Mar 01, 2019
COLLEGE STATION, Texas – No. 24 Texas A&M women's tennis opened Southeastern Conference play with an impressive 4-2 win over No. 34 Auburn Friday at the George P. Mitchell Tennis Center. The Aggies improved to 13-1 on the season and 1-0 in SEC matches while the Tigers fell to 13-3 this spring and 0-1 against league opponents.
"This is a great start to the SEC season for the Aggies," Texas A&M women's tennis head coach Mark Weaver said. "I definitely think nerves might have cost us in the doubles tonight. We had a great rebound as a team and won five first sets in singles. I thought it was a great job by Renee to close it out when things could have really tightened up on us. It might not have been our best tennis of the season, but it was definitely good enough to get the job done today."
With the triumph, the Maroon & White have opened the season with 13 wins in their first 14 matches for the first time since the 2013 season. The Aggies equaled the 2012 and 2013 squads for the best 14-match stretch to open a season in program history, the '13 team raced out to a 15-1 mark before falling in the NCAA Championship Finals.
A&M dropped the doubles point for the just the fourth time in 13 chances this year. The Auburn pair of Jaeda Daniel and Madeline Meredith topped A&M's Katya Townsend and Renee McBryde on court two followed by the clincher on court one by No. 43 Sophia Graver and Taylor Russo over A&M's Tatiana Makarova and Jayci Goldsmith.
The Aggies bounced back as singles play began, capturing first sets on five courts. A&M's Goldsmith, ranked No. 89 nationally, evened the team score at one-all with a 6-4, 6-3 victory on court two over Auburn's Meredith. The win was Goldsmith's fifth straight and team-leading 13th dual match victory.
A&M's Makarova gave the Aggies their first lead of the day as she bested Auburn's Graver 6-3, 6-4 on court three. The win improved Makarova's dual record to 9-1 this spring and was her 20th collegiate victory.
McQuaid, a sophomore from Tustin, California, pushed the A&M advantage to 3-1 as she ousted Auburn's Alannah Griffin 6-1, 6-3 on court five. McQuaid's victory was her 15th in her last 16 matches and a team-best 44th collegiate win.
Auburn picked up their second point of the night as Yu Chen tripped up A&M's Lucia Quiterio 6-4, 7-6(6) on court six.
A&M's McBryde clinched the match on court four with a 6-2, 6-7(4), 6-1 win over Auburn's Russo. The clinch victory was the third straight clincher for McBryde and her sixth straight win overall.