No. 7 A&M Bests No. 2 Ohio State for the Second Time This Season – Texas A&M Athletics

ORLANDO, Fla. – The No. 7 Texas A&M women’s tennis team defeated No. 2 Ohio State for the second time this season, 5-2, Sunday, Feb. 26 in its second match of three at the USTA National Campus.
 
The Aggies (10-1) opened doubles strong on court 1, as No. 10 Carson Branstine/Mary Stoiana made quick work of Ohio States’ (7-4) No. 11 Sydni Ratliff/Irina Cantos (6-2) for their fourth ranked win of the season. The Buckeyes struck back as Kolie Allen/Danielle Wilson defeated Mia Kupres/Gianna Pielet (5-7). No. 34 Jayci Goldsmith/Salma Ewing sealed the doubles point for the Aggies when the pair bested Isabelle Boulais/Shelly Bereznyak in a tiebreak finish on court 2 (7-6(5)).
 

Carrying the momentum into singles, No. 77 Goldsmith struck first as she dominated Boulais on court 5 (6-1, 6-3), doubling the Aggies’ lead. Ohio State clawed back a win through Lucia Marzal on court 6, as she defeated A&M’s No. 68 Daria Smetannikov (6-1, 6-3). Flipping the momentum back to the Maroon & White was Ewing on court 3 with a straight set finish (6-4, 6-3) which gave A&M a 3-1 advantage. Following up shortly after was undefeated No. 121 Kupres, as she secured her second ranked win of the season versus No. 105 Bereznyak (4-6, 6-0, 6-2), ending her unbeaten streak and clinching the match for A&M. The teams decided to play out the remaining matches, and No. 9 Stoiana snatched another win for the Aggies as she outlasted No. 22 Ratliff on court 2 (6-3, 4-6, 6-2).
 
COACH’S QUOTES
Head coach Mark Weaver on today’s matchup…
“I’m very pleased with the match. It was an absolute dog fight out there and it was a tough, gritty performance. Our theme of the day was go and be warriors out there in these tough warm conditions. Ohio State’s an excellent team, one of the best in the nation, and we’ve now beaten them twice both indoor and outdoor. Now we will get a quick recovery and come out and play a good team in Northwestern tomorrow.”
 
UP NEXT
The Aggies play their final match of the trip at the USTA National Campus, Monday, Feb. 27 versus No. 63 Northwestern, with first serve set for 12 p.m. CT.
 
TEAM NOTES

• Freshman Mia Kupres leads the Aggies with eight wins and remains undefeated.
• Pairing Mary Stoiana/Carson Branstine remain undefeated on the season with a 7-0 record.
• The Aggies boast an .833 winning percentage versus ranked opponents…