspx
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The complete season schedule is available at http://12thman.com/schedule.aspx?path=wten
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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
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"This year's roster brings a wealth of experience to the table with a group that has shown that they can perform at the highest of levels," second-year head coach Mark Weaver said. "This is a team that has the ability to have a very successful year if we can progress over the course of the next four months or so. We will have a lot of added depth to our lineup in both the singles and the doubles from the past season, and I am both eager and excited to get things going and see how well we shape out in the early part of the season."
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The Aggies, No. 21 in the preseason 2017 Oracle/ITA national team rankings, return six players from last year's team that went 17-11 and finished with a No. 19 national ranking after advancing to the second round of the NCAA Championship before falling to eventual national champion Stanford, 4-3. Highlighting the returners are seniors Saska Gavrilovska and Rutuja Bhosale, who were members of the 2016 All-SEC first and second teams, respectively, as well as senior Rachel Pierson, who is No. 85 in the 2017 ITA preseason singles rankings. Also returning are senior Mason Strickland, junior Eva Paalma and sophomore Domenica Gonzalez, as well as fifth-year senior Stefania Hristov, who redshirted last season after having shoulder surgery.
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Weaver also welcomes junior transfers Tina Bokhua, the 2015 ITA Mountain Region Rookie of the Year while at Colorado and ranked No. 57 in the 2017 preseason singles rankings, and Macarena Olivares, a two-time All-American in both singles and doubles at ASA College in Miami. Sophomore Margo Taylor, a transfer from Tennessee, rounds out the roster.
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The Aggies open the 2017 season with two home matches, hosting Stephen F. Austin on Saturday, Jan. 21 and Louisiana Tech on Wednesday, Jan. 25, before competing in the ITA Kick-Off Weekend at Miami on Jan. 28-29 for a chance to qualify for the ITA National Team Indoor Championship.
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"I look forward to the process of getting our team prepared for our opening home matches against SFA and Louisiana Tech," Weaver said. "In recent years, we have gone straight into the ITA Kick-Off Weekend without having played any matches beforehand. However, with this year's schedule, I like the fact that we can get two quality home matches in before we travel to Miami as we will be looking to advance to the prestigious ITA National Indoor Championship."
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Texas A&M is scheduled to host 12 home matches during the regular season, including March 3 and 5 when the Aggies open SEC play against South Carolina and Florida, the No. 1-ranked team in the nation and the defending SEC regular season and tournament champion.
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Season tickets to all home matches are available for purchase online at http://12thmanfoundation.com/ticket-center.aspx
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The complete season schedule is available at http://12thman.com/schedule.aspx?path=wten
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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