AUBURN – The No. 1 Texas A&M women's tennis team took down No. 14 Texas Longhorns in SEC Tournament quarterfinal action, battling it out in a 4-0 victory Friday at Yarbrough Tennis Center.
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With the win, the Aggies advance to the Saturday's semifinals to face the host No. 6 Auburn Tigers at 3 p.m. The Maroon & White dominated from the first step and captured their ninth-straight win.
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In a strong start, the Longhorns came out hot winning on doubles court 2 with #75 Salma Drugdova/Char Kempenaers-Pocz defeating Mia Kupres/Daria Smetannikov, 6-3. The Aggies responded with #35 Mary Stoiana/Lucciana Perez taking down #30 Ashton Bowers/Anazagasty-Pursoo on court 1, 6-2, leaving all eyes on court 3. With the doubles point on the line, Nicole Khirin/Lexington Reed gave the Aggies the 1-0 lead, closing out Sabina Zeynalova/Carmen Herea, 6-3.
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No. 17 Khirin started the Aggies off with a singles point, commanding court 2. She defeated No. 37 Carmen Herea, 6-2, 6-1.
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Minutes later, No. 72 Kupres topped No. 92 Ashton Bowers, 6-4, 6-1. Kupres improves to 21-5 on the season continuing her dominance at the top end of the lineup.
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No. 2 Stoiana triumphed over #56 Sabina Zeynalova, 6-3, 6-1, to close out the match. Stoiana improved to 23-4 on the season.
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Texas A&M raised its season record to 24-2 while the Longhorns fell to 15-10. The Aggies have beaten Texas three times this season, including 4-2 in the quarterfinals of the ITA National Team Indoor Championships and 4-3 in the SEC opener in Austin.
Head Coach Mark Weaver
On starting off SEC Tournament action…
"It was a great day for the Aggies. To beat the Longhorns 4-0 in the first round of the SEC Tournament, you can't ask for much more than that. Texas had already played a match, the day before and they were ready to go. It's always kind of tricky when you go to one of these tournament formats playing a team that already played a match. "
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On the team's performance…
"I think we played really well. We prepared very well this week. We got here early and took advantage of our practice times. We performed at a high level. We set the tone with the doubles and did a great job overall in the singles."
Match Results:
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SINGLES
#2 Mary Stoiana (A&M) def. #56 Sabina Zeynalova (UT) - 6-3, 6-1
#17 Nicole Khirin (A&M) def. #37 Carmen Herea (UT) - 6-2, 6-1
#72 Mia Kupres (A&M) def. #92 Ashton Bowers (UT) - 6-4, 6-1
#51 Lucciana Perez (A&M) vs. #61 Eszter Meri (UT) - 4-6, 5-2, unfinished
#102 Daria Smetannikov (A&M) vs. #78 A Anazagasty-Pursoo (UT) - 6-1, 3-6, 1-0 unfinished
Lexington Reed (A&M) vs. Vivian Ovrootsky (UT) - 7-6 (7-3), 1-4, unfinished
Order of finish: 2,3,1
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DOUBLES
#35 Mary Stoiana/Lucciana Perez (A&M) def. #30 Ashton Bowers/A Anazagasty-Pursoo (UT) - 6-2
#75 Salma Drugdova/Char Kempenaers-Pocz (UT) def. Mia Kupres/Daria Smetannikov (A&M) - 6-3
Nicole Khirin/Lexington Reed (A&M) def. Sabina Zeynalova/Carmen Herea (UT) - 6-3
Order of finish: 2,1,3
Up Next …
The Aggies are set to take on the Auburn Tigers, Saturday, 3 p.m. CT. Looking to move on to the Finals of the SEC Tournament.
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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 X by following @AggieWTEN.
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With the win, the Aggies advance to the Saturday's semifinals to face the host No. 6 Auburn Tigers at 3 p.m. The Maroon & White dominated from the first step and captured their ninth-straight win.
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In a strong start, the Longhorns came out hot winning on doubles court 2 with #75 Salma Drugdova/Char Kempenaers-Pocz defeating Mia Kupres/Daria Smetannikov, 6-3. The Aggies responded with #35 Mary Stoiana/Lucciana Perez taking down #30 Ashton Bowers/Anazagasty-Pursoo on court 1, 6-2, leaving all eyes on court 3. With the doubles point on the line, Nicole Khirin/Lexington Reed gave the Aggies the 1-0 lead, closing out Sabina Zeynalova/Carmen Herea, 6-3.
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No. 17 Khirin started the Aggies off with a singles point, commanding court 2. She defeated No. 37 Carmen Herea, 6-2, 6-1.
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Minutes later, No. 72 Kupres topped No. 92 Ashton Bowers, 6-4, 6-1. Kupres improves to 21-5 on the season continuing her dominance at the top end of the lineup.
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No. 2 Stoiana triumphed over #56 Sabina Zeynalova, 6-3, 6-1, to close out the match. Stoiana improved to 23-4 on the season.
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Texas A&M raised its season record to 24-2 while the Longhorns fell to 15-10. The Aggies have beaten Texas three times this season, including 4-2 in the quarterfinals of the ITA National Team Indoor Championships and 4-3 in the SEC opener in Austin.
Head Coach Mark Weaver
On starting off SEC Tournament action…
"It was a great day for the Aggies. To beat the Longhorns 4-0 in the first round of the SEC Tournament, you can't ask for much more than that. Texas had already played a match, the day before and they were ready to go. It's always kind of tricky when you go to one of these tournament formats playing a team that already played a match. "
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On the team's performance…
"I think we played really well. We prepared very well this week. We got here early and took advantage of our practice times. We performed at a high level. We set the tone with the doubles and did a great job overall in the singles."
Match Results:
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SINGLES
#2 Mary Stoiana (A&M) def. #56 Sabina Zeynalova (UT) - 6-3, 6-1
#17 Nicole Khirin (A&M) def. #37 Carmen Herea (UT) - 6-2, 6-1
#72 Mia Kupres (A&M) def. #92 Ashton Bowers (UT) - 6-4, 6-1
#51 Lucciana Perez (A&M) vs. #61 Eszter Meri (UT) - 4-6, 5-2, unfinished
#102 Daria Smetannikov (A&M) vs. #78 A Anazagasty-Pursoo (UT) - 6-1, 3-6, 1-0 unfinished
Lexington Reed (A&M) vs. Vivian Ovrootsky (UT) - 7-6 (7-3), 1-4, unfinished
Order of finish: 2,3,1
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DOUBLES
#35 Mary Stoiana/Lucciana Perez (A&M) def. #30 Ashton Bowers/A Anazagasty-Pursoo (UT) - 6-2
#75 Salma Drugdova/Char Kempenaers-Pocz (UT) def. Mia Kupres/Daria Smetannikov (A&M) - 6-3
Nicole Khirin/Lexington Reed (A&M) def. Sabina Zeynalova/Carmen Herea (UT) - 6-3
Order of finish: 2,1,3
Up Next …
The Aggies are set to take on the Auburn Tigers, Saturday, 3 p.m. CT. Looking to move on to the Finals of the SEC Tournament.
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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 X by following @AggieWTEN.