Photo by: Sam Craft/Texas A&M Athletics
Pierson, Bhosale Victorious in NCAA Doubles Championship Opener
May 25, 2017 | Women's Tennis
ATHENS, Ga. — Texas A&M seniors Rutuja Bhosale and Rachel Pierson opened the 2017 NCAA Women's Tennis Doubles Championships with a 7-5, 6-3 victory over Astrid Gehre and Anna Wichert of Texas Arlington today at the Dan Magill Tennis Complex on the University of Georgia campus.
"We won a crucial return game at 6-5 to close out a tight first set," Aggie head coach Mark Weaver said. "After we secured the first set, we were able to settle in a bit and raise our games in the second set, and that made our lives a little easier. It is always nice to get the first match under your belt and move forward from there."
After pulling away for the 7-5 first-set win, the Aggies went up a break, 3-1, in the second set. The teams then held serve for the remainder of the set as the Maroon and White completed the straight-set victory.
Bhosale and Pierson, who became A&M's first-ever All-Americans in doubles after receiving a No. 5-8 seed in the 32-team field, advance to the round of 16. It marks only the third time in Texas A&M history that an Aggie women's doubles team has advanced beyond the first round, and it is the first time since Tiffany Clifford and Sarah Foster accomplished the feat in 2006.
Bhosale and Pierson, 26-11 overall and ranked seventh in the nation, will be attempting to become the first A&M pair to ever reach the quarterfinals when they take on a familiar foe in LSU's Ryann Foster and Joana Valle Costa on Friday at 4 p.m. (3 p.m. CT). The Tiger duo, ranked 16th in the ITA national doubles rankings, advanced to the round of 16 with a 6-2, 7-5 first-round victory over 51st-ranked Melissa Baker and Palina Dubavets of UC Santa Barbara.
Earlier this season, the Aggies came out on top, 6-2, in a regular-season Southeastern Conference matchup at LSU. Foster and Valle Costa won, 7-5, when the teams faced at the SEC Tournament in Nashville.
Live video and scoring of the matches are available at http://www.georgiadogs.com/sports/m-tennis/spec-rel/vid-stream-ncaa.html
The tournament concludes Monday, May 29.
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
Results:
NCAA Singles Championship
First Round, Wednesday, May 24
No. 5 Ena Shibahara (UCLA) def. No. 53 Rutuja Bhosale (Texas A&M), 6-4, 6-2
No. 70 Petra Melounova (Hawaii) def. No. 16 Rachel Pierson (Texas A&M), 7-6 (5), 6-3
NCAA Doubles Championship
First Round, Thursday, May 25
No. 7 Bhosale/Pierson (Texas A&M) def. Astrid Gehre/Anna Wichert (UTA), 7-5, 6-3
Second Round, Friday, May 26
No. 7 Bhosale/Pierson (Texas A&M) vs. No. 16 Ryann Foster/Joana Valle Costa (LSU), 4 p.m. ET
"We won a crucial return game at 6-5 to close out a tight first set," Aggie head coach Mark Weaver said. "After we secured the first set, we were able to settle in a bit and raise our games in the second set, and that made our lives a little easier. It is always nice to get the first match under your belt and move forward from there."
After pulling away for the 7-5 first-set win, the Aggies went up a break, 3-1, in the second set. The teams then held serve for the remainder of the set as the Maroon and White completed the straight-set victory.
Bhosale and Pierson, who became A&M's first-ever All-Americans in doubles after receiving a No. 5-8 seed in the 32-team field, advance to the round of 16. It marks only the third time in Texas A&M history that an Aggie women's doubles team has advanced beyond the first round, and it is the first time since Tiffany Clifford and Sarah Foster accomplished the feat in 2006.
Bhosale and Pierson, 26-11 overall and ranked seventh in the nation, will be attempting to become the first A&M pair to ever reach the quarterfinals when they take on a familiar foe in LSU's Ryann Foster and Joana Valle Costa on Friday at 4 p.m. (3 p.m. CT). The Tiger duo, ranked 16th in the ITA national doubles rankings, advanced to the round of 16 with a 6-2, 7-5 first-round victory over 51st-ranked Melissa Baker and Palina Dubavets of UC Santa Barbara.
Earlier this season, the Aggies came out on top, 6-2, in a regular-season Southeastern Conference matchup at LSU. Foster and Valle Costa won, 7-5, when the teams faced at the SEC Tournament in Nashville.
Live video and scoring of the matches are available at http://www.georgiadogs.com/sports/m-tennis/spec-rel/vid-stream-ncaa.html
The tournament concludes Monday, May 29.
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
Results:
NCAA Singles Championship
First Round, Wednesday, May 24
No. 5 Ena Shibahara (UCLA) def. No. 53 Rutuja Bhosale (Texas A&M), 6-4, 6-2
No. 70 Petra Melounova (Hawaii) def. No. 16 Rachel Pierson (Texas A&M), 7-6 (5), 6-3
NCAA Doubles Championship
First Round, Thursday, May 25
No. 7 Bhosale/Pierson (Texas A&M) def. Astrid Gehre/Anna Wichert (UTA), 7-5, 6-3
Second Round, Friday, May 26
No. 7 Bhosale/Pierson (Texas A&M) vs. No. 16 Ryann Foster/Joana Valle Costa (LSU), 4 p.m. ET
Players Mentioned
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
Monday, May 18
Sunday, May 17
Saturday, May 16
Friday, May 08
