Saturday, May 13
Waco, Texas
10:00 AM
Texas A&M
4
vs
2
Louisiana-Monroe
Texas A&M Advances to NCAA Second Round With 4-2 Win Over ULM
May 13, 2017 | Women's Tennis
WACO, Texas — No. 20 Texas A&M punched its ticket into the second round of the NCAA Championship with a 4-2 victory over Louisiana-Monroe in first-round action today at the Hurd Tennis Center.
The Aggies (17-12) will take on No. 16 Baylor (22-6) in the second round on Sunday at 1 p.m. at the Hurd Tennis Center, with the winner advancing to the round of 16 and the final championship site, the Dan Magill Tennis Complex in Athens, Georgia.
Texas A&M, making its 18th-consecutive and 23rd overall appearance in the NCAA tournament, won two of the three doubles matches to take a 1-0 lead over the Warhawks. Domenica Gonzalez and Eva Paalma trailed, 2-1, at the No. 2 line after ULM's Karolina Snita and Madalina Grigoriu went up a break, but the Aggie duo was first off the court after winning the next five consecutive games to take the match, 6-2.
ULM's Luana Stanciu and Tiffany Mylonas then evened the race for the doubles point with a win at No. 3. The Warhawks pair began the match by winning the first three games against A&M's Saska Gavrilovska and Stefania Hristov at No. 3. ULM went on to hold a lead the entire match in a 6-3 win.
The point came down to the No. 1 line, where A&M's seventh-ranked Rutuja Bhosale and Rachel Pierson had built a 4-1 lead over Stefana Andrei and Petra Horakova. ULM rallied and was within 5-4 before A&M closed out the match, 6-4, to clinch the point for the Aggies.
Singles was closely contested with A&M winning three first sets and ULM also winning three first sets. Macarena Olivares gave the Aggies a 2-0 lead with a straight-set win over Grigoriu at No. 6. Olivares won the first seven games in the match and held a 5-1 lead in the second set when Grigoriu began a comeback. Olivares was up 5-2 before Grigoriu fought off three match points, including two no-ad points to get within 5-4. Grigoriu, who entered the match riding a 12-match winning streak and was 11-0 at the No. 6 line, fought off another match point in the final game to force a third consecutive no-ad situation before Olivares came away with the 6-0, 6-4 victory.
ULM quickly tied the score with two straight-set wins at the top of the lineup. Mylonas had lost the opening three games against 53rd-ranked Bhosale at No. 2 but reeled off six straight games to win the first set, 6-3. The second set stayed on serve until Mylonas went up a break at 4-3. Bhosale was unable to break back before Mylonas closed out the 6-3, 6-4 win to put the Warhawks within 2-1.
Andrei knotted the team score at 2-2 after upsetting 16th-ranked Pierson at No. 1. In the opening frame, Andrei jumped out to a 4-1 lead. Pierson climbed back within 5-4 before Andrei finished out the 6-4 win. It was Pierson who jumped out to a 4-1 lead in the second set, but she was unable to hold off Andrei, who stormed back to win five consecutive games to complete the 6-4, 6-4 straight-set victory.
Gonzalez returned the lead to the Aggies with a straight-set, 6-1, 6-4 win over Patricia Villar at No. 3. Gonzalez closed out the first set by winning five consecutive games and went on to build a 4-1 lead in the second set. Villar came back to tie the set, 4-4, before Gonzalez won the next two games to put the Aggies ahead, 3-2.
Paalma held off Snita at the No. 5 line to clinch the win for the Aggies. After jumping out to a 4-0 lead to begin the match and comfortably winning the first set, 6-2, Paalma had to come from behind late in the second set to get the win and extend her team-leading winning streak to six matches.
Paalma held a 2-0 lead at the start of the second set, but Snita won the next three games to put the set back on serve, 3-2. Paalma held and then broke to go up 4-3, but Snita broke back and then held serve to retake the lead, 5-4. Paalma, however, would persevere, winning the next three games to win the match, 6-2, 7-5, to clinch the victory and send the Aggies on to the second round.
In the only three-set match of the day, Gavrilovska rebounded from a 6-4 first-set loss to Horakova to win the second set, 6-2. The third set had just gotten underway with Gavrilovska holding a 1-0 edge over Horakova, who entered the match 16-0 in dual matches, when Paalma clinched and the match was stopped.
Texas A&M advances to the second round for the sixth consecutive year, while ULM had its 15-match winning streak snapped and ends its season 16-2.
Baylor advanced to the second round with a 4-0 win over Texas A&M-Corpus Christi. The Aggies fell to Baylor, 4-0, on March 22 in Waco, but A&M was using a makeshift lineup with Pierson missing the match because of an injury.
Live scoring of the match will be available at http://www.baylorbears.com/sports/m-tennis/live-stats.html.
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
Texas A&M head coach Mark Weaver quotes:
"I'm overall pleased with the win. Obviously, it would have been nice to have not been so close there at the end, but on the other hand I thought we did quite well. The doubles point was close for a while and we kind of pulled away and stepped our games up in the doubles, so I think that was a critical point in the match. I do like the idea that we actually got some tough matches in. I think it will help us going into our match tomorrow, Baylor or Corpus Christi, whoever it is we are playing. It will just make us that much more match ready for tomorrow."
Tennis Match Results
Louisiana Monroe vs Texas A&M
May 13, 2017 at Waco, Texas
(Hurd Tennis Center)
#20 Texas A&M 4, Louisiana Monroe 2
Singles competition
1. Stefana Andrei (ULM) def. #16 Rachel Pierson (A&M) 6-4, 6-4
2. Tiffany Mylonas (ULM) def. #53 Rutuja Bhosale (A&M) 6-3, 6-4
3. Domenica Gonzalez (A&M) def. Patricia Villar (ULM) 6-1, 6-4
4. Saska Gavrilovska (A&M) vs. Petra Horakova (ULM) 4-6, 6-2, 1-1, unfinished
5. Eva Paalma (A&M) def. Karolina Snita (ULM) 6-2, 7-5
6. Macarena Olivares (A&M) def. Madalina Grigoriu (ULM) 6-0, 6-4
Doubles competition
1. #7 Rachel Pierson/Rutuja Bhosale (A&M) def. Stefana Andrei/Petra Horakova (ULM) 6-4
2. Eva Paalma/Domenica Gonzalez (A&M) def. Karolina Snita/Madalina Grigoriu (ULM) 6-2
3. Luana Stanciu/Tiffany Mylonas (ULM) def. Stefania Hristov/Saska Gavrilovska (A&M) 6-3
Match Notes:
Louisiana Monroe 16-2
Texas A&M 17-12; National ranking #20
Order of finish: Doubles (2,3,1); Singles (6,2,1,3,5)
NCAA Team Championship First Round
The Aggies (17-12) will take on No. 16 Baylor (22-6) in the second round on Sunday at 1 p.m. at the Hurd Tennis Center, with the winner advancing to the round of 16 and the final championship site, the Dan Magill Tennis Complex in Athens, Georgia.
Texas A&M, making its 18th-consecutive and 23rd overall appearance in the NCAA tournament, won two of the three doubles matches to take a 1-0 lead over the Warhawks. Domenica Gonzalez and Eva Paalma trailed, 2-1, at the No. 2 line after ULM's Karolina Snita and Madalina Grigoriu went up a break, but the Aggie duo was first off the court after winning the next five consecutive games to take the match, 6-2.
ULM's Luana Stanciu and Tiffany Mylonas then evened the race for the doubles point with a win at No. 3. The Warhawks pair began the match by winning the first three games against A&M's Saska Gavrilovska and Stefania Hristov at No. 3. ULM went on to hold a lead the entire match in a 6-3 win.
The point came down to the No. 1 line, where A&M's seventh-ranked Rutuja Bhosale and Rachel Pierson had built a 4-1 lead over Stefana Andrei and Petra Horakova. ULM rallied and was within 5-4 before A&M closed out the match, 6-4, to clinch the point for the Aggies.
Singles was closely contested with A&M winning three first sets and ULM also winning three first sets. Macarena Olivares gave the Aggies a 2-0 lead with a straight-set win over Grigoriu at No. 6. Olivares won the first seven games in the match and held a 5-1 lead in the second set when Grigoriu began a comeback. Olivares was up 5-2 before Grigoriu fought off three match points, including two no-ad points to get within 5-4. Grigoriu, who entered the match riding a 12-match winning streak and was 11-0 at the No. 6 line, fought off another match point in the final game to force a third consecutive no-ad situation before Olivares came away with the 6-0, 6-4 victory.
ULM quickly tied the score with two straight-set wins at the top of the lineup. Mylonas had lost the opening three games against 53rd-ranked Bhosale at No. 2 but reeled off six straight games to win the first set, 6-3. The second set stayed on serve until Mylonas went up a break at 4-3. Bhosale was unable to break back before Mylonas closed out the 6-3, 6-4 win to put the Warhawks within 2-1.
Andrei knotted the team score at 2-2 after upsetting 16th-ranked Pierson at No. 1. In the opening frame, Andrei jumped out to a 4-1 lead. Pierson climbed back within 5-4 before Andrei finished out the 6-4 win. It was Pierson who jumped out to a 4-1 lead in the second set, but she was unable to hold off Andrei, who stormed back to win five consecutive games to complete the 6-4, 6-4 straight-set victory.
Gonzalez returned the lead to the Aggies with a straight-set, 6-1, 6-4 win over Patricia Villar at No. 3. Gonzalez closed out the first set by winning five consecutive games and went on to build a 4-1 lead in the second set. Villar came back to tie the set, 4-4, before Gonzalez won the next two games to put the Aggies ahead, 3-2.
Paalma held off Snita at the No. 5 line to clinch the win for the Aggies. After jumping out to a 4-0 lead to begin the match and comfortably winning the first set, 6-2, Paalma had to come from behind late in the second set to get the win and extend her team-leading winning streak to six matches.
Paalma held a 2-0 lead at the start of the second set, but Snita won the next three games to put the set back on serve, 3-2. Paalma held and then broke to go up 4-3, but Snita broke back and then held serve to retake the lead, 5-4. Paalma, however, would persevere, winning the next three games to win the match, 6-2, 7-5, to clinch the victory and send the Aggies on to the second round.
In the only three-set match of the day, Gavrilovska rebounded from a 6-4 first-set loss to Horakova to win the second set, 6-2. The third set had just gotten underway with Gavrilovska holding a 1-0 edge over Horakova, who entered the match 16-0 in dual matches, when Paalma clinched and the match was stopped.
Texas A&M advances to the second round for the sixth consecutive year, while ULM had its 15-match winning streak snapped and ends its season 16-2.
Baylor advanced to the second round with a 4-0 win over Texas A&M-Corpus Christi. The Aggies fell to Baylor, 4-0, on March 22 in Waco, but A&M was using a makeshift lineup with Pierson missing the match because of an injury.
Live scoring of the match will be available at http://www.baylorbears.com/sports/m-tennis/live-stats.html.
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
Texas A&M head coach Mark Weaver quotes:
"I'm overall pleased with the win. Obviously, it would have been nice to have not been so close there at the end, but on the other hand I thought we did quite well. The doubles point was close for a while and we kind of pulled away and stepped our games up in the doubles, so I think that was a critical point in the match. I do like the idea that we actually got some tough matches in. I think it will help us going into our match tomorrow, Baylor or Corpus Christi, whoever it is we are playing. It will just make us that much more match ready for tomorrow."
Tennis Match Results
Louisiana Monroe vs Texas A&M
May 13, 2017 at Waco, Texas
(Hurd Tennis Center)
#20 Texas A&M 4, Louisiana Monroe 2
Singles competition
1. Stefana Andrei (ULM) def. #16 Rachel Pierson (A&M) 6-4, 6-4
2. Tiffany Mylonas (ULM) def. #53 Rutuja Bhosale (A&M) 6-3, 6-4
3. Domenica Gonzalez (A&M) def. Patricia Villar (ULM) 6-1, 6-4
4. Saska Gavrilovska (A&M) vs. Petra Horakova (ULM) 4-6, 6-2, 1-1, unfinished
5. Eva Paalma (A&M) def. Karolina Snita (ULM) 6-2, 7-5
6. Macarena Olivares (A&M) def. Madalina Grigoriu (ULM) 6-0, 6-4
Doubles competition
1. #7 Rachel Pierson/Rutuja Bhosale (A&M) def. Stefana Andrei/Petra Horakova (ULM) 6-4
2. Eva Paalma/Domenica Gonzalez (A&M) def. Karolina Snita/Madalina Grigoriu (ULM) 6-2
3. Luana Stanciu/Tiffany Mylonas (ULM) def. Stefania Hristov/Saska Gavrilovska (A&M) 6-3
Match Notes:
Louisiana Monroe 16-2
Texas A&M 17-12; National ranking #20
Order of finish: Doubles (2,3,1); Singles (6,2,1,3,5)
NCAA Team Championship First Round
Players Mentioned
/ 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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