Final Stats GAINESVILLE, Fla. – The No. 2 Texas A&M women’s tennis team outlasted the No. 24 Florida Gators, 5-2, at the Alfred A. Ring Tennis Complex to open conference play Friday evening.
In doubles, Aggie (12-1, 1-0 SEC) pair No. 10 Mary Stoiana/Carson Branstine wasted no time earning their doubles win on court 1 against the Gators’ (5-3, 0-1 SEC) Alicia Dudeney/Bente Spee (6-0). On court 2, Jayci Goldsmith/Salma Ewing put up a tough fight but couldn’t outlast Rachel Gailis/Carly Briggs (5-7). With both teams needing one more win to claim the doubles point, it came down to court 3, where Mia Kupres/Gianna Pielet and Emily De Oliveira/Sophie Williams went into a tiebreak, ultimately ending in favor of the Gators to head into singles up, 1-0.
Getting straight to work, No. 77 Goldsmith defeated De Oliveira on court 5 in a quick 6-2, 6-1 victory, knotting the match 1-1. The Gators answered back on court 4, taking the lead back. Flipping the momentum back to the Maroon & White was No. 68 Daria Smetannikov, as she bested Spee in a second set tiebreak (6-2, 7-6(5)) on court 6. Level at 2-2 with three courts undecided, No. 37 Branstine put the ball in the Aggies’ court with a win over No. 83 Sara Dahlstrom on court 2 (6-3, 4-6, 6-3). Needing one more point to clinch the match, No. 9 Stoiana bested Florida’s No. 61 Briggs in a double tiebreak thriller on court 1 (7-6(5), 7-6(4)). With the coaches deciding to play out the remaining match, Ewing added to the win column as she defeated Dudeney (6-4, 3-6, 6-1) on court 3.
COACH’S QUOTES
Head coach Mark Weaver on today’s victory…
“That was an excellent team win for us. After a wild doubles finish, we kept our composure and bounced back to win 5-2. We need a quick recovery to get ready for a good South Carolina team on Sunday.”
UP NEXT
The Aggies stay on the road and head to South Carolina to face the No. 38 Gamecocks at the Carolina Tennis Center, Sunday, March 5, with first serve set for 11:00 a.m. CT?
TEAM NOTES
- Freshman Mia Kupres leads the Aggies with nine dual match singles wins.
- Pairing Mary Stoiana/Carson Branstine remain undefeated on the season with an 8-0 record.
- The Aggies boast an .875 winning percentage versus ranked opponents this season.
- A&M has only allowed eight points to its opposition all season when the Aggies win the match.
- The…
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