WACO, Texas – Despite a valiant effort from the Gators' women's tennis squad in Waco on Monday afternoon, No. 4 Texas A&M was able to hold-off No. 20 Florida, 4-1, in the final round of the ITA Kickoff Weekend.
It was no secret that Sunday's competition would be a battle, evidenced from the high-level doubles play to start the day. In a back-and-forth battle, the Aggies' (5-0, 0-0 SEC) duo of Mary Stoiana and Carson Branstine managed to outlast Florida's (2-1, 0-0 SEC)
Carly Briggs and
Alicia Dudeney on the on court one, 6-4.
Emma Shelton and
Sophie Williams also found themselves in a tight matchup on court three, managing to even the match at four towards the end of competition. Texas A&M's Mia Kupres and Gianna Pielet was able to hold on to win the doubles point, however, 6-4. Florida's ranked doubles team of No. 58
Rachel Gailis and
Bente Spee ended their match with Salma Ewing and Jayci Goldsmith at a draw, 5-5.
Keeping with the theme from Sunday,
Sara Dahlstrom came out on fire to start singles play, opening up with a 6-1 first set edge over No. 51 Goldsmith on court four. Her dominance continued into the second set, pulling away for a 6-3 win after Goldsmith kept it close early, tying the team scores at one each.
The Aggies responded on courts three and two, however. Ewing managed to pull away from No. 63
Anastasia Sysoeva, 6-4, 6-1 before Branstine overtook Dudeney on court two, 7-6(8), 6-4.
Trailing 3-1,
Emily De Oliveira gave the Orange & Blue a much-needed boost on court six. The sophomore gave No. 105 Jeanette Mireles all she could handle in set one, breezing to a 6-0 victory before earning a gritty 7-6(7) second set win to bring the Gators back within a point.
All eyes went to courts one and five for the remaining points, with both matches locked-in three-set thrillers. It would be Texas A&M who would prevail as No. 9 Stoiana was able to fend-off a Briggs comeback attempt at the top singles spot: 6-2, 3-6, 6-2 for their victory.
Freshman Gailis was in a good position at five singles despite not finishing out, leading Mia Kupres 7-6(5), 3-6, 4-3 when play concluded.
Up Next
The Gators will return to Waco, Texas on Sunday, Feb. 5, for a 2 p.m. matchup with Baylor, who was receiving votes in the latest ITA poll.
Quotes from the Court
Head Coach Roland Thornqvist
"We lost a tough one and this match was loaded with opportunity, really from the get-go. When we go home and watch, I think we're going to kick ourselves a little bit that we didn't take these opportunities. This early in the season, it's a great learning opportunity for us because there's no question we're just as talented as any of the better teams in the country, and when we have opportunities to close these highly-ranked teams out we have to learn to take them. It's a quick turnaround for the Gators to go back to the same facility that we played in today. Although we're disappointed, there's lots of opportunities to improve when we dissect what happened today."
Singles
No. 9 Mary Stoiana (TAMU) def.
Carly Briggs: 6-2, 3-6, 6-2
Carson Branstine (TAMU) def.
Alicia Dudeney: 7-6(8), 6-5
Salma Ewing (TAMU) def. No. 63
Anastasia Sysoeva: 6-4, 6-1
Sara Dahlstrom def. No. 51 Jayci Goldsmith (TAMU): 6-1, 6-3
Rachel Gailis vs. Mia Kupres (TAMU) 7-6(5), 3-6, 4-3, unf.
Emily De Oliveira def. No. 105 Jeanette Mireles (TAMU): 6-0, 7-6(7)
Order of Finish: 4, 3, 2, 6, 1
Doubles
Mary Stoiana/Carson Branstine (TAMU) def.
Carly Briggs/
Alicia Dudeney: 6-4
No. 58
Rachel Gailis/
Bente Spee vs. Salma Ewing/Jayci Goldsmith (TAMU): 5-5, unf.
Mia Kupres/Gianna Pielet (TAMU) def.
Emma Shelton/
Sophie Williams: 6-4
Order of Finish: 1, 3
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