No. 17 Women’s Tennis Finishes Undefeated at Home in SEC Play

Saturday, April 17

Bryan-College Station

10:00 AM

Texas A&M

Ole Miss

Photo by: Craig Bisacre/Texas A&M Athletics

Apr 17, 2021 | Women's Tennis

Box Score

By: Nick Whitley, Texas A&M Athletics Communications

BRYAN-COLLEGE STATION, Texas – The No. 17 Texas A&M women's tennis team completed its SEC home slate undefeated for the first time in the Mark Weaver era on Saturday at the George P. Mitchell Tennis Center, defeating the No. 19 Ole Miss Rebels in a 4-1 affair. This was the first time the Aggies went undefeated against SEC competition at home since the 2013-14 campaign.

With the victory, the Maroon & White advance to 17-5 overall this year with a 9-3 Southeastern Conference Campaign. A&M completed its season at the Mitchell Tennis Center with an 11-1 home record, the best homestand since the 2013-14 season which saw the Aggies go 13-0 at home. In defeat, Ole Miss drops to 11-8 with a 7-6 finish at the conclusion of the SEC regular season.

As usual, the match began with the doubles competition, as the No. 39 pairing of Tatiana Makarova and Jayci Goldsmith booked an impressive 6-1 rout of the No. 20 ranked Rebel duo of Anna Vrbenska and Alexa Bortles. The team's dominance in the doubles competition continued on court three, with Riley McQuaid and Katya Townsend defeating Tereza Janatova and Kelsey Mize, 6-3. The battle on court two saw Renee McBryde and Dorthea Faa-Hviding hold a 4-2 lead over Sabina Machalova and Tiphanie Fiquet, but the match went unfinished as the doubles point was clinched.

Transitioning to singles, the Aggies took five-of-six first sets and looked to finish with a comfortable advantage on the scoreboard Saturday afternoon. Faa-Hviding extended the Aggie lead to 2-0 following a commanding 6-0, 6-2 finish on court four against Vrbenska. The Rebels inched closer on court six with a straight set victory to make it 2-1, but a remarkable 6-1, 6-3 performance by No. 24 Makarova over No. 26 Machalova saw the Aggies stand on the precipice of victory. With only one point needed to clinch the match, Goldsmith completed a clutch 6-2, 7-5 showing to take down No. 59 Fiquet and seal A&M's final home win of the 2021 campaign.

The Moscow, Russia, native Makarova has a program-best 13-match win streak and is unbeaten in her last 15 attempts. The senior holds a 23-5 overall record this season and maintains a stunning 15-3 mark in dual match play. Makarova also holds an immaculate 10-0 record through her 12 matches played this year against Southeastern Conference competition. Goldsmith, a native of Dripping Springs, Texas, clinched her second match of the season on Saturday at the No. 2 position. She is now 13-8 overall with an 11-7 dual match record.

A&M's victory over the Rebels guaranteed that the Aggies will play as the No. 3 seed in the 2021 SEC Women's Tennis Championships to be held in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, next week. This is the highest SEC regular season placement for the Aggies in the Mark Weaver era and is also the winningest Southeastern Conference regular season campaign since 2014-15, in which the Aggies went 11-2 and tied for second place in the league standings.

UP NEXT
The Maroon & White gear up for their 2021 regular season finale tomorrow, Sunday, April 18, 2021, as the Aggies challenge the No. 3 Georgia Bulldogs in a 3 p.m. first serve from the Alabama Tennis Stadium in Tuscaloosa, Alabama.

POSTMATCH QUOTES
TEXAS A&M QUOTES
Head Coach Mark Weaver
On the team's recent success in doubles play…
"We've just been focusing on the basics in the doubles, and we've had some excellent practices here in the last week or so. We have started focusing on doing the simple things very well, and that's made all the difference. The decision making has been programmed in over the last week, and we seem very sure of ourselves regarding what we need to do in the doubles point. When we spend less time overthinking things and start letting the physical side of the game take over, it makes life a lot easier. Getting the doubles point today really set the stage for the rest of our match."

On A&M's undefeated SEC home record…
"We always talk about protecting our house and taking care of business at home. We did a great job of that going undefeated in the SEC at home this year. It says a lot about our team. We've had a great regular season and a great season against our SEC opponents, so we look forward to taking on No. 3 Georgia tomorrow."

TENNIS MATCH RESULTS
No. 17 Texas A&M 4, No. 19 Ole Miss 1
George P. Mitchell Tennis Center – Bryan-College Station, Texas
Singles Competition
1. #24 Tatiana Makarova (TAMU) def. #26 Sabina Machalova (MISS) 6-1, 6-3
2. Jayci Goldsmith (TAMU) def. #59 Tiphanie Fiquet (MISS) 6-2, 7-5
3. Katya Townsend (TAMU) vs. #90 Tereza Janatova (MISS) 6-7(6), 3-2, unfinished
4. Dorthea Faa-Hviding (TAMU) def. Anna Vrbenska (MISS) 6-0, 6-2
5. Renee McBryde (TAMU) vs. Alexa Bortles (MISS) 6-2, 1-6, 1-3
6. Lillian Gabrielsen (MISS) def. Riley McQuaid (TAMU) 6-4, 6-2

Doubles Competition
1. #39 Tatiana Makarova / Jayci Goldsmith (TAMU) def. #20 Anna Vrbenska / Alexa Bortles (MISS) 6-1
2. Renee McBryde / Dorthea Faa-Hviding (TAMU) vs. Sabina Machalova / Tiphanie Fiquet (MISS) 4-2, unfinished
3. Riley McQuaid / Katya Townsend (TAMU) def. Tereza Janatova / Kelsey Mize (MISS) 6-2

Order of Finish: Doubles (1,3); Singles (4,6,1,2)

POSTMATCH NOTES

With the win, Texas A&M climbs to 17-5 overall with a 9-3 record against Southeastern Conference opposition. The Aggies were ranked No. 17 in the latest Oracle ITA Women's Team Rankings.
After the loss, Ole Miss falls to 11-8 overall this season with a 7-6 SEC mark. The Rebels were ranked No. 19 nationally in the latest ITA poll.
The order of finish in Saturday's match was as follows: Doubles (1,3); Singles (4,6,1,2)

FOLLOW THE AGGIES
Visit 12thman.com for more information on Texas A&M women's tennis. Fans can keep up to date with the A&M women's tennis team on Facebook, Instagram, and on Twitter by following @AggieWTEN.