May 11, 2019
NASHVILLE – The No. 18 Texas A&M women's tennis fell, 4-0, in the Round of 16 to No. 8 Vanderbilt at the Curry Tennis Center Saturday afternoon. The Aggies end the season 24-8 after advancing to the third round for the sixth time in program history and fourth time in the last six seasons.
"I am so proud of our team, this is a team that is so young and has been able to accomplish so much," Texas A&M head coach Mark Weaver said. "The preseason SEC poll had us ninth going into the season and I don't think any team improved more than we did throughout this season. Today stings, anytime the season ends whether it was a great year like we had or a not so great year it always stings to see a season come to an end. We are so happy with the team and we have a great group of student-athletes that love tennis and were on a mission all season."
A&M fell behind 1-0 after dropping a highly contested doubles point to open the match. Vandy's Fernanda Contreras and Georgia Drummy bested A&M's Katya Townsend and Renee McBryde, 6-1, on court two. The Maroon & White duo of Tatiana Makarova and Jayci Goldsmith, ranked No. 33 nationally, defeated the Commodore duo of No. 38 Emma Kurtz and Emily Smith, 6-4, on court one to earn their team-leading ninth ranked win of the season.
The two teams split first sets in singles action as the Aggies prevailed in the opening stanza on courts one, two and four. Despite the relatively evenly matched singles play, the Commodores were able to pick up straight set wins on courts three, five and six to secure the victory.
"We did some great things and we were not that far off today," Weaver said. "I know the score read 4-0, but with a couple points going our way in doubles we could have easily started off up 1-0. If we had played those big points a little bit better in a couple of those matches then who knows what might have happened today. All credit to Vanderbilt today, they have a team that is playing with a bit more experience than us after playing in the national championship last season. The longer you play in the tournament, the bigger each of those moments get. The great news is that we gained that experience this season and I know we can reach new heights next season."
With the team season concluded, the Aggie will await the NCAA Singles and Doubles Championship bracket to be released following the conclusion of the team championship in Orlando. A&M's Townsend was selected for the singles draw while Makarova and Goldsmith are among the alternates for the doubles bracket.