Credit to Sam Thornton | Assistant Director, Athletics Communications – 12thman.com
ORLANDO, Fla. – Texas A&M’s No. 22 Jayci Goldsmith/Salma Ewing extended their collegiate careers, as the duo defeated UCLA’s No. 7 Elise Wagle/Kimmi Hance (6-2, 6-2) in the NCAA Doubles Tournament first round Tuesday at the USTA National Campus.
Goldsmith/Ewing began the final collegiate tournament of their careers and despite weather delays pushing the matches back, they were ready to go. The duo put their foot on the gas early, claiming a dominant win in the opening frame, 6-2. The Aggies continued to apply the pressure in the second set, jumping out to an early, 2-1, lead. The Bruins’ Wagle/Hance had no answer for the Maroon & White’s play, as they closed out the match (6-2, 6-2) and punched their ticket to the second round.
No. 35 Mia Kupres/Mary Stoiana were a late addition to the tournament, as they found out just before play began that they would be participating. The duo was forced to wait until the end of the day to play USC’s No. 18 Maddy Seig/Eryn Cayetano due to inclement weather. The Trojans were the early aggressors, as they took the opening set, 6-2. The teams moved into the second frame and nothing could separate them early, as they were tied at three. USC broke the deadlock and took a two-game advantage to lead, 5-3. Stoiana/Kupres battled back to tie the match and ultimately sent it to a tiebreaker. Despite a hard-fought clash, the pair came up short and was eliminated in the first round (6-2, 7-6(3)).
UP NEXT
The Aggies return to the courts tomorrow, as No. 22 Goldsmith/Ewing battle a conference opponent in South Carolina’s No. 33 Ayana Akli/Sarah Hamner.
MATCH RESULTS
Singles Results
(TAMU) No. 22 Salma Ewing/Jayci Goldsmith Def. (UCLA) No. 7 Elise Wagle/Kimmi Hance (6-2, 6-2)
(USC) No. 18 Maddy Seig/Eryn Cayetano Def. (TAMU) No. 35 Mary Stoiana/Mia Kupres (6-2, 7-6(3))
JAYCI GOLDSMITH/SALMA EWING
- Goldsmith/Ewing lead the Maroon & White with 23 dual match doubles wins.
- The pair held a five-match win streak earlier in the season and defeated two ranked teams during that run.
- The duo answered the call when moving up to play court 1 doubles, winning 14 matches when headlining A&M in doubles.
- Jayci Goldsmith broke the program record for career doubles wins with 117 now in her career.
- The duo earned SEC All-Tournament Team Honors.