BATON ROUGE, La. – The third-ranked Texas A&M women’s tennis team posted its 10th-consecutive win in convincing fashion this afternoon, shutting out LSU, 7-0, at W.T. “Dub” Stadium.
“You never know what to expect, but on the basis of the tennis I saw, it was somewhat obvious to me that we did have the stronger team,” A&M head coach Howard Joffe said.” I’m very pleased with our team, that they did turn it into a workman-like performance and did a fantastic job of not giving an inch. None of the matches had any dramatics, although some of them had the potential to, but our kids were just really tough.”
A&M (12-1, 5-0 SEC) began doubles with freshman Anna Mamalat and senior Cristina Sanchez-Quintanar jumping out to a 4-0 lead against Keri Frankenberger and Ebie Wilson at the No. 2 court. The Tigers stopped the run at 4-1, but A&M countered with another 4-0 run to win the match, 8-1.
Aggie freshmen twins Ines and Paula Deheza then clinched the doubles point at the No. 3 line. A&M held a 3-2 lead against Kaitlin Burns and Ella Taylor before pulling away for an 8-3 victory, putting the Aggies ahead, 1-0.
A&M also was in command at No. 1 doubles, where the ninth-ranked duo of Stefania Hristov and Cristina Stancu built a 7-3 lead against Mary Jeremiah and Ariel Morton. The Aggie pair was poised to win its fifth consecutive match when the doubles point was clinched and the match was stopped.
A&M also was dominating in singles, posting straight-set wins on all six courts. Hristov was first off and improved to 7-0 at the No. 6 line as she led throughout her entire match and gave A&M a 2-0 lead with a 6-1, 6-0 victory over Caroline Hudson.
Stancu extended her win streak to five in singles after winning the first five games en route to a 6-1, 6-3 victory over Jeremiah at No. 2. With the Aggies ahead, 3-0, Ines Deheza then clinched the winning point for A&M with a 6-2, 6-2 victory over Morton at the No. 4 line.
Wen Sun kept the Tigers scoreless and gave A&M a 5-0 lead with a 6-4, 6-1 win against Frankenberger at No. 5, and Nazari Urbina moved into a tie for fifth in the A&M record books as she posted the 92nd win of her career with a 6-4, 6-0 victory over Taylor at No. 3 to put A&M ahead, 6-0.
Sanchez-Quintanar, ranked sixth in the nation in singles, completed the shutout with a 6-3, 6-2 win against Burns at the top of the lineup.
LSU, in its first season under the direction of head coach Julia S. Sell, falls to 7-8 overall and 0-5 in SEC matches. It also marked the Tigers’ fifth consecutive loss in the series against A&M.
A&M plays its fourth of five consecutive SEC road matches Sunday, taking on No. 41 Arkansas, at 1 p.m. at Billingsley Tennis Center in Fayetteville.
“Arkansas is obviously a very strong team and a team that is ranked much higher (than LSU),” Joffe said. “We will definitely expect stiff opposition on Sunday.”
Visit AggieAthletics.com for more information on Texas A&M women’s tennis. Aggie fans also can keep up to date with the A&M women’s tennis team on Twitter by following @AggieWTEN or on Facebook at: http://www.facebook.com/?ref=tn_tnmn#!/pages/Aggie-Womens-Tennis/143874782434654
No. 3 Texas A&M 7, No. 66 LSU 0
March 15, 2013
W.T. “Dub” Robinson Stadium
Baton Rouge, La.
Singles
1. #6 Cristina Sanchez-Quintanar (TAMU) def. Kaitlin Burns (LSU)
2. #83 Cristina Stancu (TAMU) def. Mary Jeremiah (LSU), 6-1, 6-3
3. #67 Nazari Urbina (TAMU) def. Ella Taylor (LSU), 6-4, 6-0
4. Ines Deheza (TAMU) def. Ariel Morton (LSU), 6-2, 6-2
5. Wen Sun (TAMU) def. Keri Frankenberger (LSU), 6-4, 6-1
6. Stefania Hristov (TAMU) def. Caroline Hudson (LSU), 6-1, 6-0
Doubles (Texas A&M wins the point)
1. #9 Hristov/Stancu (TAMU) vs. Jeremiah/Morton (LSU), 7-3 unfinishe
2. Anna Mamalat/Sanchez-Quintanar (TAMU) def. Frankenberger/Ebie Wilson (LSU), 8-1
3. I. Deheza/Paula Deheza (TAMU) def. Burns/Taylor (LSU), 8-3
Order of finish
Doubles: 2, 3
Singles: 6, 2, 4*, 5, 3. 1
Team records
Texas A&M: 12-1, 5-0 SEC
LSU: 7-8, 0-5 SEC
Story courtesy of Texas A&M Athletics