By Nick Whitley, Texas A&M Athletics Communications
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – The No. 12 ranked team in the nation and No. 3-seeded Texas A&M Aggies advanced to their first Southeastern Conference Women’s Tennis Championship Final in program history on Thursday, dispatching with the No. 7-seed South Carolina Gamecocks in a 4-2 semifinal affair at the Alabama Tennis Stadium.
The Maroon & White reached the semifinal round three times prior to the 2021 campaign and will make their first Championship Final appearance tomorrow morning, Friday, April 22nd, against the No. 2 Georgia Bulldogs. First serve is slated for 9 a.m., with the match set to be broadcast to a national television audience on SEC Network with Rich Waltz and Jill Craybas on the call. Authenticated subscribers can watch the live simulcast on the ESPN app, with live scoring provided by the University of Alabama here.
With the win, Texas A&M women’s tennis rises to 19-6 overall this season and remains unblemished in the SEC Championships. The Aggies won both of the meetings with the Gamecocks this year by 4-2 scores and A&M now leads the series with South Carolina by a 6-4 advantage since the Aggies joined the SEC in the 2012-13 season. In defeat, the Gamecocks fall to 12-11 and conclude their stay in Tuscaloosa with a 2-1 performance in the conference tournament.
In one of the most crucial doubles points of the season, Texas A&M got out to an energetic start on court two. Renee McBryde and Dorthea Faa-Hviding combined for their second doubles win in as many days, logging a 6-3 result against Emma Shelton and Silvia Chinellato. With only one match needed to secure the opening point, the Aggies turned to the No. 27 ranked duo of Tatiana Makarova and Jayci Goldsmith, securing the 6-4 win on court one against South Carolina’s No. 15-ranked paring of Mia Horvit and Megan Davies. The match between A&M’s Riley McQuaid and Katya Townsend against South Carolina’s Allie Gretkowski and Elise Mills was on the verge of a tiebreaker but went unfinished after the Aggies took a 1-0 lead.
The match then progressed into singles action, with the Aggies grabbing four-of-six first sets to establish momentum for the remainder of the match. Townsend continued to excel in the No. 3 singles spot, absolutely dominating No. 86-ranked Shelton in a 6-1, 6-2 scuffle to make the team score 2-0 in favor of the Ags. Over on court five, McBryde fought for a 6-4, 6-3 victory to put the Maroon & White only one point away from history. The Gamecocks then attempted a comeback, edging back into the match with a pair of victories on court one and four to cut A&M’s lead to one.
In the meantime, McQuaid and Goldsmith each found themselves locked in close matches on courts six and two, respectively. In her opening set, the Dripping Springs, Texas, native Goldsmith dropped a 6-4 frame to No. 63 Davies and hoped to battle back and win two consecutive sets. The second went her way by a 6-3 margin, and she held a close lead in her decisive third set. Meanwhile, McQuaid went down early in her opening stanza by a 5-2 margin and was forced to outlast Mills on four set points. She took the first set in a 7-6(3) thriller. Then, with all eyes trained on court six, McQuaid earned a resounding 6-3 second set win to send the Aggies to their first-ever SEC Championship Final. Goldsmith’s match against Davies went unfinished, with a 4-6, 6-3, 4-3 score at the conclusion of the team win.
The Tustin, California, native McQuaid clinched her fourth match of the season and is responsible for the decisive fourth point in both of the Aggies wins in the SEC Women’s Tennis Championships. McQuaid is now 16-8 overall this year and 11-4 in dual match play. Townsend sees her overall singles record climb to 18-8 with an 11-5 dual match season under her belt thus far. She now maintains the longest active singles win streak on the team at four matches. As a team, the Aggies improve to 15-0 when the squad books the doubles point to open the match.
A&M now turns its attention to the SEC Championship Final, in which the Aggies look to avenge a 4-0 loss at Georgia’s hands earlier this week. Notably, the only win for Texas A&M against Georgia in women’s tennis came in the Mark Weaver era, with A&M defeating then-No. 2 Georgia in a 4-2 classic at the Dan Magill Tennis Complex in Athens, Georgia, during the 2016 campaign. That win remains the highest-ranked victory in Texas A&M program history, a record that the Aggies look to replicate on Friday.
UP NEXT
No. 12-ranked and No. 3-seeded Texas A&M women’s tennis will take part in its first Southeastern Conference Championship Final match tomorrow, Friday, April 22nd, with first serve slated for 9 a.m. against the No. 2-ranked and No. 1-seeded Georgia Bulldogs at the Alabama Tennis Stadium. The match will be nationally televised on SEC Network. Aggie fans can also join in the SEC Tournament experience by following Texas A&M women’s Tennis on Facebook, Instagram, and on Twitter @AggieWTEN.
POSTMATCH QUOTES
TEXAS A&M QUOTES
Head Coach Mark Weaver
On reaching the first SEC Championship match in program history…
“It’s an absolutely great feeling, and it was really special for Riley [McQuaid]. She was really thriving in the moment there. Something we talk about all the time is rising to the occasion on the big points. Success at this level takes a champion’s mindset, and Riley did a great job of bringing that in her match today. There was a lot of electricity for our team on the other courts from both teams, and it was a very fun match to be a part of.”
On what the team will have to do to beat No. 2 Georgia…
“I think we need to play at a very high level right from the start. We have to come out of the gates swinging and ready to go. A lot of it is going to come down to how much we believe in ourselves. We’re playing some very high-level tennis right now, so if we come out ready to compete it is going to be a really great match.”
Senior Riley McQuaid
On clinching the historic semifinal win over South Carolina…
“It felt absolutely incredible. There aren’t enough words in the English language to express how amazing it felt getting this win for our team. I just happened to be the last match on, but I really have to give all the credit to the other girls on our team. It wouldn’t have been possible to fight through that without Katya [Townsend] and Renee [McBryde] taking care of business on the other courts. Overall, I’m so proud of our girls and I can’t wait to see what we do tomorrow.”
TENNIS MATCH RESULTS
No, 12 Texas A&M 4, South Carolina 2
SEC Women’s Tennis Championships – Semifinals
Alabama Tennis Stadium – Tuscaloosa, Alabama
Singles Competition
1. #56 Mia Horvit (SCAR) def. #18 Tatiana Makarova (TAMU) 6-4, 6-4
2. Jayci Goldsmith (TAMU) vs. #63 Megan Davies (SCAR) 4-6, 6-3, 4-3
3. Katya Townsend (TAMU) def. #86 Emma Shelton (SCAR) 6-1, 6-2
4. Silvia Chinellato (SCAR) def. Dorthea Faa-Hviding (TAMU) 0-6, 6-1, 6-1
5. Renee McBryde (TAMU) def. Allie Gretkowski (SCAR) 6-4, 6-3
6. Riley McQuaid (TAMU) def. Elise Mills (SCAR) 7-6(3), 6-3
Doubles Competition
1. #27 Tatiana Makarova / Jayci Goldsmith (TAMU) def. #15 Mia Horvit / Megan Davies (SCAR) 6-4
2. Renee McBryde / Dorthea Faa-Hviding (TAMU) def. Emma Shelton / Silvia Chinellato (SCAR) 6-3
3. Riley McQuaid / Katya Townsend (TAMU) vs. Allie Gretkowski / Elise Mills (SCAR) 5-6, unfinished
Order of Finish: Doubles (2,1); Singles (3,5,1,4,6)
POSTMATCH NOTES
With the win, Texas A&M climbs to 19-6 overall this season and is a perfect 2-0 in matches played at the SEC Women’s Tennis Championships. The Aggies are nationally ranked at No. 12 in the latest Oracle ITA Women’s Team Rankings released yesterday.
South Carolina drops to 12-11 overall and concludes the conference tournament with a 2-1 performance. The Gamecocks were the No. 7 seed in this year’s SEC Women’s Tennis Championships.
The Maroon & White edge ahead in the all-time series between the two schools since Texas A&M joined the SEC, taking a 6-4 advantage and winning both matches this year by 4-2 margins.
In the Southeastern Conference Women’s Tennis Championships, the Aggies will make their first appearance in the final round in program history. Texas A&M University collectively moved to the SEC in the 2012-13 academic year.
The order of finish in Thursday’s match was as follows: Doubles (2,1); Singles (3,5,1,4,6)