No. 8 Aggies Dismantle South Carolina in SEC Opener

Friday, March 4

Bryan-College Station

3:00 PM

Texas A&M

South Carolina

Photo by: Sydney Morriss/Texas A&M Athletics

Mar 04, 2022 | Women's Tennis

Box Score Photo Gallery

By: Nick Whitley, Texas A&M Athletics Communications

BRYAN-COLLEGE STATION, Texas – No. 8 Texas A&M women's tennis took the doubles point and never looked back, cruising past the South Carolina Gamecocks in a 6-1 showing Friday afternoon at the George P. Mitchell Tennis Center.

A&M opens its 10th season in the Southeastern Conference with a 1-0 league record, improving to 15-1 overall this season. In defeat, South Carolina returns to .500 with a 5-5 ledger and an 0-1 start in SEC play. The Aggies rise to 9-1 in their SEC home opening matches since joining the conference in the 2013 dual match campaign.

In one of the most raucous doubles points this season, the Aggies seized an early 1-0 advantage after picking up wins on courts two and three. At the No. 3 position, Jeanette Mireles and Gianna Pielet teamed up for a dominant 6-2 victory over the Gamecock duo of Misa Malkin and Elise Mills. Over on court two, Carson Branstine and Mary Stoiana logged the deciding doubles victory with a 6-4 performance against Ayana Akli and Ana Cruz. At the top line, No. 3-ranked Jayci Goldsmith and Tatiana Makarova had just broken Megan Davies and Sarah Hamner to take a 6-5 lead, but the match was abandoned.

After transitioning into singles play, the Maroon & White rolled to win five-of-six first sets. Pielet extended the Aggie lead to 2-0 following her 6-1, 6-1 rout of Malkin on court five. No. 91 Stoiana impressed in a 6-1, 6-1 victory of her own, beating Davies on court three to give the Aggies a 3-0 lead. The Maroon & White called upon Mireles to seal their first SEC win of the season, breezing past Cruz in a 6-1, 6-2 affair. After the match was clinched, South Carolina snagged its only point of the match on court one. Goldsmith earned a three-set victory over No. 68 Mills and No. 41 Makarova toppled No. 74 Akli to finalize the 6-1 result.

With her victory in Friday's last match standing, Makarova extended her team-best singles win streak to 10 consecutive wins. She stands one win away from cracking the top-10 in career singles victories at Texas A&M, boasting an 87-34 record since the 2018 dual match season. Stoiana improved upon her team-best singles record, rising to 17-3 overall this season. Mireles booked her second career clinch victory, logging the deciding point against A&M-Corpus Christi and South Carolina so far this season.

UP NEXT
No. 8 Texas A&M women's tennis remains at home for the second match of SEC play, as the Aggies take on the No. 13 Florida Gators in a noon (CT) first serve Sunday afternoon.

POSTMATCH QUOTES
TEXAS A&M QUOTES
Head Coach Mark Weaver
On starting the SEC slate off with a dominant win…
"I'm extremely pleased with our performance. Getting a 6-1 win against a very strong program in South Carolina is incredibly encouraging. The Gamecocks have had a very strong program over the past few years. Winning the way we did today was quite a statement. The SEC opener usually raises the level of play up a notch. I thought we played one of our better matches of the year. Even though we are off to a 15-1 start this season, I firmly believe that our best tennis is in front of us. We played very well today, but I feel like we can still take it to another level. We couldn't ask for a better start than what we did today."

Freshman Jeanette Mireles
On clinching the team's first SEC win…
"I am so thrilled, especially since that was our first SEC experience as a team this season. I've never really felt anything like that before. I am so happy that I was able to step up and get our very first win in conference this year. When you commit to a school like Texas A&M, you dream of playing in some really tough matches against great opponents, and that is what tonight felt like for me. I am really excited for the rest of the season."

TENNIS MATCH RESULTS
#8 Texas A&M 6, South Carolina 1
George P. Mitchell Tennis Center – Bryan-College Station, Texas
SINGLES
1. #1 Sarah Hamner (SC) def. #27 Carson Branstine (TAMU) 6-2, 7-6(5)
2. #41 Tatiana Makarova (TAMU) def. #74 Ayana Akli (SC) 6-2, 4-6, 7-5
3. #91 Mary Stoiana (TAMU) def. Megan Davies (SC) 6-1, 6-1
4. Jayci Goldsmith (TAMU) def. #68 Elise Mills (SC) 6-1, 5-7, 6-3
5. Gianna Pielet (TAMU) def. Misa Malkin (SC) 6-1, 6-1
6. Jeanette Mireles (TAMU) def. Ana Cruz (SC) 6-1, 6-2

DOUBLES
1. #3 Jayci Goldsmith / Tatiana Makarova (TAMU) vs. Megan Davies / Sarah Hamner (SC) 6-5, unfinished
2. Carson Branstine / Mary Stoiana (TAMU def. Ayana Akli / Ana Cruz (SC) 6-4
3. Jeanette Mireles / Gianna Pielet (TAMU) def. Misa Malkin / Elise Mills (SC) 6-2

Order of Finish: Doubles (3,2); Singles (5,3,6*,1,4,2)

POSTMATCH NOTES

Texas A&M rises to 15-1 overall in the 2022 season and starts its 10th season in the Southeastern Conference with a 1-0 record.
The Aggies currently hold the No. 8 ranking according to the ITA and the No. 7 ranking according to the USTA.
South Carolina falls to 5-5 this season and is now 0-1 in SEC matches.
In the all-time series, A&M improves to 7-4 against South Carolina since joining the SEC in 2013. The Aggies trial the Gamecocks 11-8 since the series began in 1988.
Aggie skipper Mark Weaver rises to 125-56 in his career as head coach, which began in the 2015-16 academic year.

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.