Recap: Texas A&M Women’s Tennis at Midland Tournament

MIDLAND, Texas –An appearance in the singles quarterfinals and reaching the semifinals in doubles highlighted Texas A&M's first fall tournament of the season as Aggie freshmen Dorthea Faa-Hviding, Iulia Ivascu and Riley McQuaid's made their career debut at The Racquet Club Collegiate Invitational in Midland, Texas.
 
"Overall, I am delighted with the progress that we made every day as a group," said Mark Weaver, who is in his third season as head coach of the A&M women's tennis team. "We definitely had some first-match jitters, which is completely understood being that the girls are playing their first match in the maroon and white which is no doubt a lot to take in. Our main goal was to get in a lot of good competition in order to start getting us match tough and also learning more on what we need to improve on. This ended up being a very productive weekend for this young group of Aggies."
 
Faa-Hviding won two three-set matches to reach the quarterfinals of the 32-player singles draw. The Norwegian opened with a 6-4, 2-6, 11-9 victory over Whitney Williams of Abilene Christian and followed with a 6-3, 2-6, 10-7 win over Alex Angyalosy of Texas Tech. Faa-Hviding then fell in the quarterfinals, 6-4, 6-4, to Natsuho Arakawa of Arkansas.
 
Ivascu and McQuaid both were upended in the first round of singles. Ivascu fell to Jackie Carr of Arkansas, 6-3, 6-2, and McQuaid fell to Tamara Arnold of Tyler Junior College, 6-0, 6-2.
 
Although eliminated in the first round in singles, Ivascu and McQuaid paired together in doubles and fared much better, reaching the semifinals. After receiving a first-round bye, the Aggie duo defeated Agustina Serio and Nanaka Takeuchi of UTA, 7-5. They then defeated a pair of upperclassmen from Nebraska, defeating Husker junior Paula Del Cueto Castillo and senior partner Brianna Lashway, 6-3.
 
Ivascu and McQuaid were eliminated in the semifinal round after falling to Emilee Duong and Grace Tapak of Illinois, 6-3.
 
Faa-Hviding paired with Maria Shishkina of Tyler Junior College in doubles, and the tandem defeated Joy Chia and Sofia Murcia of Texas State, 6-0, in the first round. The A&M/TJC duo then fell to eventual doubles champion Agne Cepelyte and Natsuho Arakawa of Arkansas, 6-3, in the second round.
 
After being eliminated in the singles bracket, the Aggies picked up extra matches and went a combined 5-0. McQuaid rebounded with a 6-1, 6-1 victory over Andrea Fuchs of Texas State on Saturday and defeated Marina Cozac of Nebraska, 6-1, 6-2, on Sunday.
 
Ivascu topped Rishona Lewis of Texas State, 6-4, 6-0, on Saturday and held off Vasanti Shinde of Nebraska, 1-6, 7-6 (11-9) on Sunday.
 
Faa-Hviding improved to 3-1, defeating Claire Reifeis of Nebraska, 6-3, 7-6.
 
The Aggies return to action October 6 as they compete in the three-day SMU Invitational in Dallas.
 
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.
 
The Racquet Club Collegiate Invitational results:
 
Singles
 
First round
Jackie Carr (Arkansas) def. Iulia Ivascu (Texas A&M), 6-3, 6-2
Tamara Arnold (Tyler Junior College) def. Riley McQuaid (Texas A&M), 6-0, 6-2
Dorthea Faa-Hviding (Texas A&M) def. Whitney Williams (Abilene Christian), 6-4, 2-6, 11-9
 
Second Round
Dorthea Faa-Hviding (Texas A&M) def. Alex Angyalosy (Texas Tech) 6-3, 2-6, 10-7
 
Quarterfinals
Natsuho Arakawa (Arkansas) def. Dorthea Faa-Hviding (Texas A&M), 6-4, 6-4
 
Extra matches
Riley McQuaid (Texas A&M) def. Andrea Fuchs (Texas State), 6-1, 6-1
Iulia Ivascu (Texas A&M) def. Rishona Lewis (Texas State), 6-4, 6-0
Riley McQuaid (Texas A&M) def. Marina Cozac (Nebraska), 6-1, 6-2)
Iulia Ivascu (Texas A&M) def. Vasanti Shinde (Nebraska), 1-6, 7-6, 11-9
Dorthea Faa-Hviding (Texas A&M) def. Claire Reifeis (Nebraska), 6-3, 7-6
 
Doubles results
 
First round
Iulia Ivascu/Riley McQuaid (Texas A&M), bye
 
Second Round
Iulia Ivascu/Riley McQuaid (Texas A&M) def. Agustina Serio/Nanaka Takeuchi (UTA), 7-5
 
Quarterfinals
Iulia Ivascu/Riley McQuaid (Texas A&M) def. Paula Del Cueto Castillo/ Brianna Lashway (Nebraska), 6-3
 
Semifinals
Emilee Duong/Grace Tapak (Illinois) def. Iulia Ivascu/Riley McQuaid (Texas A&M), 6-3