AUSTIN, TX — The No. 18 Texas A&M women's tennis team dominated the No. 9 Texas Longhorns, 4-1, at the Texas Tennis Center to advance to the NCAA Tournament Round of 16 next weekend at No. 8 Vanderbilt.
The Maroon & White clinched the doubles point with a pair of 6-3 wins and cruised to first set wins on four singles courts. A&M's Riley McQuaid and Lucia Quiterio posted their second straight win in the state's capital as they defeated Katie Poluta and Petra Granic. The Aggies clinched the point as No. 33 Tatiana Makarova and Jayci Goldsmith bested No. 68 Anna Turati and Bianca Turati on court one.
A&M picked up its second point of the day as Quiterio disposed of Tijana Spasojevic 6-3, 6-3 on court six. Quiterio, a freshman from Benedita, Portugal, won her seventh straight match to improve to 17-2 this spring.
The Longhorns earned their only point of the day as Fernanda Labrana bested A&M's Renee McBryde 6-4, 6-2 on court four to pull within 2-1.
A&M's Tatiana Makarova rounded out her stellar weekend in Austin with a 6-2, 6-4 win on court three over No. 54 Petra Granic to push the Aggies ahead 3-1. Makarova won the last match standing against Rice on Saturday to advance the Aggies into the second round. Makarova improved to 16-7 in dual matches and 22-9 overall this season. The win over No. 54 Granic was Makarova's highest ranked win of her career.
No. 52 Katya Townsend punched the Aggies ticket to Nashville with a 6-3, 6-3 triumph on court one over No. 28 Bianca Turati. Townsend, a freshman from Coconut Creek, Florida, posted her team-leading seventh ranked win of the year to improve to 24-9 this season.
Visit 12thMan.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 or Instagram by following @AggieWTEN or on Facebook at Facebook.com/AggieWTEN.
Post Match Quotes
Mark Weaver, Texas A&M head coach
On beating No. 9 Texas on the road to advance to the Sweet Sixteen…
"What a great accomplishment for such a young group. I believe we're the youngest team in the nation with five freshmen and three sophomores, and to make the Sweet Sixteen is quite an incredible accomplishment. We set the stage early in the doubles. We were somewhat favored in the doubles, but it's always such a roll of the dice. We came out swinging at all three courts and really set the tone early by getting the 1-0 lead. In singles, we won first sets on four of the six singles courts and it looked like the other two could haven't easily gone our way. It was just an amazing job by our girls. I told them before that match that it was much more about the Aggies and how we play. We weren't worried about who we were playing or where we were playing, we were focused on how we played the big points."
On beating longtime rivals on the road…
"It's always nice to beat your big rival. To come in and beat Texas, a top 10 team, on their home court in the NCAA tournament -- it just doesn't happen very often. Beating any top 10 team on the road and to do it that decisively, it's definitely a great day for the Aggies."
On playing Vanderbilt…
"We're looking forward to playing Vanderbilt. We got them earlier in the season on our home court, and I know Vanderbilt will be looking for some revenge. But the truth is that I think we've actually improved a level or so since we've played them earlier in the season. I know it's going to be a battle and the girls are going to have to play at a high level. If we play at the level that we played today, which we have for most of the year, we're going to be in good shape. We're excited to be moving on the Sweet Sixteen and a great opportunity against Vanderbilt."
Tennis Match Results
Texas A&M vs Texas
May 05, 2019 at Austin, Texas
(Texas Tennis Center)
#18 Texas A&M 4, #9 Texas 1
Singles competition
1. #52 Katya Townsend (TAMU) def. #28 Bianca Turati (UT) 6-3, 6-3
2. #38 Anna Turati (UT) vs. #75 Jayci Goldsmith (TAMU) 5-7, 1-3, unfinished
3. Tatiana Makarova (TAMU) def. #54 Petra Granic (UT) 6-2, 6-4
4. Fernanda Labrana (UT) def. Renee McBryde (TAMU) 6-4, 6-2
5. Katie Poluta (UT) vs. Riley McQuaid (TAMU) 7-5, 3-3, unfinished
6. Lucia Quiterio (TAMU) def. Tijana Spasojevic (UT) 6-3, 6-3
Doubles competition
1. #33 Tatiana Makarova/Jayci Goldsmith (TAMU) def. #68 Anna Turati/Bianca Turati (UT) 6-3
2. Fernanda Labrana/Tijana Spasojevic (UT) vs. Katya Townsend/Renee McBryde (TAMU) 6-5, unfinished
3. Riley McQuaid/Lucia Quiterio (TAMU) def. Katie Poluta/Petra Granic (UT) 6-3
Match Notes:
Texas A&M 24-7; National ranking #18
Texas 19-5; National ranking #9
Order of finish: Doubles (3,1); Singles (6,4,3,1)
