News release from Texas A&M Athletics:
The No. 5 Texas A&M women’s tennis team earned a 6-1 victory over Kentucky Sunday afternoon at the Mitchell Tennis Center.
With six matches remaining in the regular season, the Aggies sit tied for first place in SEC standings alongside Aurburn with an 8-1 record.
Doubles play began with a competitive showing as Texas A&M (16-3) edged out Kentucky (8-10, 0-9) on courts 2 and 4 to take the early lead. No. 75 Ilinica Amariei/Violeta Martinez struck first for the Maroon & White, defeating Zoe Hammond/Marina Fuduric, 6-3, on court 2. Moments later, Daria Smetannikov/Lexington Reed secured the point with a 6-4 victory over Julia Zue/Donna LeRoux on court 3.
The match on court 1 featuring the No. 8 duo of Mia Kupres/Lucciana Perez went unfinished as the Aggies trailed 5-4 versus Asuncion Jadue/Reese Sager.
Singles play opened with a strong performance from No. 2 Perez on court 1, taking down Hammond 6-0, 6-2 to add to her 28-match SEC winning streak.
Texas A&M added another point shortly on court 6, where Smetannikov turned in a 6-1, 6-2 win against LeRoux. The match was clinched on court 5 as No. 96 Martinez battled to a 6-2, 4-6, 6-0 victory over Jadue.
After the match was decided, Kentucky added their only point as Zhu defeated No. 31 Kupres in a tiebreaking set, 4-6, 6-3, 1-0 (10-6). Reed followed on court 4, topping Elena Molla in three sets, 3-6, 6-3, 3-6. Lastly, No. 54 Amariei finished off Sager, 7-6(5), 2-6, 7-6(4), to make the final score 6-1 for the Aggies.