Feb 23, 2019
COLLEGE STATION, Texas – No. 21 Texas A&M women's tennis swept UTRGV, 4-0, and Abilene Christian, 7-0, Saturday at the George P. Mitchell Tennis Center. The Aggies improved to 11-1 with the pair of wins over in-state opponents.
The Maroon & White opened the season with 11 wins in their first 12 matches for the first time since the 2013 season matching the 2012 and 2013 squads for the best 12-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.
"It was a great day for the Aggies as things went really well for us throughout both matches," Texas A&M women's tennis head coach Mark Weaver said. "We needed to get these matches in after playing on the road for almost a week indoors where we played some really good tennis. It was nice to get acclimated back to our home courts before we take on a really good SMU team next week and then open up SEC play next weekend."
A&M freshman Lucia Quiterio opened the scoring with a 6-1, 6-0 win over UTRGV's Allison Stewart. Moments later, Aggie freshman Jayci Goldsmith, ranked No. 89 nationally, topped Marine Darzyan 6-1, 6-0 on court two. A&M sophomore Riley McQuaid posted the third point of the match after topping Doris Aleksovska 6-1, 6-1 on court four. A&M sophomore Dorthea Faa-Hviding clinched the win with a 7-5, 6-2 win on court five over Nethmi Waduge.
The Aggies and Vaqueros bypassed doubles action to allow the South Texas based squad an opportunity to get home earlier after play was postponed by a couple hours after rain in the area early Saturday morning.
After an hour break, the Maroon & White secured the doubles point with a trio of lopsided victories against Abilene Christian. Quiterio and McQuaid posted their first win as a duo with a 6-0 win on court three over ACU's Jordan Henry and Allison Stewart. A&M's Goldsmith and Tatiana Makarova clinched the point with a 6-1 win over ACU's Sarah Adams and Nini Memishishi on court one. Nearly simultaneously, A&M's 52nd ranked doubles tandem of Renee McBryde and Katya Townsend picked up a 6-1 result over ACU's Ileana Mocciola and Autumn Crossnoe Bellow on court two.
The Aggies swept all six singles matches against Abilene Christian in straight sets. Makrova earned the first win with a 6-0, 6-1 win over Bellow on court three followed by Goldsmith's 6-1, 6-0 victory on court one over ACU's Memishishi. A&M's McBryde earned the fourth point with a 6-1, 6-2 triumph over ACU's Henry on court dour, while the fifth point was nicked by Aggie Faa-Hviding on court six over the Wildcats' Mocciola. Townsend bested Adams followed by Quiterio defeating Stewart to round out the wins for the Aggies.
A&M has posted a 58-9 singles record and 22-4 doubles mark in dual matches this spring. Faa-Hviding has a team-high seven match win streak while sophomore Riley McQuaid has won 13 of her last 14 matches.