COLLEGE STATION, Texas – No. 19 South Carolina edged out the No 20 Texas A&M women's tennis team, 4-2, Friday evening at the George P Mitchell Tennis Center in College Station, Texas. With the win the Gamecocks improved to 9-2 overall and 1-0 in Southeastern Conference play, while the Aggies fell to 8-4 on the year and 0-1 in league play.
"Today was a tough day for the Aggies, but there were some encouraging things to come out of this match," Texas A&M women's tennis head coach Mark Weaver said. "We played great in the doubles, I thought we played about as good in doubles play as we have all year. We started out the season on fire in the doubles and we had a bit of a hiccup in the Rice match and maybe that shook our confidence a little bit. We have made some good progress in the doubles as of late. In the singles, there were three or four of those matches out there where we had some opportunities and we did not quite capitalize on. South Carolina kept fighting and getting another ball back and we unfortunately couldn't capitalize on a couple of chances we had."
The Maroon & White opened the match with impressive play on the doubles courts to take a 1-0 advantage. Macarena Olivares and Stefanie Hristov topped Rachel Rohrabacher and Silvia Chinellato, 6-3, on court three followed by Domenica Gonzalez and Eva Paalma clinching the point with a 6-2 win over Brigit Folland and Carolina Dailey on court two.
The Aggies increased their advantage to open singles play as No. 75 Rutuja Bhosale topped Dailey 6-2, 6-1 on court two. Afterwards the momentum shifted in the visitor's favor, as the Gamecocks claimed the next four points.
"I thought Rutuja played great, it was a couple of similar players that hit the ball hard and flat back and forth," Weaver added. "They each go for their shots and Rutuja did a great job of dictating play. One of the things we talked about coming into this match was taking it to [Caroline] Dailey early in the point. Rutuja was able to control the tempo most of the match, she has kind of caught fire the last couple weeks and is playing some very good tennis."
No. 119 Chinellato topped Saska Gavrilovska 6-0, 7-6 on court four, followed by No. 110 Paige Cline besting Olivares 6-4, 7-5 on court three. South Carolina picked up their final two points from No. 100 Mia Horvit over No. 45 Rachel Pierson, 7-6, 6-3 on court one and Hadley Berg besting Tina Bokhua, 3-6, 6-2, 6-3 on court five.
The Aggies continue SEC play as they host defending SEC champion and No. 1-ranked Florida on Sunday, March 5, at 11am. All fans with a valid Texas A&M student ID will be admitted free to all Aggie home matches.
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
#19 South Carolina 4, #20 Texas A&M 2
George P. Mitchell Tennis Center
College Station, Texas
March 3, 2017
Singles
1. #100 Mia Horvit (SC) def. #45 Rachel Pierson (A&M) 7-6 (10-8), 6-3
2. #75 Rutuja Bhosale (A&M) def. Caroline Dailey (SC) 6-2, 6-1
3. #110 Paige Cline (SC) def. Macarena Olivares (A&M) 6-4, 7-5
4. #119 Silvia Chinellato (SC) def. Saska Gavrilovska (A&M) 6-0, 7-6 (7-4)
5. Hadley Berg (SC) def. Tina Bokhua (A&M) 3-6, 6-2, 6-3
6. Domenica Gonzalez (A&M) vs. Brigit Folland (SC) 3-6, 6-4, 2-5, unfinished
Doubles
1. #14 Rachel Pierson/Rutuja Bhosale (A&M) vs. #27 Paige Cline/Hadley Berg (SC) 5-3, unfinished
2. Domenica Gonzalez/Eva Paalma (A&M) def. Brigit Folland/Caroline Dailey (SC) 6-2
3. Macarena Olivares/Stefania Hristov (A&M) def. Rachel Rohrabacher/Silvia Chinellato (SC) 6-3
Match Notes:
South Carolina 9-2, 1-0; National ranking #19
Texas A&M 8-4, 0-1; National ranking #20
Order of finish: Doubles (3, 2); Singles (2, 4, 3, 1, 5)
"Today was a tough day for the Aggies, but there were some encouraging things to come out of this match," Texas A&M women's tennis head coach Mark Weaver said. "We played great in the doubles, I thought we played about as good in doubles play as we have all year. We started out the season on fire in the doubles and we had a bit of a hiccup in the Rice match and maybe that shook our confidence a little bit. We have made some good progress in the doubles as of late. In the singles, there were three or four of those matches out there where we had some opportunities and we did not quite capitalize on. South Carolina kept fighting and getting another ball back and we unfortunately couldn't capitalize on a couple of chances we had."
The Maroon & White opened the match with impressive play on the doubles courts to take a 1-0 advantage. Macarena Olivares and Stefanie Hristov topped Rachel Rohrabacher and Silvia Chinellato, 6-3, on court three followed by Domenica Gonzalez and Eva Paalma clinching the point with a 6-2 win over Brigit Folland and Carolina Dailey on court two.
The Aggies increased their advantage to open singles play as No. 75 Rutuja Bhosale topped Dailey 6-2, 6-1 on court two. Afterwards the momentum shifted in the visitor's favor, as the Gamecocks claimed the next four points.
"I thought Rutuja played great, it was a couple of similar players that hit the ball hard and flat back and forth," Weaver added. "They each go for their shots and Rutuja did a great job of dictating play. One of the things we talked about coming into this match was taking it to [Caroline] Dailey early in the point. Rutuja was able to control the tempo most of the match, she has kind of caught fire the last couple weeks and is playing some very good tennis."
No. 119 Chinellato topped Saska Gavrilovska 6-0, 7-6 on court four, followed by No. 110 Paige Cline besting Olivares 6-4, 7-5 on court three. South Carolina picked up their final two points from No. 100 Mia Horvit over No. 45 Rachel Pierson, 7-6, 6-3 on court one and Hadley Berg besting Tina Bokhua, 3-6, 6-2, 6-3 on court five.
The Aggies continue SEC play as they host defending SEC champion and No. 1-ranked Florida on Sunday, March 5, at 11am. All fans with a valid Texas A&M student ID will be admitted free to all Aggie home matches.
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
#19 South Carolina 4, #20 Texas A&M 2
George P. Mitchell Tennis Center
College Station, Texas
March 3, 2017
Singles
1. #100 Mia Horvit (SC) def. #45 Rachel Pierson (A&M) 7-6 (10-8), 6-3
2. #75 Rutuja Bhosale (A&M) def. Caroline Dailey (SC) 6-2, 6-1
3. #110 Paige Cline (SC) def. Macarena Olivares (A&M) 6-4, 7-5
4. #119 Silvia Chinellato (SC) def. Saska Gavrilovska (A&M) 6-0, 7-6 (7-4)
5. Hadley Berg (SC) def. Tina Bokhua (A&M) 3-6, 6-2, 6-3
6. Domenica Gonzalez (A&M) vs. Brigit Folland (SC) 3-6, 6-4, 2-5, unfinished
Doubles
1. #14 Rachel Pierson/Rutuja Bhosale (A&M) vs. #27 Paige Cline/Hadley Berg (SC) 5-3, unfinished
2. Domenica Gonzalez/Eva Paalma (A&M) def. Brigit Folland/Caroline Dailey (SC) 6-2
3. Macarena Olivares/Stefania Hristov (A&M) def. Rachel Rohrabacher/Silvia Chinellato (SC) 6-3
Match Notes:
South Carolina 9-2, 1-0; National ranking #19
Texas A&M 8-4, 0-1; National ranking #20
Order of finish: Doubles (3, 2); Singles (2, 4, 3, 1, 5)