The Texas A&M women’s tennis team remained undefeated in home matches after defeating No. 60 Fresno State, 6-1, in front of 361 tonight at the George P. Mitchell Tennis Center.
The 30th-ranked Aggies, playing their first match of the season under the lights, improved to 3-0 in home matches and 4-2 overall, all against ranked opponents. Fresno State drops to 2-2.
A&M won all three doubles matches for the second time this season to take an early 1-0 lead. Stephanie Davidson (Fair Oaks Ranch, Texas) won her fourth consecutive doubles match as she and partner Christi Potgieter (Petrusville, South Africa) cruised to an 8-1 victory over Mary Abby Hadley and Olga Kirpicheva at the No. 3 line. It was Davidson’s 84th career doubles win, moving her into a tie for 10th place in the A&M all-time records.
At the No. 1 court, A&M’s Janelle Cuthbertson (Perth, Australia) and Christi Liles (Largo, Fla.) won the first four games against Fresno State’s Marianne Jodoin and Laura Pola. The Bulldog duo fought back and got within a game at 4-3 and 6-5 but was unable to take the lead as A&M won the final two games to win the match and clinch the point.
The 61st-ranked team of Morgan Frank (Oldsmar, Fla.) and Nazari Urbina (Xalapa, Veracruz, Mexico) struggled and was down a break at 6-4 against Fresno State’s Melissa McQueen and Bianca Modoc but rallied to tie the score at 6-6. The teams remained tied at 7-7, forcing a tiebreaker. The Aggies fought off match point at 7-6 and went on to win the next two points to win the match and secure the sweep. It marked Frank’s fifth consecutive doubles victory.
Just as she did in doubles, Davidson made quick work of her opponent in singles, defeating Kirpicheva, 6-1, 6-0, at the No. 6 line to put A&M ahead, 2-0.
A&M, which won five of six first sets, took a 3-0 lead when Frank finished off Pola, 6-1, 6-4 at No. 2. Liles then clinched the winning point for the Aggies with a 6-4, 6-1 victory over The Woodlands High School product Mary Abby Hayley at the No. 3 line. It was Liles’ first appearance at No. 3 this season, having played the previous five matches at the No. 4 line.
Cuthbertson kept Fresno State off the scoreboard with a 6-3, 6-4 victory over Modoc at No. 5. It was A&M’s first win at the No. 5 line this season.
Fresno State earned its only point at the No. 4 court, where McQueen downed Potgieter, 10-5, in the super tiebreaker. McQueen had won the opening set, 7-5, but Potgieter controlled the second set, winning 6-3 to force the tiebreaker.
Urbina, ranked a career-high No. 11 in singles, closed out the contest and extended her winning streak to five matches by topping 99th-ranked Jodoin, 7-5, 6-2, at the No. 1 line.
The Aggies continue their home stand Saturday as they play host to No. 21 Washington. First serve against the Huskies is slated for 1 p.m. at the Mitchell Tennis Center.
No. 30 Texas A&M 6, No. 60 Fresno State 1
George P. Mitchell Tennis Center
Attendance: 361
Singles
1. (#11) Nazari Urbina (TAMU) def. (#99) Marianne Jodoin (FS), 7-5, 6-2
2. Morgan Frank (TAMU) def. Laura Pola (FS), 6-1, 6-4
3. Christi Liles (TAMU) def. Mary Abby Hayley (FS), 6-4, 6-1
4. Melissa McQueen (FS) def. Christi Potgieter (TAMU), 7-5, 3-6, 1-0 (5)
5. Janelle Cuthbertson (TAMU) def. Bianca Modoc (FS), 6-3, 6-4
6. Stephanie Davidson (TAMU) def. Olga Kirpicheva (FS), 6-1, 6-0
Doubles (A&M wins the point)
1. Cuthbertson/Liles (TAMU) def. Jodoin/Pola (FS), 8-5
2. (#61) Frank/Urbina (TAMU) def. McQueen/Modoc (FS), 8-7 (7)
3. Davidson/Potgieter (TAMU) def. Hayley/Kirpicheva (FS), 8-1