Friday, May 12
Bryan-College Station
2:00 PM
Texas A&M
vs
Tennessee
No. 2 Seed A&M Hosts No. 15 Seed Tennessee in NCAA Round of 16
May 11, 2023 | Women's Tennis
BRYAN-COLLEGE STATION, Texas – The No. 2 overall seed Texas A&M women's tennis team hosts conference foe No. 15 seed Tennessee in the NCAA Tournament Round of 16 with first serve set for 2 p.m. on Friday at the Mitchell Tennis Center.
"We're excited to be playing at home one more time this season in front of the 12th Man," head coach Mark Weaver said.
The Aggies (29-2, 13-0 SEC) took care of business in the opening rounds with a pair of sweeps, topping Quinnipiac and Baylor by 4-0 scores. In the teams regular-season matchup with the Volunteers (21-5, 11-2 SEC), A&M put on a dominant performance in a 6-1 victory. The Maroon & White ended doubles with the advantage, then continued to capitalize in singles with wins coming from Mary Stoiana, Mia Kupres, Jayci Goldsmith, Daria Smetannikov and Jeanette Mireles.
"The opening rounds were beneficial for our team, as we got to give our younger girls some good NCAA postseason matches," Weaver continued. "Mia and Daria, being freshmen, handled it quite well. I think that experience will show itself this weekend."
The Volunteers are coached by co-SEC Coach of the Year Alison Ojeda, who served as an assistant coach at Texas A&M from 2002-04, and field three First-Team All-SEC players in Daria Kuczer, Rebeka Mertena and Elza Tomase. Tennessee swept Southeastern Missouri State University in the opening round (4-0), and then followed that up besting Wake Forest (4-1) to advance to the Round of 16.
"I think it will be similar matchups from our meeting in the regular season," Weaver said. "We played well across the board last time out, but a lot of those matches went to third sets and there was a lot of great tennis being played. It will be a battle on Friday. It will all depend on who plays better in the big moments."
TICKETS
Fans can purchase tickets beforehand through the 12thMan Foundation, or at the main entrance of the Mitchell Tennis Center.
STREAMING & STATS
Fans can tune in to the action through the Tennis Center's live stream, or also follow the match with live stats on 12thman.com.
MATCH STATS
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.
"We're excited to be playing at home one more time this season in front of the 12th Man," head coach Mark Weaver said.
The Aggies (29-2, 13-0 SEC) took care of business in the opening rounds with a pair of sweeps, topping Quinnipiac and Baylor by 4-0 scores. In the teams regular-season matchup with the Volunteers (21-5, 11-2 SEC), A&M put on a dominant performance in a 6-1 victory. The Maroon & White ended doubles with the advantage, then continued to capitalize in singles with wins coming from Mary Stoiana, Mia Kupres, Jayci Goldsmith, Daria Smetannikov and Jeanette Mireles.
"The opening rounds were beneficial for our team, as we got to give our younger girls some good NCAA postseason matches," Weaver continued. "Mia and Daria, being freshmen, handled it quite well. I think that experience will show itself this weekend."
The Volunteers are coached by co-SEC Coach of the Year Alison Ojeda, who served as an assistant coach at Texas A&M from 2002-04, and field three First-Team All-SEC players in Daria Kuczer, Rebeka Mertena and Elza Tomase. Tennessee swept Southeastern Missouri State University in the opening round (4-0), and then followed that up besting Wake Forest (4-1) to advance to the Round of 16.
"I think it will be similar matchups from our meeting in the regular season," Weaver said. "We played well across the board last time out, but a lot of those matches went to third sets and there was a lot of great tennis being played. It will be a battle on Friday. It will all depend on who plays better in the big moments."
TICKETS
Fans can purchase tickets beforehand through the 12thMan Foundation, or at the main entrance of the Mitchell Tennis Center.
STREAMING & STATS
Fans can tune in to the action through the Tennis Center's live stream, or also follow the match with live stats on 12thman.com.
MATCH STATS
- Mary Stoiana leads the team with 23 dual match singles wins.
- Stoiana leads the Aggies in singles winning percentage .920 (Min. 10 dual matches played).
- In singles, court 1 holds the highest winning percentage at .893.
- Jayci Goldsmith/Salma Ewing lead the Maroon & White with 23 dual match doubles wins.
- In doubles, court 2 holds the highest winning percentage at .875.
- The Maroon & White boast a 20-3 record in ranked doubles matches.
- Texas A&M has won the last four meetings with the Volunteers.
- The Aggies hold a perfect 5-0 record in matches they have hosted in the NCAA Tournament under head coach Mark Weaver.
- The Maroon & White hold a 26-match winning streak in SEC regular season play, following their second straight undefeated campaign.
- Salma Ewing is on a seven-match winning streak, which leads the team.
- A&M has only allowed 26 points to its opposition all season when the Aggies win the match.
- The Maroon & White have lost only three matches on courts 1 and 3 this season.
- The Aggies have won 21 ranked matches this season, 10 of those have been the top 25.
- A&M has lost only five doubles points through 31 dual matches.
- The Maroon & White have swept 13 opponents this season.
- Jayci Goldsmith has broken the program record for both all-time doubles wins with 122, and all-time singles with 115.
- The Aggies have won back-to-back outright SEC regular season titles.
- A&M secured the No. 2 seed in the NCAA Tournament, the highest in program history.
- The Maroon & White reached their 23rd-straight, 28th total, NCAA Tournament appearance.
- The team has remained ranked No. 2 in the nation since February 28.
- Ranked in singles: No. 2 Mary Stoiana, No. 49 Carson Branstine, No. 58 Salma Ewing, No. 68 Mia Kupres, No. 108 Jayci Goldsmith and No. 119 Gianna Pielet.
- Ranked in doubles: No. 2 Stoiana/Branstine, No. 22 Goldsmith/Ewing, No. 35 Stoiana/Kupres and No. 57 Stoiana/Goldsmith.
- Mary Stoiana was named SEC Player of the Year, the first player to win the award in program history.
- Mark Weaver won his second consecutive SEC Coach of the Year.
- Stoiana and Carson Branstine were named to the All-SEC First Team.
- Salma Ewing, Jayci Goldsmith and Mia Kupres were awarded All-SEC Second Team honors.
- Kupres was also added to the SEC All-Freshman Team.
- Goldsmith & Ewing were named to the SEC All-Tournament team.
- Stoiana has been awarded SEC Player of the Week honors seven times this season: Feb. 1, March 1, March 8, March 29, April 5, April 12 and April 18.
- Kupres was awarded SEC Freshman of the Week honors five times this season: Feb. 15, March 1, March 15, March 22 and April 5.
- Goldsmith was named to the SEC Community Service Team, April 13.
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.
Players Mentioned
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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
