STILLWATER – The No. 13 Texas A&M women’s tennis claimed its spot in the NCAA Tournament Final Four for the second time in program history after upsetting No. 5 Virginia Friday at the Greenwood Tennis Center, 4-1.
The Aggies (26-7) continued their trend of upsets in the NCAA Tournament with a dominant showing in singles, which was capped off by standout freshman Lucciana Perez to ensure the 4-1 victory over Virginia (25-5), as Texas A&M booked its spot in the tournament semifinals.
High quality back-and-forth play started off the match, as the Maroon & White and the Cavaliers each secured a court in doubles play. The decider came down to court 1, where Virginia snatched a tiebreak victory to lead heading into singles.
Needing to regain the momentum in the match, No. 26 Nicole Khirin did just that with a dominant display on court 3 besting No. 91 Sara Ziodato (6-4, 6-1) to tie the squads up at one.
The nation’s best, No. 1 Mary Stoiana, followed suit on court 1, as the junior captured her 20th-ranked win of the season with a straight-set victory over No. 24 Hibah Shaikh (6-2, 6-1).
Leaving the Maroon & White one point from the win was Jeanette Mireles on court 6. She faced Melodie Collard and after a competitive 6-4 opening set, she closed out the second frame only dropping two games (6-2), to give A&M the 3-1 advantage.
Dealing the final blow and punching the Aggies ticket to the semifinals was the SEC Freshman of the Year Perez. She battled with No. 125 Elaine Chervinsky on court 5 through a pair of tough sets, ultimately outlasting her opponent (6-4, 6-4) to clinch the match result, 4-1.
Both No. 88 Carson Branstine on court 2 and No. 45 Mia Kupres on court 4 were leading in their matches before the overall results was decided.
COACH’S QUOTES
Head coach Mark Weaver on the team’s impressive performance …
”That was a very impressive performance by our group. It was an exciting doubles point that came down to the wire. There was a lot of nerves on both sides. Those doubles points are kind of a roll of the dice and sometimes they can go either way. Excellent composure by the girls to win all six first sets [in singles] and really set the tone there. We brought it, and you could see the confidence growing on our side of the court. It’s a big stage out there and we really handled it well, especially in singles. I’m very proud of our group.”
Mary Stoiana on the team’s confidence …
”We all knew we were capable at playing at this level. We know we can take down any team in any way. We’re really confident and excited to keep it rolling. We’re trying to do something really special here.”
Up Next
The Aggies return to the court tomorrow for the tournament semifinals, where they will take on the winner of No. 8 UCLA and No. 16 Tennessee with first serve set for 6:30 p.m.
Match Results
Singles Results
(TAMU) No. 1 Mary Stoiana Def. (UVA) No. 24 Hiba Shaikh (6-2, 6-1)
(TAMU) No. 88 Carson Branstine – (UVA) No. 67 Annabelle Xu (7-5, 2-2) unfinished
(TAMU) No. 26 Nicole Khirin Def. (UVA) No. 91 Sara Ziodato (6-4, 6-1)
(TAMU) No. 45 Mia Kupres – (UVA) Natasha Subhash (7-6(2), 2-1) unfinished
(TAMU) Lucciana Perez Def. (UVA) No. 125 Elaine Chervinsky (6-4, 6-4)
(TAMU) Jeanette Mireles Def. (UVA) Melodie Collard (6-4, 6-2)
Double Results
(UVA) No. 8 Melodie Collard/Elaine Chervinsky Def. (TAMU) No. 7 Mary Stoiana/Mia Kupres (7-6(5))
(TAMU) Carson Branstine/Lucciana Perez Def. (UVA) Hibah Shaikh/Natasha Subhash (7-5)
(UVA) No. 88 Sara Ziodato/Meggie Navaro Def. (TAMU) Nicole Khirin/Jeanette Mireles (6-4)
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