COLLEGE STATION, Texas – No. 15 Texas A&M puts its perfect 5-0 record on the line Sunday as the Aggies play host to the Rice Owls at the George P. Mitchell Tennis Center. First serve is at noon, and all fans with a valid Texas A&M student ID will be admitted free.
The Aggies, who have won the last nine meetings with the Owls and own a 26-8 lead in the all-time series, will be aiming to become only the third team in Texas A&M women's tennis history to begin a season 6-0. Only the 1998 and 2001 squads have started a season 6-0, with the '98 Aggies opening their season with a school-record seven consecutive victories before suffering their first loss.
Both Texas A&M and Rice (3-1) are coming off 4-0 home victories over Princeton on Thursday and Friday, respectively.
Texas A&M has dominated its opponents in doubles, having won the crucial doubles point in all five matches while posting a combined 10-1 record at the three lines. Seniors Rutuja Bhosale, the reigning SEC Player of the Week, and Rachel Pierson are a team-high No. 17 in the national doubles rankings. They enter the match against the Owls with a 4-0 record, all at the No. 1 line, and riding a seven-match win streak dating back to the fall tournament season. Junior Eva Paalma and sophomore Domenica Gonzalez are 3-0 at No. 2.
In singles, junior Tina Bokhua is a team-high No. 57 in the national rankings. She is 4-0 in dual matches, including 3-0 at No. 3 singles, and she is riding a team-best six-match win streak dating back to the fall season. Bhosale and junior Macarena Olivares also are 4-0 in dual match play, with Bhosale holding down the No. 2 line and Olivares playing all but one match at No. 4.
Pierson, 4-1 at the No. 1 line, is No. 85 in the national singles rankings and leads the Aggies with a 14-4 overall record. As a team, A&M is a combined 19-4 in singles in dual matches only.
Rice, which also has won the doubles point in all four of its matches and posted a shutout in each of its three victories, suffered its only loss of the season following a 4-2 setback against No. 18 Southern California in the opening round of the ITA Kick-Off Weekend at Auburn.
The Owls have two players listed in the ITA preseason singles rankings: No. 102 Alison Ho and No. 110 Katherine Ip. In doubles, Ho and partner Wendy Zhang are No. 30.
Rice is a combined 13-4 in singles matches this spring, with Fernanda Astete and Lindsey Hodge leading the Owls with identical 3-0 records. In addition, they both boast team-leading four-match win streaks.
In doubles, Rice is a combined 8-2, including 3-0 at the No. 3 line. Hodge and Zhang lead the Owls with a 2-1 record at the No. 1 line, including a 6-4 victory over 18th-ranked Zoe Katz and Gabby Smith of USC.
Texas A&M, 12-4 all-time against Rice in College Station, most recently took on the Owls in 2012 with the Aggies winning the match, 5-2, at the Mitchell Tennis Center. The Owls' most recent victory against the Aggies was a 5-4 decision on March 23, 2000, in Houston.
The Sunday match against the Owls will be the Aggies' final tune-up before competing in the prestigious 16-team ITA Division I National Team Indoor Championship, Feb. 10-13 at Yale.
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
Pronunciations
Rutuja Bhosale roo-too-jah bo-slay
Tina Bokhua bo-kwah
Saska Gavrilovska saush-ka gav-ril-ohv-ska
Stefania Hristov steff-on-ya RIS-tov
Eva Paalma A-va palma
The Aggies, who have won the last nine meetings with the Owls and own a 26-8 lead in the all-time series, will be aiming to become only the third team in Texas A&M women's tennis history to begin a season 6-0. Only the 1998 and 2001 squads have started a season 6-0, with the '98 Aggies opening their season with a school-record seven consecutive victories before suffering their first loss.
Both Texas A&M and Rice (3-1) are coming off 4-0 home victories over Princeton on Thursday and Friday, respectively.
Texas A&M has dominated its opponents in doubles, having won the crucial doubles point in all five matches while posting a combined 10-1 record at the three lines. Seniors Rutuja Bhosale, the reigning SEC Player of the Week, and Rachel Pierson are a team-high No. 17 in the national doubles rankings. They enter the match against the Owls with a 4-0 record, all at the No. 1 line, and riding a seven-match win streak dating back to the fall tournament season. Junior Eva Paalma and sophomore Domenica Gonzalez are 3-0 at No. 2.
In singles, junior Tina Bokhua is a team-high No. 57 in the national rankings. She is 4-0 in dual matches, including 3-0 at No. 3 singles, and she is riding a team-best six-match win streak dating back to the fall season. Bhosale and junior Macarena Olivares also are 4-0 in dual match play, with Bhosale holding down the No. 2 line and Olivares playing all but one match at No. 4.
Pierson, 4-1 at the No. 1 line, is No. 85 in the national singles rankings and leads the Aggies with a 14-4 overall record. As a team, A&M is a combined 19-4 in singles in dual matches only.
Rice, which also has won the doubles point in all four of its matches and posted a shutout in each of its three victories, suffered its only loss of the season following a 4-2 setback against No. 18 Southern California in the opening round of the ITA Kick-Off Weekend at Auburn.
The Owls have two players listed in the ITA preseason singles rankings: No. 102 Alison Ho and No. 110 Katherine Ip. In doubles, Ho and partner Wendy Zhang are No. 30.
Rice is a combined 13-4 in singles matches this spring, with Fernanda Astete and Lindsey Hodge leading the Owls with identical 3-0 records. In addition, they both boast team-leading four-match win streaks.
In doubles, Rice is a combined 8-2, including 3-0 at the No. 3 line. Hodge and Zhang lead the Owls with a 2-1 record at the No. 1 line, including a 6-4 victory over 18th-ranked Zoe Katz and Gabby Smith of USC.
Texas A&M, 12-4 all-time against Rice in College Station, most recently took on the Owls in 2012 with the Aggies winning the match, 5-2, at the Mitchell Tennis Center. The Owls' most recent victory against the Aggies was a 5-4 decision on March 23, 2000, in Houston.
The Sunday match against the Owls will be the Aggies' final tune-up before competing in the prestigious 16-team ITA Division I National Team Indoor Championship, Feb. 10-13 at Yale.
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
Pronunciations
Rutuja Bhosale roo-too-jah bo-slay
Tina Bokhua bo-kwah
Saska Gavrilovska saush-ka gav-ril-ohv-ska
Stefania Hristov steff-on-ya RIS-tov
Eva Paalma A-va palma