No. 17 Texas A&M Aggies (8-5, 0-2 SEC) vs. Missouri Tigers (9-3, 0-1 SEC)
Friday, March 10, 5 p.m.
Mizzou Tennis Complex
Columbia, Missouri
No. 17 Texas A&M Aggies vs. No. 18 Arkansas Razorbacks
Sunday, March 12, 1 p.m.
George M. Billingsley Tennis Center
Fayetteville, Arkansas
COLLEGE STATION, Texas – The 17th-ranked Texas A&M women's tennis team begins the road portion of its Southeastern Conference schedule this weekend as the Aggies take on Missouri on Friday in Columbia, Missouri, and 18th-ranked Arkansas on Sunday in Fayetteville, Arkansas. The match against the Tigers begins at 5 p.m. at the Mizzou Tennis Complex, and the contest against the Razorbacks is slated to begin at 1 p.m. at the George M. Billingsley Tennis Center.
The Aggies are 8-5 overall and 0-2 in SEC play after opening the conference schedule with a 4-2 loss to No. 19 South Carolina last Friday and a 4-0 setback to top-ranked a defending SEC champion Florida on Monday in College Station.
Missouri opened league play with a 4-3, last-match-standing loss at Arkansas on March 3 to fall to 9-3 overall. The loss snapped the then-41st-ranked Tigers' four-match win streak. It marked the seventh consecutive victory for the Razorbacks, who improved to 10-2 overall and 1-0 in SEC matches heading into a meeting against No. 29 LSU on Friday.
Texas A&M has won the last 15 meetings against the Tigers and leads the all-time series, 23-1, including 4-0 in SEC matches only. Last year, Texas A&M defeated Missouri, 7-0, in College Station. It was the Aggies' fifth consecutive shutout against their former Big 12 Conference foe. The Tigers' only victory in the all-time series was Feb. 2, 2003, in Columbia, where A&M is 11-1 all-time against Missouri.
"Missouri is a much improved team and they have had a good start to the season," Texas A&M head coach Mark Weaver said. "The weather forecast is calling for cooler temperatures, so the match will likely be played indoors on four very fast indoor courts. The good news is we already played three tough indoor matches just a few weeks back under similar conditions at the national indoors, and that should help give us a good mindset as we prepare for this match."
Texas A&M owns an 11-7 lead in the all-time series against Arkansas, including a 3-1 advantage in SEC matches only. In the most recent meeting, the then-26th-ranked Razorbacks ended a three-match losing skid against the Aggies, knocking off Texas A&M, 4-3, last year in College Station. Arkansas holds a slight 5-4 edge in matches played in Fayetteville, although A&M has come home victorious in each of its last two matches in The Natural State.
Individually, No. 44 Rachel Pierson is the Aggies' highest ranked singles player. The senior is a team-leading 17-7 in all matches, and she has played every dual match at the No. 1 line where she is 7-4. Rutuja Bhosale, No. 85 in the national singles rankings, is 14-6 overall and leads the Aggies in victories in dual matches only with an 8-3 mark, all at the No. 2 line. Sophomore Domenica Gonzalez sports a team-high six-match win streak, and Bhosale is riding a three-match win streak.
Bhosale and Pierson are No. 19 in the nation in doubles. The senior duo is 17-6 overall, including 6-4 in dual matches, all at the No. 1 line.
Senior Stefania Hristov and junior Macarena Olivares are 3-0 since pairing up for the first time against SMU on Feb. 24. Hristov now has 86 career victories to tie for 10th in the school records for career doubles victories. She is two wins away from moving into a tie for ninth. Bhosale is not far behind with 82 career doubles victories.
Although not mentioned in the national doubles rankings, Missouri has won the doubles point in all but three matches this season. In singles, Bea Machado Santos is riding a four-match winning streak after upsetting Arkansas' 88th-ranked Mia Jurasic. Freshmen Tate Schroeder and Mackenzy Middlebrooks also posted straight-set victories against the Razorbacks to even the match score at 3-3 before Arkansas won the last match standing to clinch the team victory.
Shannon Hudson, who improved to 8-1 at the No. 1 line after securing the victory for Arkansas, is No. 64 in this week's ITA singles rankings. Ana Oparenovic is No. 118. Hudson and Giulia Pairone are 6-0 in doubles matches, including 2-0 at the No. 1 line and 4-0 at No. 2.
The Aggies return to the George P. Mitchell Tennis Center March 17 and 19 as they play host to No. 4 Auburn and No. 46 Alabama.
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 rue-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 palm
Friday, March 10, 5 p.m.
Mizzou Tennis Complex
Columbia, Missouri
No. 17 Texas A&M Aggies vs. No. 18 Arkansas Razorbacks
Sunday, March 12, 1 p.m.
George M. Billingsley Tennis Center
Fayetteville, Arkansas
COLLEGE STATION, Texas – The 17th-ranked Texas A&M women's tennis team begins the road portion of its Southeastern Conference schedule this weekend as the Aggies take on Missouri on Friday in Columbia, Missouri, and 18th-ranked Arkansas on Sunday in Fayetteville, Arkansas. The match against the Tigers begins at 5 p.m. at the Mizzou Tennis Complex, and the contest against the Razorbacks is slated to begin at 1 p.m. at the George M. Billingsley Tennis Center.
The Aggies are 8-5 overall and 0-2 in SEC play after opening the conference schedule with a 4-2 loss to No. 19 South Carolina last Friday and a 4-0 setback to top-ranked a defending SEC champion Florida on Monday in College Station.
Missouri opened league play with a 4-3, last-match-standing loss at Arkansas on March 3 to fall to 9-3 overall. The loss snapped the then-41st-ranked Tigers' four-match win streak. It marked the seventh consecutive victory for the Razorbacks, who improved to 10-2 overall and 1-0 in SEC matches heading into a meeting against No. 29 LSU on Friday.
Texas A&M has won the last 15 meetings against the Tigers and leads the all-time series, 23-1, including 4-0 in SEC matches only. Last year, Texas A&M defeated Missouri, 7-0, in College Station. It was the Aggies' fifth consecutive shutout against their former Big 12 Conference foe. The Tigers' only victory in the all-time series was Feb. 2, 2003, in Columbia, where A&M is 11-1 all-time against Missouri.
"Missouri is a much improved team and they have had a good start to the season," Texas A&M head coach Mark Weaver said. "The weather forecast is calling for cooler temperatures, so the match will likely be played indoors on four very fast indoor courts. The good news is we already played three tough indoor matches just a few weeks back under similar conditions at the national indoors, and that should help give us a good mindset as we prepare for this match."
Texas A&M owns an 11-7 lead in the all-time series against Arkansas, including a 3-1 advantage in SEC matches only. In the most recent meeting, the then-26th-ranked Razorbacks ended a three-match losing skid against the Aggies, knocking off Texas A&M, 4-3, last year in College Station. Arkansas holds a slight 5-4 edge in matches played in Fayetteville, although A&M has come home victorious in each of its last two matches in The Natural State.
Individually, No. 44 Rachel Pierson is the Aggies' highest ranked singles player. The senior is a team-leading 17-7 in all matches, and she has played every dual match at the No. 1 line where she is 7-4. Rutuja Bhosale, No. 85 in the national singles rankings, is 14-6 overall and leads the Aggies in victories in dual matches only with an 8-3 mark, all at the No. 2 line. Sophomore Domenica Gonzalez sports a team-high six-match win streak, and Bhosale is riding a three-match win streak.
Bhosale and Pierson are No. 19 in the nation in doubles. The senior duo is 17-6 overall, including 6-4 in dual matches, all at the No. 1 line.
Senior Stefania Hristov and junior Macarena Olivares are 3-0 since pairing up for the first time against SMU on Feb. 24. Hristov now has 86 career victories to tie for 10th in the school records for career doubles victories. She is two wins away from moving into a tie for ninth. Bhosale is not far behind with 82 career doubles victories.
Although not mentioned in the national doubles rankings, Missouri has won the doubles point in all but three matches this season. In singles, Bea Machado Santos is riding a four-match winning streak after upsetting Arkansas' 88th-ranked Mia Jurasic. Freshmen Tate Schroeder and Mackenzy Middlebrooks also posted straight-set victories against the Razorbacks to even the match score at 3-3 before Arkansas won the last match standing to clinch the team victory.
Shannon Hudson, who improved to 8-1 at the No. 1 line after securing the victory for Arkansas, is No. 64 in this week's ITA singles rankings. Ana Oparenovic is No. 118. Hudson and Giulia Pairone are 6-0 in doubles matches, including 2-0 at the No. 1 line and 4-0 at No. 2.
The Aggies return to the George P. Mitchell Tennis Center March 17 and 19 as they play host to No. 4 Auburn and No. 46 Alabama.
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 rue-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 palm