Saturday, January 21
College Station
12:00 PM
Texas A&M
vs
SFA
Women’s Tennis Hosts SFA in Season Opener
Jan 20, 2017 | Women's Tennis
No. 21 Texas A&M Aggies (0-0) vs. Stephen F. Austin Ladyjacks (0-0)
Saturday, January 21, 12 p.m.
George P. Mitchell Tennis Center, College Station, Texas
*Tickets: http://12thmanfoundation.com/ticket-center/tennis.aspx
*Texas A&M students with valid school ID admitted free to all regular season home matches
Be Clear: Texas A&M's "clear bag" policy will be in effect. For a full description of the policy, go to http://www.12thman.com/sports/2016/6/6/clear-bag-policy.aspx
Live scoring: http://www.sidearmstats.com/tamu/wten/
COLLEGE STATION, Texas – The 21st-ranked Texas A&M women's tennis team opens its dual match season Saturday as the Aggies play host to Stephen F. Austin. First serve is at noon at the George P. Mitchell Tennis Center.
"I know that our team, myself included, are definitely looking forward to the first match of the season against SFA," said Mark Weaver, who is beginning his second season as head coach of the Aggies. "It is nice to open the season with a match on our home courts. We have been having some high quality practices, and I expect us to come out and perform well on Saturday."
Weaver returns 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.
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.
The Aggies, who have won their spring season opener in each of the last four years, went a combined 39-26 in singles and 26-12 in doubles in fall tournament matches. Pierson led the team in singles victories with a 10-3 mark. In addition, Pierson and Bhosale led the Aggies in doubles victories, going 11-2.
SFA second-year head coach Jon McLaughlin returns four players from the Ladyjacks' 2016 squad that went 12-10 and placed second in the Southland Conference.
"SFA is a tough and feisty team and they will give us much needed challenges which ultimately help us get match tough," Weaver said. "We will no doubt be facing some first-match-of-the-season jitters as will SFA, but I am very confident in our group that we will overcome any sort of nerves and I fully expect us to perform quite well. I am very optimistic about our season, and I am without a doubt looking forward to getting into action on Saturday."
A&M is 7-0 in the all-time series against SFA since the teams first met in 1982. All seven matches have been played in College Station, and A&M has won the last three meetings by identical 7-0 scores, including a 7-0 victory against the Ladyjacks on Feb. 20, 2016, the most recent meeting between the teams.
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.
Saturday, January 21, 12 p.m.
George P. Mitchell Tennis Center, College Station, Texas
*Tickets: http://12thmanfoundation.com/ticket-center/tennis.aspx
*Texas A&M students with valid school ID admitted free to all regular season home matches
Be Clear: Texas A&M's "clear bag" policy will be in effect. For a full description of the policy, go to http://www.12thman.com/sports/2016/6/6/clear-bag-policy.aspx
Live scoring: http://www.sidearmstats.com/tamu/wten/
COLLEGE STATION, Texas – The 21st-ranked Texas A&M women's tennis team opens its dual match season Saturday as the Aggies play host to Stephen F. Austin. First serve is at noon at the George P. Mitchell Tennis Center.
"I know that our team, myself included, are definitely looking forward to the first match of the season against SFA," said Mark Weaver, who is beginning his second season as head coach of the Aggies. "It is nice to open the season with a match on our home courts. We have been having some high quality practices, and I expect us to come out and perform well on Saturday."
Weaver returns 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.
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.
The Aggies, who have won their spring season opener in each of the last four years, went a combined 39-26 in singles and 26-12 in doubles in fall tournament matches. Pierson led the team in singles victories with a 10-3 mark. In addition, Pierson and Bhosale led the Aggies in doubles victories, going 11-2.
SFA second-year head coach Jon McLaughlin returns four players from the Ladyjacks' 2016 squad that went 12-10 and placed second in the Southland Conference.
"SFA is a tough and feisty team and they will give us much needed challenges which ultimately help us get match tough," Weaver said. "We will no doubt be facing some first-match-of-the-season jitters as will SFA, but I am very confident in our group that we will overcome any sort of nerves and I fully expect us to perform quite well. I am very optimistic about our season, and I am without a doubt looking forward to getting into action on Saturday."
A&M is 7-0 in the all-time series against SFA since the teams first met in 1982. All seven matches have been played in College Station, and A&M has won the last three meetings by identical 7-0 scores, including a 7-0 victory against the Ladyjacks on Feb. 20, 2016, the most recent meeting between the teams.
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.
Players Mentioned
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
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