Friday, February 24
College Station
4:00 PM
Texas A&M
6
vs
1
SMU
Photo by: Glen Johnson/Texas A&M Athletics
Texas A&M Defeats SMU, 6-1
Feb 24, 2017 | Women's Tennis
COLLEGE STATION, Texas – After a close battle early in the match, No. 22 Texas A&M pulled away for a 6-1 victory over SMU today at the George P. Mitchell Tennis Center.
"The 6-1 score is very deceiving," Texas A&M head coach Mark Weaver said. "Early on it looked like it was going to go 4-3, and for a while I wasn't sure where we were going to find the four points. It was a dogfight early, and the girls pushed through it. It was the best crowd we have had here in quite some time, so I give some credit to the 12th Man. They helped us pull through in the end."
A crowd of 438 braved the cool, blustery conditions to see Texas A&M improve to 7-3 and snap a two-match losing skid in the series against the Mustangs. SMU dropped to 6-2, suffering its second consecutive loss after opening the season 6-0.
Texas A&M senior Stefania Hristov and junior Macarena Olivares had the only runaway match of the day, as they took only 18 minutes to complete a 6-0 victory over Macie Elliott and Mary Wright at No. 3 doubles.
SMU then evened the race to the doubles point with a win at the No. 2 court. Ana Perez-Lopez and Sarai Monarrez Yesaki jumped out to a 3-0 lead against A&M's Domenica Gonzalez and Eva Paalma and eventually went on to win, 6-2.
The doubles point came down to Court 1 where A&M's 14th-ranked Rutuja Bhosale and Rachel Pierson and SMU's Liza Buss and Macie Elliott were on serve at 2-2. A&M later went up a break at 4-2 and then won a deuce point to take a 5-2 lead. The Aggie pair won a fourth consecutive game to close out the 6-2 victory, giving the Maroon and White a 1-0 lead.
SMU got on the scoreboard and tied the score at 1-1 at the start of singles as Dasha Sharapova never trailed in a 6-0, 6-3 victory over A&M's Tina Bokhua at the No. 4 line. Bhosale, ranked 75th in singles, returned the lead to the Aggies with a 6-2, 6-2 victory over Monarrez Yesaki at No. 2.
Hristov had to come from behind to win a closely contested first set against Elliott at No. 6. Elliott won two games to go up, 5-3, but Hristov rallied, winning four consecutive games and capping the first set by winning a deuce point to go up 7-5. Hristov carried her momentum into the second set, winning the first four games en route to a 6-1 victory to give the Aggies a 3-1 lead.
Saska Gavrilovska rebounded after dropping her first set to clinch the winning point for the Aggies. SMU's Ellie Zogg cruised to a 6-1 first-set win at the No. 5 line, but Gavrilovska won the first five games of the second set and went on to win, 6-2, to even the match. Gavrilovska took control of the third set, jumping out to a 4-1 lead. The Serbian later won a deuce point to break Zogg and take a 5-2 lead. Gavrilovska then held serve to close out the 6-2 third-set win and notch the Aggies' match-winning fourth point.
On the adjoining court, Olivares was pulling out a come-from-behind second-set win to complete a straight-set victory over Perez-Lopez at Court 3. In the first set, Olivares broke to take a 4-3 lead. The players held serve for the rest of the set as Olivares held on for the 6-4 win. Perez-Lopez appeared on her way to evening up the match as she jumped out to a 4-1 lead in the second set. Olivares, however, won four consecutive games to go up a break, 5-4. Perez-Lopez broke back to tie the set, 5-5, before Olivares broke again to go up, 6-5. Olivares, who was competing at No. 3 for the first time this season, having played the previous matches at the No. 4 and 5 lines, then held serve to close out the 7-5 second-set victory, putting A&M ahead, 5-1.
Olivares improved to 7-2 in dual matches, and Pierson also improved to 7-2 to remain tied with Olivares for the team lead in singles victories after completing the Aggies' 6-1 team triumph with a 6-4, 4-6, 1-0 (10-7) victory over Buss at the No. 1 line.
Pierson won a clutch deuce point to take a 5-4 lead in the first set and then broke Buss' serve to win the frame, 6-4. Buss, however, went up a break at 3-2 in the second set. Both players held serve for the remainder of the set, with Buss winning a deuce point in each of her final three serving opportunities, including the final game to close out the 6-4 win and force a third-set, 10-point tiebreaker.
Pierson never trailed in the tiebreaker and went on to build a 7-2 lead. Buss cut the margin to 9-7 before Pierson closed out the 10-7 victory.
"Overall I'm proud of the girls," Weaver added. "It was a difficult match, maybe a bit more challenging than I thought it would be, but I knew SMU had a good start to the season and they came in confident and gave us a tough challenge today. It's what we needed. We have some really difficult matches coming up, so in the end I'm pleased that we had some close matches on most of the courts. I give a lot of credit to our girls for pulling through and pulling out a very difficult 6-1 win."
Texas A&M closes out its preconference schedule on Tuesday, Feb. 28 as the Aggies play host to No. 15 TCU. First serve is at 4 p.m. at the Mitchell Tennis Center. The match against the Horned Frogs marks the first of six consecutive matches against ranked opponents for the Aggies, who open Southeastern Conference with a home weekend series against No. 21 South Carolina on Friday, March 3 and defending SEC champion and No. 1-ranked Florida on Sunday, March 5.
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
#22 Texas A&M 6, SMU 1
George P. Mitchell Tennis Center
College Station, Texas
Feb. 24, 2017
Singles
1. #45 Rachel Pierson (A&M) def. Liza Buss (SMU), 6-4, 4-6, 1-0 (10-7)
2. #75 Rutuja Bhosale (A&M) def. Sarai Monarrez Yesaki (SMU), 6-2, 6-2
3. Macarena Olivares (A&M) def. Ana Perez-Lopez (SMU), 6-4, 7-5
4. Dasha Sharapova (SMU) def. Tina Bokhua (A&M), 6-0, 6-3
5. Saska Gavrilovska (A&M) def. Ellie Zogg (SMU), 1-6, 6-2, 6-2
6. Stefania Hristov (A&M) def. Macie Elliott (SMU), 7-5, 6-1
Doubles
1. #14 Bhosale/Pierson (A&M) def. Buss/Sharapova (SMU), 6-2
2. Perez-Lopez/Monarrez Yesaki (SMU) def. Domenica Gonzalez/Eva Paalma (A&M), 6-2
3. Hristov/Olivares (A&M) def. Mary Wright/Elliott (SMU), 6-0
Match Notes:
SMU 6-2
Texas A&M 7-3; National ranking #22
Order of finish: Doubles (3, 2, 1); Singles (4, 2, 6, 5, 3, 1)
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 palma
"The 6-1 score is very deceiving," Texas A&M head coach Mark Weaver said. "Early on it looked like it was going to go 4-3, and for a while I wasn't sure where we were going to find the four points. It was a dogfight early, and the girls pushed through it. It was the best crowd we have had here in quite some time, so I give some credit to the 12th Man. They helped us pull through in the end."
A crowd of 438 braved the cool, blustery conditions to see Texas A&M improve to 7-3 and snap a two-match losing skid in the series against the Mustangs. SMU dropped to 6-2, suffering its second consecutive loss after opening the season 6-0.
Texas A&M senior Stefania Hristov and junior Macarena Olivares had the only runaway match of the day, as they took only 18 minutes to complete a 6-0 victory over Macie Elliott and Mary Wright at No. 3 doubles.
SMU then evened the race to the doubles point with a win at the No. 2 court. Ana Perez-Lopez and Sarai Monarrez Yesaki jumped out to a 3-0 lead against A&M's Domenica Gonzalez and Eva Paalma and eventually went on to win, 6-2.
The doubles point came down to Court 1 where A&M's 14th-ranked Rutuja Bhosale and Rachel Pierson and SMU's Liza Buss and Macie Elliott were on serve at 2-2. A&M later went up a break at 4-2 and then won a deuce point to take a 5-2 lead. The Aggie pair won a fourth consecutive game to close out the 6-2 victory, giving the Maroon and White a 1-0 lead.
SMU got on the scoreboard and tied the score at 1-1 at the start of singles as Dasha Sharapova never trailed in a 6-0, 6-3 victory over A&M's Tina Bokhua at the No. 4 line. Bhosale, ranked 75th in singles, returned the lead to the Aggies with a 6-2, 6-2 victory over Monarrez Yesaki at No. 2.
Hristov had to come from behind to win a closely contested first set against Elliott at No. 6. Elliott won two games to go up, 5-3, but Hristov rallied, winning four consecutive games and capping the first set by winning a deuce point to go up 7-5. Hristov carried her momentum into the second set, winning the first four games en route to a 6-1 victory to give the Aggies a 3-1 lead.
Saska Gavrilovska rebounded after dropping her first set to clinch the winning point for the Aggies. SMU's Ellie Zogg cruised to a 6-1 first-set win at the No. 5 line, but Gavrilovska won the first five games of the second set and went on to win, 6-2, to even the match. Gavrilovska took control of the third set, jumping out to a 4-1 lead. The Serbian later won a deuce point to break Zogg and take a 5-2 lead. Gavrilovska then held serve to close out the 6-2 third-set win and notch the Aggies' match-winning fourth point.
On the adjoining court, Olivares was pulling out a come-from-behind second-set win to complete a straight-set victory over Perez-Lopez at Court 3. In the first set, Olivares broke to take a 4-3 lead. The players held serve for the rest of the set as Olivares held on for the 6-4 win. Perez-Lopez appeared on her way to evening up the match as she jumped out to a 4-1 lead in the second set. Olivares, however, won four consecutive games to go up a break, 5-4. Perez-Lopez broke back to tie the set, 5-5, before Olivares broke again to go up, 6-5. Olivares, who was competing at No. 3 for the first time this season, having played the previous matches at the No. 4 and 5 lines, then held serve to close out the 7-5 second-set victory, putting A&M ahead, 5-1.
Olivares improved to 7-2 in dual matches, and Pierson also improved to 7-2 to remain tied with Olivares for the team lead in singles victories after completing the Aggies' 6-1 team triumph with a 6-4, 4-6, 1-0 (10-7) victory over Buss at the No. 1 line.
Pierson won a clutch deuce point to take a 5-4 lead in the first set and then broke Buss' serve to win the frame, 6-4. Buss, however, went up a break at 3-2 in the second set. Both players held serve for the remainder of the set, with Buss winning a deuce point in each of her final three serving opportunities, including the final game to close out the 6-4 win and force a third-set, 10-point tiebreaker.
Pierson never trailed in the tiebreaker and went on to build a 7-2 lead. Buss cut the margin to 9-7 before Pierson closed out the 10-7 victory.
"Overall I'm proud of the girls," Weaver added. "It was a difficult match, maybe a bit more challenging than I thought it would be, but I knew SMU had a good start to the season and they came in confident and gave us a tough challenge today. It's what we needed. We have some really difficult matches coming up, so in the end I'm pleased that we had some close matches on most of the courts. I give a lot of credit to our girls for pulling through and pulling out a very difficult 6-1 win."
Texas A&M closes out its preconference schedule on Tuesday, Feb. 28 as the Aggies play host to No. 15 TCU. First serve is at 4 p.m. at the Mitchell Tennis Center. The match against the Horned Frogs marks the first of six consecutive matches against ranked opponents for the Aggies, who open Southeastern Conference with a home weekend series against No. 21 South Carolina on Friday, March 3 and defending SEC champion and No. 1-ranked Florida on Sunday, March 5.
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
#22 Texas A&M 6, SMU 1
George P. Mitchell Tennis Center
College Station, Texas
Feb. 24, 2017
Singles
1. #45 Rachel Pierson (A&M) def. Liza Buss (SMU), 6-4, 4-6, 1-0 (10-7)
2. #75 Rutuja Bhosale (A&M) def. Sarai Monarrez Yesaki (SMU), 6-2, 6-2
3. Macarena Olivares (A&M) def. Ana Perez-Lopez (SMU), 6-4, 7-5
4. Dasha Sharapova (SMU) def. Tina Bokhua (A&M), 6-0, 6-3
5. Saska Gavrilovska (A&M) def. Ellie Zogg (SMU), 1-6, 6-2, 6-2
6. Stefania Hristov (A&M) def. Macie Elliott (SMU), 7-5, 6-1
Doubles
1. #14 Bhosale/Pierson (A&M) def. Buss/Sharapova (SMU), 6-2
2. Perez-Lopez/Monarrez Yesaki (SMU) def. Domenica Gonzalez/Eva Paalma (A&M), 6-2
3. Hristov/Olivares (A&M) def. Mary Wright/Elliott (SMU), 6-0
Match Notes:
SMU 6-2
Texas A&M 7-3; National ranking #22
Order of finish: Doubles (3, 2, 1); Singles (4, 2, 6, 5, 3, 1)
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 palma
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
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