No. 10 Texas A&M Women’s Tennis Concludes Season in Round of 16

(Source: Sydney Morris)

ORLANDO, Fla. – The No. 10 Texas A&M women’s tennis team concluded its run through the 2021 NCAA Women’s Tennis Championships on Sunday in the Round of 16, dropping a 4-2 result against the No. 7 Florida State Seminoles on Sunday at the USTA National Campus Collegiate Complex.

In defeat, the Aggies historic 2021 season comes to a close with a 21-8 overall record and a 2-1 performance in the NCAA Women’s Team Championships. In a season mired by a global pandemic and crippling winter storms, the Maroon & White made history by advancing to the SEC Championship Match earlier this season and reached the NCAA Round of 16 for the seventh time in program history. With their win, the Seminoles climb to 19-5 overall and reach the National Quarterfinals for the second time.

The doubles competition saw the Aggies face off against a trio of ranked Seminole doubles teams, with Florida State recording victories on courts three and one to take the first point of the match. The No. 89 ranked team of Giulia Pairone and Petra Hule defeated Katya Townsend and Riley McQuaid, 6-2. Florida State then clinched the doubles point with a No. 30 Emmanuelle Salas and Victoria Allen logging a 7-5 result against No. 20 Tatiana Makarova and Jayci Goldsmith. The Seminoles led 6-5 in the final match featuring No. 8 Nandini Das and Andrea Garcia against Renee McBryde and Dorthea Faa-Hviding, with the match remaining unfinished.

The match transitioned to singles play, with each team winning a trio of first sets to get things started. Goldsmith quickly evened the team score at 1-1 following a commanding 6-0, 6-3 ranked win against No. 44 Emmanuelle Salas, but the Seminoles responded with a straight set victory on court five. No. 25 Makarova split the first two sets against No. 12 Pairone, but blitzed through the final set in a 6-3, 2-6, 6-0 masterpiece. A&M forced third sets on the remaining three courts, but Florida State ultimately clinched the 4-2 victory with wins on courts three and four.

In addition to A&M’s team accomplishments this year, both the Moscow, Russia, native Makarova and the Dripping Springs, Texas, native Goldsmith showed out in their final performances of the 2021 team season. Makarova improves to 26-6 overall after her showing on Sunday and boasts a striking 8-4 ledger when battling ranked singles opponents. Goldsmith booked her sixth ranked singles victory of the season on Sunday, improving to 16-10 overall in 2020-21. Both Makarova and Goldsmith will continue their stay in Central Florida, as they prepare to compete as a doubles team in the NCAA Individual Championships. Additionally, Makarova will enter the singles bracket to battle against 64 of the premier players in college tennis.

UP NEXT
The No. 10 Texas A&M women’s tennis program awaits the start of the NCAA Individual Championships later next week. A&M’s No. 20 ranked doubles team of Makarova and Goldsmith, as well as the No. 25 ranked singles player in Makarova will begin play on Sunday, May 23rd. Match times and streaming information will be released when available.

POSTMATCH QUOTES
TEXAS A&M QUOTES
Head Coach Mark Weaver
On his feeling after the match…
“What an amazing season we’ve had. It was definitely a tough way to end it, but we certainly had opportunities to win it in both the doubles and the singles. In doubles, we let a couple of leads slip away. I knew going into this match that the doubles point would be crucial today, even though it wasn’t necessarily life or death. That point was very important to both teams, and it was unfortunate that we didn’t get it. The opportunities were there for us, but I have to tip my cap to Florida State on playing an excellent match.”

On the team’s success this season…
“I couldn’t be happier with this group. Our team just had an amazing year, and we overcame so many obstacles along the way. Hopefully we made all the Aggie fans and members of the 12th Man proud with the way we competed this season. The future is definitely bright here in the Texas A&M women’s tennis program, and I’m looking forward to taking another crack at things next year.”

TENNIS MATCH RESULTS
No. 7 Florida State 4, No. 10 Texas A&M 2
NCAA Women’s Tennis Championships – Round of 16
USTA National Campus Collegiate Complex – Orlando, Florida

Singles Competition
1. #25 Tatiana Makarova (TAMU) def. #12 Giulia Pairone (FSU) 6-3, 2-6, 6-0
2. Jayci Goldsmith (TAMU) vs. #44 Emmanuelle Salas (FSU) 6-0, 6-3
3. Nandini Das (FSU) def. Katya Townsend (TAMU) 6-4, 4-6, 6-1
4. Petra Hule (FSU) def. Dorthea Faa-Hviding (TAMU) 6-7(5), 6-2, 6-1
5. Victoria Allen (FSU) def. Renee McBryde (TAMU) 6-2, 6-2
6. Riley McQuaid (TAMU) vs. Andrea Garcia (FSU) 5-7, 6-3, 3-2, unfinished

Doubles Competition
1. #30 Emmanuelle Salas / Victoria Allen (FSU) def. #20 Tatiana Makarova / Jayci Goldsmith (TAMU) 7-5
2. Renee McBryde / Dorthea Faa-Hviding (TAMU) vs. #8 Nandini Das / Andrea Garcia (FSU) 5-6, unfinished
3. #89 Giulia Pairone / Petra Hule (FSU) def. Riley McQuaid / Katya Townsend (TAMU) 6-2

Order of Finish: Doubles (3,1); Singles (2,5,1,3,4)

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