Story by Nick Whitley, Texas A&M Athletics Communications
ATHENS, Ga. – In its most complete performance of the 2022 dual match season, the No. 12 Texas A&M women’s tennis team stunned the hometown fans and demolished the seventh-ranked and defending Southeastern Conference Champion Georgia Bulldogs in a 7-0 score at the Dan Magill Tennis Complex on Sunday afternoon.
The Aggies defeated the Bulldogs for the second time in an all-time series which dates back to the 1986 season. Both wins in the series for A&M have come on the road under the direction of head coach Mark Weaver, whose squad last defeated then-No. 2 Georgia in a 4-2 thriller on April 16, 2017. With the historic victory, the Maroon & White climb to 22-1 overall and start SEC play 8-0 for the second time in program annals.
Georgia’s loss marked the first time the Bulldogs have lost a match to a Southeastern Conference opponent since falling 4-3 to South Carolina in the 2019 SEC Tournament at the George P. Mitchell Tennis Center. Sunday’s defeat marked Georgia’s first regular-season SEC loss since dropping a 4-3 decision on the road to Ole Miss on April 5, 2018. The Bulldogs are now 10-3 overall and hold a 6-1 record against league opponents this season.
Sunday’s action began as usual in the doubles competition, with the Aggies snagging an early 1-0 lead after notching hard-fought victories on courts one and two. Georgia started things off with a 6-3 win on court three, as Guillermina Grant and Meg Kowalski got the better of Renee McBryde and Gianna Pielet. The Maroon & White were quick to respond at the second line, as No. 48 Carson Branstine and Mary Stoiana defeated No. 47 Mell Reasco and Dasha Vidmanova in a 6-4 result. A&M called upon second-ranked Jayci Goldsmith and Tatiana Makarova to secure the early edge, beating No. 12 Morgan Coppoc and Ania Hertel in a 7-5 triumph.
The transition to singles play saw tightly-contested first sets across the board, with the Aggies able to come away with four-of-six opening frames at the bottom four singles positions. Katya Townsend was the first Aggie off the courts, notching an impressive 6-2, 6-3 victory at the No. 6 singles position against 117th-ranked Hertel. A&M’s margin increased to 3-0, as Goldsmith completed the Aggies final straight set win of the afternoon in a 6-4, 6-4 result over No. 71 Meg Kowalski.
Georgia took the first sets at No. 1 and No. 2 singles, both by 6-2 margins in the early going. The Aggies were able to come away with first set tiebreaker victories on the remaining two courts, but the match remained very much in doubt. After dropping the opening stanza, No. 23 Branstine roared to life, completing a 2-6, 6-1, 6-4 victory over No. 27 Lea Ma that sealed the team match on court one.
A&M was able to add a trio of insurance points to secure the complete match shutout of the Bulldogs. Makarova, the No. 29 singles player in the nation, squared off with No. 21 Reasco and compiled an outstanding 2-6, 6-3, 6-3 victory to put the Aggies ahead 5-0. Pielet was next to finish on court five, as the freshman turned in a 7-6(1), 2-6, 6-2 scorecard against Coppoc to make it 6-0 in favor of the Maroon & White. The matchup on court three between No. 93 Stoiana and reigning-SEC Freshman of the Week, No. 40 Vidmanova, resulted in a 7-6(3), 2-6, 6-1 Aggie win to finalize the booming 7-0 result.
Individually, Makarova continued her climb in the Texas A&M record books with yet another perfect day in both singles and doubles action. The graduate retains sole possession of sixth place in career singles victories and sees her overall individual record improve to 94-34 aided by an unfathomable 17-0 dual match record this year. In doubles, Makarova climbs to 102-44 in her career with a blistering 27-4 record in the 2022 slate. Makarova holds sole possession of third place in school history for career doubles triumphs. Meanwhile, Stoiana continues to maintain the best overall singles record on the roster with a stunning 24-3 overall record coupled with a 9-2 ledger against nationally-ranked opposition. The freshman has been victorious in each of her last 10 outings, including wins in all eight of her SEC singles opportunities.
Mark Weaver becomes the first Texas A&M head coach to defeat perennial-SEC favorites Georgia and Florida in the same season and becomes only the second coach to start SEC play off with an 8-0 record. The only other Aggie skipper to reach eight consecutive league wins since joining the conference in 2013 was Howard Joffe, whose 2013 team claimed a share of the SEC Regular Season Championship and reached the NCAA National Championship match. Weaver improves to 132-56 in his seven years at the helm in Aggieland.
Attention turns to A&M’s upcoming matchup with the No. 8 Auburn Tigers on Friday, April 1, at the George P. Mitchell Tennis Center. Both squads are currently tied atop the SEC standings, with each team going undefeated against league foes through this point in the season. Georgia falls into sole possession of third place, while Florida rounds out the top four with a 6-2 conference record. Friday’s matchup between Texas A&M and Auburn would grant the victor sole possession of first place in the league.
UP NEXT
The Southeastern Conference-leading and No. 12-ranked Texas A&M women’s tennis team returns to the comforts of the George P. Mitchell Tennis Center next weekend, as the Aggies play host to the No. 8 Auburn Tigers on Friday. First serve in A&M’s second consecutive top-10 SEC matchup is slated for 5 p.m. (CT), with gates opening at 4 p.m.
POSTMATCH QUOTES
TEXAS A&M QUOTES
Head Coach Mark Weaver
On the statement made in the sweep of No. 7 Georgia…
“It’s a pretty impressive performance by our group here. My guess is that a result like that hasn’t happened at the University of Georgia in quite some time, if it has ever happened at all. They had a huge crowd out, and we did a really great job of embracing their crowd and dealing with all the things that were thrown at us. I was very confident leading up to the match because I truly believed that we could earn a win today. Beating them 7-0 is truly unheard of.”
On the team’s mindset in the victory…
“I think one of the big things that we emphasized after the Tennessee match on Friday, we spoke a lot about developing a championship mindset. I truly believe that we played like champions out there today. We rose to the occasion. We’re still in basketball season around here, and the analogy I shared with the team was that each player should want to be the person taking the game winning shot, not the person passing it off to someone else. That was a big part of our mindset today and it really paid off.”
On looking ahead to A&M’s upcoming SEC slate…
“We are definitely making some history here and there have been a ton of highlights already this season. I think another thing to add is that we have beaten Georgia twice now on their courts in the past few years. That speaks to the level of our program and the direction that we continue heading in. We need to enjoy this victory, but we also need to be prepared to return to work on Tuesday. There are some more great opportunities this weekend with No. 8 Auburn coming in on Friday in addition to a solid Alabama team for senior day on Sunday. Our motto all season has been to continue getting better and better each day. That mindset showed itself today and it will remain our motto for the remainder of the regular season.”
Junior Carson Branstine
On her doubles win alongside Mary Stoiana…
“Of course, playing on the road at Georgia at any point during your match is very difficult, but Mary and I were just so calm today. It really didn’t matter what the scoreboard said at any point because we knew what we needed to do. Both of us executed at an extremely high level and it felt really good to help get our team ahead early on in doubles.”
On responding from her first set loss and securing the clinch win…
“Honestly, the pep talk that I had with [Volunteer Assistant Coach] Bjorn [Thomson] really helped me. I knew what I needed to do in terms of tactics. In the first set I struggled to stick with my original game plan. After having a good talk with Bjorn in between the first and second, I was able to get fired up and I started playing with a lot more confidence. The energy came to me and everything really came together.”
TENNIS MATCH RESULTS
#12 Texas A&M 7, #7 Georgia 0
Dan Magill Tennis Complex – Athens, Georgia
SINGLES
1. #23 Carson Branstine (TAMU) def. #27 Lea Ma (UGA) 2-6, 6-1, 6-4
2. #29 Tatiana Makarova (TAMU) def. #21 Mell Reasco (UGA) 2-6, 6-3, 6-3
3. #93 Mary Stoiana (TAMU) def. #40 Dasha Vidmanova (UGA) 7-6(3), 2-6, 6-1
4. Jayci Goldsmith (TAMU) def. #71 Meg Kowalski (UGA) 6-4, 6-4
5. Gianna Pielet (TAMU) def. Morgan Coppoc (UGA) 7-6(1), 2-6, 6-3
6. Katya Townsend (TAMU) def. #117 Ania Hertel (UGA) 6-2, 6-3
DOUBLES
1. #2 Jayci Goldsmith / Tatiana Makarova (TAMU) vs. #12 Morgan Coppoc / Ania Hertel (UGA) 7-5
2. #48 Carson Branstine / Mary Stoiana (TAMU) def. #47 Mell Reasco / Dasha Vidmanova (UGA) 6-4
3. Guillermina Grant / Meg Kowalski (UGA) def. Renee McBryde / Gianna Pielet (TAMU) 6-3
Order of Finish: Doubles (3,2,1); Singles (6,4,1*,2,5,3)
POSTMATCH NOTES
- With the historic victory, Texas A&M women’s tennis climbs to 22-1 overall and starts SEC play 8-0 for the second time in program annals.
- The Aggies are currently ranked No. 12 according to the Intercollegiate Tennis Association and boast the No. 8 ranking per the United States Tennis Association.
- Georgia is now 10-3 overall and holds a 6-1 record against league opponents this season.
- The Bulldogs hold the No. 7 ITA ranking and own the No. 6 mark according to the USTA.
- Georgia’s loss marked the first time the Bulldogs have lost a match to a Southeastern Conference opponent since falling 4-3 to South Carolina in the 2019 SEC Tournament at the George P. Mitchell Tennis Center.
- Sunday’s defeat marked Georgia’s first regular-season SEC loss since dropping a 4-3 decision on the road to Ole Miss on April 5, 2018.
- The Aggies defeated Georgia for the second time in program history Sunday afternoon. Georgia now leads the series by a 16-2 margin.
- Mark Weaver becomes the first Texas A&M head coach to defeat perennial-SEC favorites Georgia and Florida in the same season and becomes only the second coach to start SEC play off with an 8-0 record.
- Weaver improves to 132-56 in his seven years at the helm in Aggieland.