By Nick Whitley, Texas A&M Athletics Communications
MADISON, Wis. – No. 111 Carson Branstine defeated top-ranked Eryn Cayetano in straight sets, and No. 8 Texas A&M women’s tennis cruised to a 4-1 victory over the No. 10 USC Trojans (6-2) Sunday night inside Nielsen Tennis Stadium. The Aggies climb to a program-best record of 11-1 and complete the best showing at the ITA National Women’s Team Indoor Championships in school history with two ranked team wins.
At the top line singles match, the Orange, California, native Branstine battled through the early games of her first set with Cayetano but trailed 3-4 and went down 15-40 in her eighth game. Branstine, a former Trojan, battled back to tie things at 4-all and eventually took the opening frame by a 6-4 margin. The junior capitalized on her first-set momentum and rolled to a 6-4, 6-3 finish over the No. 1 player in college tennis, setting an A&M record for the highest ranked singles win in program annals.
The match began in doubles play, where the Maroon & White dismantled USC on all three courts and rolled at the top two lines to seal the opening point. The newly-ranked No. 2 doubles team in the nation in Jayci Goldsmith and Tatiana Makarova defeated No. 40 Eryn Cayetano and Grace Piper 6-2 just before Branstine and Mary Stoiana booked a 6-2 win over Salma Ewing and McKenna Koenig. Jeanette Mireles and Gianna Pielet held a 5-2 lead over Snow Han and Danielle Willson before the match was abandoned.
A&M seized five-of-six first sets in singles play and never looked back, sealing the match on courts six, one and two, respectively. Mireles dominated Koenig in a 6-0, 6-4 triumph to push the Aggies ahead by a 2-0 advantage. Branstine’s victory followed on court one, but the Trojans were able to snag a win on court three to make it 3-1 in favor of A&M. The Maroon & White called on the veteran No. 105 Makarova, as she sealed the team match with a 7-5, 6-4 victory over No. 18 Ewing.
Makarova, a native of Moscow, Russia, climbs to 11-2 overall in the 2021-22 season and holds an unblemished 7-0 mark in dual match singles action. In doubles play, Makarova is now 19-3 with a 10-0 record in dual matches, winning nine of those 10 alongside Goldsmith. With her victories in singles and doubles Sunday evening, Makarova moves into a tie for fifth with Stefania Hristov in career doubles victories at A&M with 94 through this point in her storied career. She needs only four more wins to reach the top-10 mark at A&M in singles.
A&M finished its run at ITA Indoors with a 2-1 overall performance, highlighted by a pair of 4-1 results over teams rated inside the ITA top-25. The last time an Aggie team finished with two victories at ITA Indoors was the 2013 season, in which A&M defeated No. 11 Texas and No. 12 Virginia. The 2013 team went on to finish with a 26-4 overall record and reach the NCAA Championship final match. Mark Weaver earned his fourth victory at ITA Indoors and now holds a 121-56 record in his collegiate head coaching career.
UP NEXT
No. 8 Texas A&M women’s tennis returns home to the Brazos Valley and will begin a five-match homestand with a Saturday afternoon doubleheader. The Aggies resume play on Feb. 19 against the TCU Horned Frogs at noon (CT) followed by a 4:30 p.m. start against the Abilene Christian Wildcats.
POSTMATCH QUOTES
TEXAS A&M QUOTES
Head Coach Mark Weaver
On A&M’s top-10 win over USC and his impressions from ITA Indoors…
“I’m so proud of the team for the performance that we had this week. We had a really good first round match, and it was extremely tough to take the result that came from it. The way we bounced back against Old Dominion rather decisively, and the way we bounced back against the tenth-ranked USC Trojans rather decisively truly says a lot about the character of our team. It’s early in the season, and four of our six starters are in their first year of college tennis. This is a team that will continue to get better and better as time goes on. The doubles we are playing is nothing short of unbelievable. We hardly lost any games against three of the top ranked teams in the nation. I’m incredibly encouraged by the results this weekend, and I can’t wait to see what the rest of the year has in store.”
On Carson Branstine’s historic performance…
“Carson played in her seventh collegiate singles match today, and she beat the No. 1-ranked singles player in the nation in straight sets. I don’t think much more really needs to be said. She is making history, and she has only been on campus for a couple of weeks. Her performance tonight is nothing short of extraordinary, and I’m proud of her, as well as our entire team for having the kind of success that we had this weekend.”
Junior Carson Branstine
On her decisive win against No. 1 Eryn Cayetano of USC…
“Of course, it always feels good to get a win for Texas A&M. But I think tonight really proved that I am finally in the place that I need to be, with incredible teammates and coaches who support me at every opportunity. I am really proud of all of the girls for having a great weekend, and getting a great win today over a solid USC team. My teammates had to win some matches and fight really hard to get this one for our team. I think that this was an awesome way to finish the tournament, and I’m really looking forward to the rest of the season.”
TENNIS MATCH RESULTS
#8 Texas A&M 4, #10 USC 1
ITA National Team Indoor Championships – Consolation
Nielsen Tennis Stadium – Madison, Wis.
SINGLES
1. #111 Carson Branstine (TAMU) def. #1 Eryn Cayetano (USC) 6-4, 6-3
2. #105 Tatiana Makarova (TAMU) def. #18 Salma Ewing (USC) 7-5, 6-4
3. #52 Snow Han (USC) def. #122 Mary Stoiana (TAMU) 6-4, 6-3
4. #117 Jayci Goldsmith (TAMU) vs. Grace Piper (USC) 7-6(5), 2-6, 1-1, unfinished
5. Gianna Pielet (TAMU) vs. Danielle Willson (USC) 6-2, 1-6, 2-4, unfinished
6. Jeanette Mireles (TAMU) def. McKenna Koenig (USC) 6-0, 6-4
DOUBLES
1. #2 Jayci Goldsmith / Tatiana Makarova (TAMU) def. #40 Eryn Cayetano / Grace Piper (USC) 6-2
2. Carson Branstine / Mary Stoiana (TAMU) def. Salma Ewing / McKenna Koenig (USC) 6-2
3. Jeanette Mireles / Gianna Pielet (TAMU) vs. Snow Han / Danielle Willson (USC) 5-2, unfinished
Order of Finish: Doubles (1,2); Singles (6,1,3,2*)
POSTMATCH NOTES
- Texas A&M women’s tennis continues its greatest start to a season in program history, reaching an 11-1 overall record. The Aggies are currently ranked at No. 8 by the ITA and hold the No. 9 ranking in the Tennis Channel/USTA College Tennis Top-25.
- The Aggies complete their best performance at ITA Indoors in program history, booking two victories at the tournament.
- USC falls to 6-2 overall and holds the No. 10 ITA ranking.
- In the all-time series between the Aggies and Trojans, A&M evens things up at two matches apiece.
- Carson Branstine recorded the highest ranked victory in the history of Texas A&M women’s tennis, defeating former teammate and top-ranked Eryn Cayetano in straight sets.
- With her victories in singles and doubles Sunday evening, Tatiana Makarova moves into a tie for fifth with Stefania Hristov in career doubles victories at A&M with 94 through this point in her storied career. She needs only four more wins to reach the top-10 mark at A&M in singles.
- Jayci Goldsmith and Tatiana Makarova set a Texas A&M program record for doubles ranking earlier Sunday afternoon, as the ITA announced corrected rankings for the week of Feb. 9. A&M’s headline doubles tandem holds the No. 2 ranking nationally.
- Mark Weaver improves to 121-56 in his head coaching career at Texas A&M, which began prior to the 2015-16 academic year.