NCAA Womens Tennis

No. 2 Aggies Open SEC Play in Gainesville – Texas A&M Athletics

No. 2 Aggies Open SEC Play in Gainesville - Texas A&M Athletics


GAINESVILLE, Fla. – The No. 2 Texas A&M women’s tennis team opens SEC play on the road versus the No. 24 Florida Gators, Friday, March 3, at the Alfred A. Ring Tennis Complex with first serve set for 4 p.m. CT.
 

The Aggies (11-1) face the Gators (5-2) for the second time this season to open conference play. A&M bested Florida in its previous matchup, 4-2, at the ITA Kickoff Weekend, which secured its qualification to the National Team Indoor Championship. In the Maroon & Whites’ last trip to Gainesville they snatched a tight win versus the Gators (4-3). A&M looks to repeat this result and come away with a win to open its conference slate.
 
“We are off to a great start this season and now it’s time for SEC play, which comes with a different feel to it,” said head coach Mark Weaver. “Playing on the road in the conference comes with many challenges, as always, Florida has a very strong team, so I expect it to be nothing less than a battle.”
 

The Maroon & White are coming off a three-game sweep at the USTA National Campus in Orlando, Florida. The team secured wins against then-No. 45 FIU (4-1), then-No. 2 Ohio State (5-2) and finally then-No. 63 Northwestern (5-1). The Aggies also secured four ranked wins on their trip, No. 121 Mia Kupres had a pair of singles wins versus the Buckeyes’ No. 105 Shelly Bereznyak (4-6, 6-0, 6-2) and Northwestern’s No. 99 Christina Hand (6-2, 6-4). No. 9 Mary Stoiana added a ranked singles win, besting No. 22 Sydni Ratliff from Ohio State (6-3, 4-6, 6-2). Rounding out the ranked wins were No. 10 Stoiana/Carson Branstine as they dominated the Buckeyes’ No. 11 Ratliff/Irina Cantos (6-2).
 
The strong showing in Orlando secured a sweep of the SEC weekly honors for the Aggies. Stoiana was awarded SEC Player of the Week for the second time this season, marking the sixth time she has received weekly honors from the league in her career. Kupres also earned her second weekly on honor of the season, and her young career, after she was named SEC Freshman of the Week.
 
TEAM NOTES

  • Freshman Mia Kupres leads the Aggies with nine wins and remains undefeated.
  • Pairing Mary Stoiana/Carson Branstine remain undefeated on the season with a 7-0 record.
  • The Aggies boast an .857 winning percentage versus ranked opponents this season.
  • A&M has only allowed six points to its opposition all season when…

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