News release from Texas A&M Athletics:
BRYAN-COLLEGE STATION – The No. 13 Texas A&M women’s tennis team is set to face No. 5 Virginia in the NCAA Tournament Quarterfinals Friday at the Greenwood Tennis Center with first serve set for 4 p.m.
“We are looking forward to our Elite 8 matchup with a very good Virginia team,” head coach Mark Weaver said. “We are performing at a very high level and the key for us is to keep the focus on our side of the court and continue playing the tennis that we are capable of.”
The Aggies (25-7) prepare to face No. 5 Virginia (25-4) in their third-consecutive NCAA Elite 8 after upsetting the reigning national champions, No. 4 North Carolina, in the Sweet 16 round. Texas A&M hit the ground running in the round of 16, claiming the doubles point to take the advantage into singles. The Tar Heels responded to tie the match, but the Maroon & White answered with three-straight victories on courts 1, 2 and 3 to win the fixture, 4-1, snapping North Carolina’s 94-match home win-streak.
Texas A&M’s championship charge is led by the No. 1 singles player in the nation, Mary Stoiana, who has topped the rankings all season and is on a 10-match win streak. Stoiana and Mia Kupres pair to produce the No. 7 duos team in the country and are coming off their 15th-ranked victory of the season over the North Carolina’s No. 6 Fiona Crawley/Carson Tanguilig. The Aggies also boast another three ranked singles players in No. 26 Nicole Khirin, No. 45 Kupres and No. 88 Carson Branstine.
Virginia (25-4) became the ACC Regular Season Co-Champions for just the second time in school history and reached 25 wins for the first time this season. The Cavaliers also put together a 10-match win-streak and won nine-consecutive ACC matches, both of which were program records.
The Aggies lead the all-time series 3-2, with all three victories coming in the 2012-13 season, including a 5-0 sweep in the sweet 16.
Fans can follow the match through live stats or watch the matches through the live stream.
MATCH STATS
No. 1 Mary Stoiana leads the team with 22 dual match singles wins and singles winning percentage at .917.
In singles, A&M has dropped only three matches on court 2.
Mary Stoiana/Mia Kupres lead the Maroon & White with 19 dual match doubles wins.
In doubles, court 1 holds the highest winning percentage at .826.
NOTABLE STREAKS
Mary Stoiana has won 10-straight dual match singles.
Lucciana Perez is on a 12-match singles winning streak.
TEAM NOTES
A&M has only allowed 18 points to its opposition all season when the Aggies win the match.
The Maroon & White have swept 14 opponents this season.