Credit to Sam Thornton | Assistant Director, Athletics Communications – 12thman.com
ORLANDO, Fla. – The No. 2 overall seed Texas A&M women’s tennis team advanced to its second-straight NCAA Tournament Quarterfinal Round, held at the USTA National Campus. The Aggies will face the PAC-12 Regular Season and Tournament Champions, No. 7 overall seed Stanford, Wednesday with first serve scheduled for 6:30 p.m. CT.
“We’re excited to get started here in Orlando, and I feel that we’re in a better position mentally this year heading into the NCAA Tournament,” head coach Mark Weaver said.
The Aggies (30-2, 13-0 SEC) have had sustained success within the NCAA Tournament in recent years. A&M reached its fourth-straight NCAA Super Regional, and second-straight quarterfinals appearance. Last season the Maroon & White lost in a 4-3 decision to Oklahoma, but the Aggies enter the quarterfinal round having won 30 dual matches in back-to-back seasons, while riding a three-match winning streak in the tournament, only allowing their opposition to score one point total in those three matches.
“Stanford has an excellent team,” Weaver continued. “They have won 21 national titles and have a lot of confidence as they’re on a 21-match win streak. We’ve had a couple of tough matches with Stanford in the NCAA Tournament over the years, and I’m hoping this year we can land a knockout blow.”
The Maroon & White have met Stanford (24-2) twice in the NCAA Tournament. The first matchup came in the tournament’s finals during the 2012-13 season, where the Cardinal snatched victory in a tight matchup (4-3) to claim the title. Most recently Stanford claimed another win 4-3 in the tournament’s second round in the 2015-16 season.
Stanford boasts four ranked singles players and a ranked doubles pair. The Cardinals is headlined by No. 18 Connie Ma, while No. 29 Alexandra Yepifanova, No. 44 Angelica Blake and No. 84 Alexis Blokhina round out the ranked singles players. Blake/Blokhina also rank No. 16 in the nation as a duo.
“I feel like we have a lot of experience going into the NCAA Championships this season,” Weaver said. “I think playing at the USTA National Campus earlier this season will really help us. The whole set up is truly first class, and you feel like you’re on the big stage playing here.”
The Aggies are familiar with the USTA National Campus, as the team played a trio of matches at the facility in February. A&M claimed three wins, a 4-1 victory over FIU, a 5-1 contest with Northwestern and the trip was highlighted by a dominant, 5-2, win over then-No. 2 Ohio State.
QUARTERFINAL MATCHUPS
- No. 1 Seed North Carolina vs No. 8 Seed Texas
- No. 2 Seed Texas A&M vs No. 7 Seed Stanford
- No. 3 Seed NC State vs No. 11 Seed Iowa State
- No. 4 Seed Georgia vs No. 5 Seed Michigan
STREAMING & STATS
Fans can watch the quarterfinals action through Cracked Racquets Cross Court Coverage, or follow along with the matches scores using the events live stats.
MATCH STATS
- Mary Stoiana leads the team with 24 dual match singles wins.
- Stoiana leads the Aggies in singles winning percentage .923 (Min. 10 dual matches played).
- In singles, court 1 holds the highest winning percentage at .897.
- Jayci Goldsmith/Salma Ewing lead the Maroon & White with 23 dual match doubles wins.
- In doubles, court 2 holds the highest winning percentage at .880.
- The Maroon & White boast a 20-4 record in ranked doubles matches.
NOTABLE STREAKS
- A&M has reached back-to-back NCAA Elite Eights.
- The Maroon & White hold a 26-match winning streak in SEC regular season play, following their second straight undefeated campaign.
- Salma Ewing is on a seven-match winning streak, which leads the team.
TEAM NOTES
- The Aggies secured the No. 2 seed in the NCAA Tournament, the highest in program history.
- The Maroon & White reached their 23rd-straight, 28th total, NCAA Tournament appearance.
- A&M has only allowed 27 points to its opposition all season when the Aggies win the match.
- The Maroon & White have lost only three matches on courts 1 and 3 this season.
- The Aggies have won 22 ranked matches this season, 11 of those have been the top 25.
- A&M has lost only five doubles points through 32 dual matches.
- The Maroon & White have swept 13 opponents this season.
- Jayci Goldsmith has broken the program record for both all-time doubles wins with 122, and all-time singles with 116.
- The Aggies have won back-to-back outright SEC regular season titles.
ITA RANKINGS
- The team has remained ranked No. 2 in the nation since February 28.
- Ranked in singles: No. 2 Mary Stoiana, No. 49 Carson Branstine, No. 58 Salma Ewing, No. 68 Mia Kupres, No. 108 Jayci Goldsmith and No. 119 Gianna Pielet.
- Ranked in doubles: No. 2 Stoiana/Branstine, No. 22 Goldsmith/Ewing, No. 35 Stoiana/Kupres and No. 57 Stoiana/Goldsmith.
AWARDS
- Mary Stoiana was named SEC Player of the Year, the first player to win the award in program history.
- Mark Weaver won his second consecutive SEC Coach of the Year.
- Stoiana and Carson Branstine were named to the All-SEC First Team.
- Salma Ewing, Jayci Goldsmith and Mia Kupres were awarded All-SEC Second Team honors.
- Kupres was also added to the SEC All-Freshman Team.
- Goldsmith & Ewing were named to the SEC All-Tournament team.
- Stoiana has been awarded SEC Player of the Week honors seven times this season: Feb. 1, March 1, March 8, March 29, April 5, April 12 and April 18.
- Kupres was awarded SEC Freshman of the Week honors five times this season: Feb. 15, March 1, March 15, March 22 and April 5.
- Goldsmith was named to the SEC Community Service Team, April 13.