News release from Texas A&M Athletics:
BRYAN-COLLEGE STATION – The No. 2 Texas A&M women’s tennis team secured its first regular season victory after sweeping Prairie View, 7-0, at the Mitchell Tennis Center on Saturday.
Texas A&M (1-0) came out swinging to take an early lead over the Panthers (0-3) in doubles play. Nicole Khirin/Jeanette Mireles kicked things off with a 6-0 sweep over Amaya Bobadilla/Yasmin El Fadilil on court 2. Following close behind, Mia Kupres/Daria Smetannikov took down Andrea Pascual Blanca/Daniela Garcia on court 1 to clinch the doubles point.
Striking first in singles was Mireles, who made quick work of Precious Ugochukwu on court 5 (6-0, 6-0) the Aggies’ first dual match victory of the season, extending her win-streak to four and doubling the Aggie advantage.
No. 15 Khirin kept things moving on court 1, defeating Ainara Vegal Rodriguez in straight sets (6-0, 6-3) to grab the third point of the day and claim her 13th straight victory.
Moments later, No. 102 Smetannikov clinched the Aggie victory, topping Bobadilla on court 4 (6-0, 6-0) to give the Maroon & White their 56th-consecutive win at home.
After the match was secured, three more Aggies added their first dual match victories of the season, including Mia Kupres who triumphed over Andrea Pascual Blanca on court 2 (6-1, 6-0), Lucciana Perez who took down Daniela Garcia on court 3 (6-2, 6-3). Lexington Reed secured the final win of the day for the Maroon & White, downing Joanne Fernandes on court 5.
COACH’S QUOTES
Head coach Mark Weaver on winning a third straight SEC title …
“Overall, today was very good for our team. There’s always a little bit of nerves in the first match of the season, so its nice to get that first match under our belts. We really went out there and took care of business from the start.”
“One of our big messages today was keeping our focus – concentrating hard. We talked a lot about our preparation with our feet. I thought we handled all those things really well. If we’re doing the things we do well, focusing on our type of tennis that we want to play, then we’re always in great shape, and that’s what we did today”
Up Next
The Aggies host USF on Friday, Jan. 14 at 1 p.m. at the Mitchell Tennis Center.
Match Results
Singles Results
#15 Nicole Khirin (TAMU) def. Ainara Rodriguez (PV) – 6-0, 6-3
Mia Kupres (TAMU) def. Andrea Blanca (PV) – 6-1, 6-0
Lucciana Perez (TAMU) def. Daniela Garcia (PV) – 6-2, 6-3
#102 Daria Smetannikov (TAMU) def. Amaya Bobadilla (PV) – 6-0, 6-0
Lexington Reed (TAMU) def. Joanne Fernandes (PV) – 6-1, 6-4
Jeanette Mireles (TAMU) def. Precious Ugochukwu (PV) – 6-0, 6-0
Order of finish: 6, 1, 4, 2, 3, 5
Double Results
Mia Kupres/Daria Smetannikov (TAMU) def. Andrea Blanca/Daniela Garcia (PV) – 6-1
Nicole Khirin/Jeanette Mireles (TAMU) def. Yasmin El Fadilil/Amaya Bobadilla (PV) – 6-0
Lexington Reed/Lucciana Perez (TAMU) vs. Cierra Garcia/Joanne Fernandes (PV) – 5-1, unfinished
Order of finish: 2, 1, 3