
Texas A&M’s Makarova Wins Last Match Standing to Defeat Rice in NCAA First Round
May 04, 2019 | Women's Tennis
AUSTIN, Texas – Texas A&M sophomore Tatiana Makarova swept the final five games to win a third-set last-match standing to send the Aggies thru to the NCAA Tournament second round with a 4-3 victory over Rice at the Texas Tennis Center Saturday. After the Aggies fell behind 3-1, A&M picked up wins from Lucia Quiterio and Riley McQuaid before Makarova punched the ticket to the second round.
Makarova defeated Anastasia Smirnova 4-6, 7-6(1), 7-5 to record the final point of the day, her second last-match standing victory of the season. The sophomore recorded her 15th win of the spring and 21st overall this year.
McQuaid jumpstarted the comeback for the Maroon & White bringing the Aggies within 3-2 after defeating Anna Bowtell 6-4, 6-7(6), 6-1 on court five. McQuaid picked up her team-leading 18th dual win and her 50th collegiate victory.
Quiterio evened the match at three-all after defeating Diae El Jardi 7-5, 3-6, 6-3 on court six. Quiterio won her sixth straight match to record her 16th win this spring.
The Aggies opened the match by earning the doubles point with wins on courts one and three. Quiterio and McQuaid won 6-2 on court three over Victoria Smirnova and Bowtell followed by No. 33 Makarova and Jayci Goldsmith defeated No. 61 Michaela Haet and Linda Huang 6-3 on court one.
With the win, A&M now holds a 28-10 lead in the all-time series against the Owls and advance to take on the winner of host and No. 9 seed Texas (18-4) and Long Island (14-7) in second-round action at noon on Sunday, May 5
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 or Instagram by following @AggieWTEN or on Facebook at Facebook.com/AggieWTEN.
Post Match Quotes
Mark Weaver, Texas A&M head coach
On the match…
"The crazy thing is that it was just like last year even though I was hoping it would be different. It was a very similar match to last year. I thought we played the doubles point quite well, same as last year. It seemed like we might have had some nerves early in the singles. We definitely didn't play our best for whatever reason. I didn't think we played the big points all that great in the first set or two. But having said that, in that final match, Tatiana played the big points about as well as she could at the end. We're the cat with nine lives right now. We need to regroup. We got the first round under our belt. We definitely need to raise our game tomorrow, but I have every reason to believe we will."
On Tatiana's match…
"Great job by Tatiana. She definitely used everything there at the end to get the job done. We were talking a lot during the changeovers about using her legs. Tatiana is such a great athlete – probably one of the best athletes you'll see in collegiate tennis. She paid the price in the legs being down 5-2 (in the third set). She was very patient in the points – using heavy spin on the forehand and lots of slices with the backhand. (Rice's Anastisia) Smirnova was just blasting winners left and right and finally Tatiana kind of got her out of her game at the end. Amazing job by Tatiana and an amazing team effort by everyone."
On the fight from his team…
"We definitely had some team resiliency there. Earlier in the season, we had a 3-1 down against TCU and we came back and won that match. We won the doubles point, but we just didn't come out strong in the singles. Not to make excuses, but it's been a weird week of practice (due to the weather). We've had three days of practice (in Austin), but we've practiced indoors the majority of the time. I think getting a match in on Texas' courts, getting used to the weather and the conditions will help us tomorrow. I have no doubt we'll be more ready and be used to the timing of the ball and the bounces for tomorrow."
Tennis Match Results
Rice vs Texas A&M
5/4/19 at Austin, Texas
(Texas Tennis Center)
#18 Texas A&M 4, #39 Rice 3
Singles competition
1. #63 Michaela Haet (RICE) def. #52 Katya Townsend (TAMU) 6-4, 3-6, 6-4
2. Victoria Smirnova (RICE) def. #75 Jayci Goldsmith (TAMU) 6-3, 7-5
3. Tatiana Makarova (TAMU) def. Anastasia Smirnova (RICE) 4-6, 7-6 (7-1), 7-5
4. Priya Niezgoda (RICE) def. Renee McBryde (TAMU) 7-6 (8-6), 6-4
5. Riley McQuaid (TAMU) def. Anna Bowtell (RICE) 6-4, 6-7 (6-8), 6-1
6. Lucia Quiterio (TAMU) def. Diae El Jardi (RICE) 7-5, 3-6, 6-3
Doubles competition
1. #33 Tatiana Makarova/Jayci Goldsmith (TAMU) def. #61 Michaela Haet/Linda Huang (RICE) 6-3
2. Renee McBryde/Katya Townsend (TAMU) vs. Anastasia Smirnova/Priya Niezgoda (RICE) 5-6, unfinished
3. Riley McQuaid/Lucia Quiterio (TAMU) def. Victoria Smirnova/Anna Bowtell (RICE) 6-2
Match Notes:
Rice 16-8; National ranking #39
Texas A&M 23-7; National ranking #18
Order of finish: Doubles (3,1); Singles (2,4,1,5,6,3)
Makarova defeated Anastasia Smirnova 4-6, 7-6(1), 7-5 to record the final point of the day, her second last-match standing victory of the season. The sophomore recorded her 15th win of the spring and 21st overall this year.
McQuaid jumpstarted the comeback for the Maroon & White bringing the Aggies within 3-2 after defeating Anna Bowtell 6-4, 6-7(6), 6-1 on court five. McQuaid picked up her team-leading 18th dual win and her 50th collegiate victory.
Quiterio evened the match at three-all after defeating Diae El Jardi 7-5, 3-6, 6-3 on court six. Quiterio won her sixth straight match to record her 16th win this spring.
The Aggies opened the match by earning the doubles point with wins on courts one and three. Quiterio and McQuaid won 6-2 on court three over Victoria Smirnova and Bowtell followed by No. 33 Makarova and Jayci Goldsmith defeated No. 61 Michaela Haet and Linda Huang 6-3 on court one.
With the win, A&M now holds a 28-10 lead in the all-time series against the Owls and advance to take on the winner of host and No. 9 seed Texas (18-4) and Long Island (14-7) in second-round action at noon on Sunday, May 5
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 or Instagram by following @AggieWTEN or on Facebook at Facebook.com/AggieWTEN.
Post Match Quotes
Mark Weaver, Texas A&M head coach
On the match…
"The crazy thing is that it was just like last year even though I was hoping it would be different. It was a very similar match to last year. I thought we played the doubles point quite well, same as last year. It seemed like we might have had some nerves early in the singles. We definitely didn't play our best for whatever reason. I didn't think we played the big points all that great in the first set or two. But having said that, in that final match, Tatiana played the big points about as well as she could at the end. We're the cat with nine lives right now. We need to regroup. We got the first round under our belt. We definitely need to raise our game tomorrow, but I have every reason to believe we will."
On Tatiana's match…
"Great job by Tatiana. She definitely used everything there at the end to get the job done. We were talking a lot during the changeovers about using her legs. Tatiana is such a great athlete – probably one of the best athletes you'll see in collegiate tennis. She paid the price in the legs being down 5-2 (in the third set). She was very patient in the points – using heavy spin on the forehand and lots of slices with the backhand. (Rice's Anastisia) Smirnova was just blasting winners left and right and finally Tatiana kind of got her out of her game at the end. Amazing job by Tatiana and an amazing team effort by everyone."
On the fight from his team…
"We definitely had some team resiliency there. Earlier in the season, we had a 3-1 down against TCU and we came back and won that match. We won the doubles point, but we just didn't come out strong in the singles. Not to make excuses, but it's been a weird week of practice (due to the weather). We've had three days of practice (in Austin), but we've practiced indoors the majority of the time. I think getting a match in on Texas' courts, getting used to the weather and the conditions will help us tomorrow. I have no doubt we'll be more ready and be used to the timing of the ball and the bounces for tomorrow."
Tennis Match Results
Rice vs Texas A&M
5/4/19 at Austin, Texas
(Texas Tennis Center)
#18 Texas A&M 4, #39 Rice 3
Singles competition
1. #63 Michaela Haet (RICE) def. #52 Katya Townsend (TAMU) 6-4, 3-6, 6-4
2. Victoria Smirnova (RICE) def. #75 Jayci Goldsmith (TAMU) 6-3, 7-5
3. Tatiana Makarova (TAMU) def. Anastasia Smirnova (RICE) 4-6, 7-6 (7-1), 7-5
4. Priya Niezgoda (RICE) def. Renee McBryde (TAMU) 7-6 (8-6), 6-4
5. Riley McQuaid (TAMU) def. Anna Bowtell (RICE) 6-4, 6-7 (6-8), 6-1
6. Lucia Quiterio (TAMU) def. Diae El Jardi (RICE) 7-5, 3-6, 6-3
Doubles competition
1. #33 Tatiana Makarova/Jayci Goldsmith (TAMU) def. #61 Michaela Haet/Linda Huang (RICE) 6-3
2. Renee McBryde/Katya Townsend (TAMU) vs. Anastasia Smirnova/Priya Niezgoda (RICE) 5-6, unfinished
3. Riley McQuaid/Lucia Quiterio (TAMU) def. Victoria Smirnova/Anna Bowtell (RICE) 6-2
Match Notes:
Rice 16-8; National ranking #39
Texas A&M 23-7; National ranking #18
Order of finish: Doubles (3,1); Singles (2,4,1,5,6,3)
Team Stats
#1 Doubles Match
#2 Doubles Match
#3 Doubles Match
Order of Finish:
3,1
Order of Finish:
2,4,1,5,6,3
Players Mentioned
Georgia Postgame: Mark Weaver, Mary Stoiana, Mia Kupres
Sunday, May 18
Michigan Postgame: Mark Weaver, Nicole Khirin, Lexington Reed
Saturday, May 17
NCAA Team Championship Preview: Daria Smetannikov
Monday, May 12
NCAA Team Championship Preview: Mia Kupres
Monday, May 12