No. 6 Aggies Outlast No. 15 Florida, Makarova Guides A&M to Second Straight SEC Championship Match

Saturday, April 23

Gainesville, Fla.

11:00 AM

Texas A&M

Florida

Photo by: Florida Athletics

Apr 23, 2022 | Women's Tennis

Box Score Photo Gallery

By: Nick Whitley, Texas A&M Athletics Communications

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Tatiana Makarova stood watch over the baseline as Marlee Zein's forehand sailed long, and the No. 6 Texas A&M women's tennis team toppled the No. 15 Florida Gators in a 4-3 instant classic in the SEC Women's Tennis Championships Semifinals from Linder Stadium at the Alfred A. Ring Tennis Complex. The Aggies prepare to make their second SEC Tournament Final in program history and second consecutive, reaching the 2021 final before falling to Georgia in the title match.

The Aggies have cemented themselves as one of the most successful and highly decorated teams in the history of Texas A&M athletics, reaching a previously unfathomable 29-1 overall record. For the first time in program history, the Maroon & White have won 20 straight matches and have outscored their opponents by a 107-23 margin in that span. Against fellow SEC member institutions, A&M is a program-best 15-0 and has not suffered a loss to a league foe since dropping the SEC Championship match by a 4-0 score to Georgia on April 23, 2021. In defeat, Florida falls to 19-6 overall on the season and concludes its SEC Tournament run in the semifinals.

Since Texas A&M joined the Southeastern Conference in the 2012-13 academic year, the Aggie women's tennis program has continuously made history. In their inaugural dual match season in the league in 2013, the women's tennis team secured the university's first conference regular season championship by securing a three-way tie at the top with Georgia and Florida. The 2022 Aggies are four team points away from becoming the first A&M team to claim a conference regular season and tournament championship in the same season, while simultaneously going undefeated against all league foes in both regular and postseason play.

Texas A&M and Florida duked it out in what was one of the most tightly-contested doubles points in the SEC Tournament. A&M's third-ranked doubles team of Jayci Goldsmith and Makarova got the action started with a remarkable 6-1 demolition of No. 28 Alicia Dudeney and McCartney Kessler. Goldsmith and Makarova fell in Florida's first service game and never looked back, notching their 22nd win together during the 2022 dual match campaign. The Gators responded moments later, as Bente Spee and Zein booked a 6-3 upset of 47th-ranked Carson Branstine and Mary Stoiana on court two.

With both squads splitting doubles matches through the early going, all eyes turned to the battle on court three featuring A&M's Renee McBryde and Gianna Pielet against Florida's Carly Briggs and Emma Shelton. The Maroon & White found themselves behind a break early on in the match, as Briggs' powerful serve led Florida to a 5-4 advantage. The Aggies broke Shelton and utilized McBryde's serve to take a 6-5 lead, but the Gators were able to hold on to force a seven-point tiebreaker for the doubles point. Although Florida roared ahead by a 3-0 margin, McBryde and Pielet went on a 7-1 run to close things out and lock in the doubles point with a 7-6(4) victory.

The singles competition continued to bring drama, as both squads split first sets through the early going. No. 15 Branstine was the first to put a point on the board, as the junior recorded a stunning 6-0, 6-3 defeat of the nation's 11th-ranked singles player in Kessler. The Gators continued to battle, however, evening the match at 2-all following a pair of wins on court five and six. Sara Dahlstrom defeated Pielet 6-4, 6-0 to cut the lead to one, while Shelton deadlocked the affair following a 6-3, 6-4 defeat of Townsend. Goldsmith staved off a late advance by Briggs to secure a hard-fought 6-2, 7-5 win that allowed A&M to regain the lead. Florida then deadlocked the match yet again on court three, as Dudeney surpassed No. 70 Stoiana in a 6-3, 6-3 outing.

With the overall match tied at 3-3, all eyes turned to the last match standing on court two between No. 20 Makarova and No. 72 Zein. Makarova got the match started with a dominant run through the early games of the first frame, racing ahead to a 5-2 lead. Aided by the hometown fans, Zein rattled off four straight games to take a 6-5 lead that put Makarova's back against a wall. Makarova held on to force a first-set tiebreaker, and ultimately came away with the big points in the deciding breaker, locking it in by a 7-5 margin to take the opening stanza by a 7-6(5) edge. Despite exchanging breaks to start the second, Makarova maintained her composure and outlasted Zein in an all-out war, taking the last match standing by a 7-6(5), 6-4 score to finalize the 4-3 team result.

Following a career-defining moment on court two, Makarova moves into sole possession of fourth place in the Aggie record book for career-singles victories, reaching 101 wins over the course of her storied collegiate run. In doubles, Makarova moves into a tie for second place all-time in Aggieland with 107 victories in the category, tying A&M great Anna Blagodarova. Makarova, a native of Moscow, Russia, stands in second on the team in clinch victories with seven deciding points highlighted by her last-match-standing victory Saturday afternoon. Branstine, meanwhile, locked in the second highest ranked singles victory of her career over No. 11 Kessler. The junior's hallmark victory came against then-No. 1 Eryn Cayetano of USC, where Branstine's straight set victory also served as the highest ranked win in Texas A&M annals.

UP NEXT
Top-seeded and sixth-ranked Texas A&M will conclude its stay in the Sunshine State of Florida on Sunday, as the Aggies enter the Championship Match of the 2022 Southeastern Conference Women's Tennis Championships. A&M will face the winner of the match between three-seed Georgia and seven-seed Tennessee in a 4:30 p.m. (ET) first serve from Linder Stadium at the Alfred A. Ring Tennis Complex.

Sunday's championship match will be broadcast to a worldwide television audience via SEC Network, with Kevin Skinner and Jill Craybas calling the action. Authenticated subscribers can access the live simulcast of the match via the ESPN app on their computers, mobile phones, tablets, smart TVs and other connected devices. Live stats provided by the University of Florida and the Southeastern Conference are available by clicking here.

POSTMATCH QUOTES
TEXAS A&M QUOTES
Head Coach Mark Weaver
On the importance of the doubles point on Saturday…
"Florida definitely had us on the ropes in the doubles competition. I felt we kept some great composure at the No. 3 line. We truly rose to the occasion there and came away with what proved to be an absolutely crucial doubles point. I told the team in the locker room before the match that the doubles point wouldn't necessarily be life or death, but sealing that early advantage proved to be essential to our success today. It was a great job by Gianna (Pielet) and Renee (McBryde) to hang in there and pull that tiebreaker off."

On the ability to lead an SEC finalist program…
"Our group is just a true delight to coach. I remember thinking back to last year's SEC Championship match when we lost a tough one to Georgia. I remember telling myself that I couldn't wait to get back this season and have another shot at the SEC Finals. I get my wish tomorrow, and we have an excellent group of tennis players that are performing at the highest of levels on the biggest stages. It will be an exciting and competitive college tennis match on Sunday."

Graduate Tatiana Makarova
On clinching A&M's historic win over Florida…
"I've actually experienced something like that before back when I was a sophomore during the NCAA Tournament. I clinched our team match against Rice in the first round. I was down in the third set, but I was able to pull it out in the end. The feeling of being rushed by my teammates afterward was one of the best things I can remember from earlier in my career. It felt exactly the same for me today. Everything played over again in my mind. When I saw that I was the last match on, I just buckled in and did my best to help pull this win out for our team. I knew what I needed to do, and I'm glad that I was able to get it done today."

TENNIS MATCH RESULTS
#6 Texas A&M 4, #15 Florida 3
SEC Women's Tennis Championships – Semifinals
Linder Stadium at Ring Tennis Complex – Gainesville, Florida
SINGLES
1. #15 Carson Branstine (TAMU) def. #11 McCartney Kessler (UF) 6-0, 6-3
2. #20 Tatiana Makarova (TAMU) def. #72 Marlee Zein (UF) 7-6(5), 6-4
3. Alicia Dudeney (UF) def. #70 Mary Stoiana (TAMU) 6-3, 6-3
4. Jayci Goldsmith (TAMU) def. Carly Briggs (UF) 6-2, 7-5
5. Sara Dahlstrom (UF) def. Gianna Pielet (TAMU) 6-4, 6-0
6. Emma Shelton (UF) def. Katya Townsend (TAMU) 6-3, 6-4

DOUBLES
1. #3 Jayci Goldsmith / Tatiana Makarova (TAMU) def. #28 Alicia Dudeney / McCartney Kessler (UF) 6-1
2. Bente Spee / Marlee Zein (UF) def. #47 Carson Branstine / Mary Stoiana (TAMU) 6-3
3. Renee McBryde / Gianna Pielet (TAMU) def. Carly Briggs / Emma Shelton (UF) 7-6(4)

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

POSTMATCH NOTES

Texas A&M women's tennis improves to a program-record 29-1 overall and continues its stay in the Sunshine State of Florida following a pair of SEC Tournament wins thus far. The Aggies are the No. 6 team in the nation according to the Intercollegiate Tennis Association and boast the No. 3 mark in the most recent United States Tennis Association College Tennis Top-25.
A&M remains undefeated against SEC member institutions in the 2022 season, currently maintaining a 15-0 overall record with at least one win against every school.
The Aggies advance to the SEC Tournament Championship for the second consecutive season, an accomplishment achieved only by the 2021 squad prior to this year.
In defeat, Florida falls to 19-6 overall on the season and concludes its SEC Tournament run in the semifinals. The Aggies defeated the Gators by a 5-2 margin earlier in the year in Bryan-College Station on the opening weekend of SEC regular season play.
A&M continues to edge closer to Florida in the all-time series. The Gators lead has been cut to 9-5 following the 14th meeting of the two programs.
Texas A&M head coach Mark Weaver improves to 139-56 in his storied career as the program's skipper dating back to his hiring prior to 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.