No. 8 Texas A&M Books First Ranked Win Over No. 17 Old Dominion

Saturday, February 12

Madison, Wis.

3:30 PM

Texas A&M

Old Dominion

Photo by: ITA Tennis

Feb 12, 2022 | Women's Tennis

Box Score

By: Nick Whitley, Texas A&M Athletics Communications

MADISON, Wis. – No. 8 Texas A&M women's tennis toppled the No. 17 Old Dominion Monarchs (3-4) by a 4-1 margin Saturday afternoon inside Nielsen Tennis Stadium. The Aggies boast an overall record of 10-1, which marks the fastest any A&M team has hit the 10-win mark in program history.

The Aggies coasted through the doubles point, dominating on court one and earning a steady decision on court two to secure the early 1-0 advantage. No. 23 Jayci Goldsmith and Tatiana Makarova dismantled the Monarch duo of Shahar Biran and Tatsiana Sasnouskaya in a 6-1 rout. Over on the second court, Carson Branstine and Mary Stoiana booked a 6-4 win against Alexandra Viktorovich and Alesya Yakubovich, securing the early edge. Jeanette Mireles and Gianna Pielet held an imposing 5-3 lead over Marina Alcaide and Sofia Johnson, but the match was abandoned.

In singles action, the Maroon & White released their frustrations from the previous evening and unloaded on the Monarchs, winning five of six first sets to lock in the momentum. No. 105 Makarova wreaked havoc on Alcaide, pushing the Aggies ahead by a 2-0 margin with a 6-0, 6-3 victory. On court one, No. 111 Branstine extended the A&M lead to 3-0 with a 6-4, 6-4 performance just before the Monarchs recorded their only point of the match on court four. In one of the most clutch performances of her young career, Pielet clinched the match on court five with a 6-3, 4-6, 6-3 effort. No. 122 Stoiana and Mireles each held commanding leads in their respective matches on courts three and six, but both were left unfinished.

With her victories in singles and doubles Saturday, Makarova moves into a tie for sixth place on the Texas A&M career doubles win chart and sits only five victories away from cracking the top-10 at A&M in career singles. Pielet moves into a tie with Stoiana for the clinch victory lead this season, snagging her third deciding point in 2022.

A&M improves to 1-1 in the ITA National Women's Team Indoor Championships and needs only one more win to match the best performance at the tournament in program history. Saturday's match also marked the first Aggie win at ITA Indoors since the 2017 team defeated then-No. 10 Duke in a 4-3 affair.

UP NEXT
No. 8 Texas A&M women's tennis continues its stay in America's Dairyland, as the Aggies get set to face the winner of the consolation match between the No. 15 USC Trojans and Wisconsin Badgers. First serve in A&M's final match at ITA Indoors is set for 6:30 p.m. (CT) inside Nielsen Tennis Stadium.

Match streaming, as well as links to live statistics will be made public when they become available.

POSTMATCH QUOTES
TEXAS A&M QUOTES
Head Coach Mark Weaver
On A&M's performance against Old Dominion and looking ahead to Sunday…
"Overall, it was a very good job by our group to bounce back after the match last night. Yesterday was nothing less than a heartbreaker, so it showed great resilience for our players to come back out here tonight against a very good team and perform the way they did. It shows a lot of character. We won 4-1 tonight and by all appearances it looked like it would have been 6-1 had we played all of the matches out. We continue to play decisive doubles, and that is absolutely crucial for us to be in a position to succeed at a high level this season. Tomorrow we will play either USC or Wisconsin, and it will be another great opportunity for us. I know our team will come out hungry and ready to go."

Freshman Gianna Pielet
On her three-set win on court five to clinch the match…
"It was a really tough match. The girl I played today was a really solid player, and she did a lot of really good things. Without the support from coach (Mark) Weaver, and all of my coaches, I don't know if I would have been able to close it out. Our coaching staff does such a good job of keeping all of us calm and focused on our goals as a team. They helped instill confidence in me and encourage me tonight, and the support of my teammates really helped me as well. I'm really excited to get back to work tomorrow."

TENNIS MATCH RESULTS
#8 Texas A&M 4, #17 Old Dominion 1
ITA National Team Indoor Championships – Consolation
Nielsen Tennis Stadium – Madison, Wis.
SINGLES
1. #111 Carson Branstine (TAMU) def. #53 Tatsiana Sasnouskaya (ODU) 6-4, 6-4
2. #105 Tatiana Makarova (TAMU) def. Marina Alcaide (ODU) 6-0, 6-3
3. #122 Mary Stoiana (TAMU) vs. Alexandra Viktorovich (ODU) 6-4, 4-6, 5-3, unfinished
4. Sofia Johnson (ODU) def. #117 Jayci Goldsmith (TAMU) 7-6(5), 6-4
5. Gianna Pielet (TAMU) def. Alesya Yakubovich (ODU) 6-3, 4-6, 6-3
6. Jeanette Mireles (TAMU) vs. Shahar Biran (ODU) 7-5, 1-6, 5-1, unfinished

DOUBLES
1. #23 Jayci Goldsmith / Tatiana Makarova (TAMU) def. Shahar Biran / Tatsiana Sasnouskaya (ODU) 6-1
2. Carson Branstine / Mary Stoiana (TAMU) def. Alexandra Viktorovich / Alesya Yakubovich (ODU) 6-4
3. Jeanette Mireles / Gianna Pielet (TAMU) vs. Marina Alcaide / Sofia Johnson (ODU) 5-3, unfinished

Order of Finish: Doubles (1,2); Singles (2,1,4,5*)

POSTMATCH NOTES

Texas A&M improves to 10-1 on the season and sits as the No. 8 ranked team in the nation according to the ITA.
The 2022 Aggies are the fastest team in history to reach the 10-win mark, using only 11 matches to do so.
The Aggies rise to 1-1 at the 2022 ITA National Women's Team Indoor Championships.
Old Dominion falls to 3-4 overall this season and holds the No. 17 ITA Team Ranking.
Saturday's match was the first meeting between Texas A&M and Old Dominion in women's tennis, with the Aggies now holding a 1-0 edge in the series.
Tatiana Makarova moves into a tie for sixth place on the Texas A&M career doubles win chart and sits only five victories away from cracking the top-10 at A&M in career singles.
Gianna Pielet is now tied with Mary Stoiana for the clinch-win lead this season, both recording three victories for deciding points in a match.

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