After playing its first eight matches on the road, the Texas A&M women’s tennis team finally made its home debut tonight. The outcome, however, didn’t favor the Aggies, who fell to No. 33 SMU, 5-2, in front of 538 at the George P. Mitchell Tennis Center.
“I’m disappointed in the loss, obviously,” A&M coach Bobby Kleinecke said. “I think the match was a little closer than the 5-2 score.”
After splitting the first two doubles matches SMU captured the crucial point following a come-from-behind victory at the No. 2 line.
The Mustangs won the first doubles match to be completed as Shahzoda Hatamova and Casey Kennedy won their first six games and went on to defeat the 48th-ranked duo of Stephanie Davidson and Sheri Olivier, 8-3, at the No. 3 line.
The Aggie duo of Elzé Potgieter and Nazari Urbina got a win at the No. 1 line, topping Marta Lesniak and Aleksandra Malyarchikova, 8-4, to force the doubles point to be determined at the No. 2 line, where A&M’s Morgan Frank and Christi Liles were battling SMU’s Edyta Cieplucha and Pavi Francis. The teams were on serve at 7-7 when SMU broke to take an 8-7 lead. The Mustangs then held serve to win the match, 9-7, and give SMU a 1-0 lead.
“We had opportunities to win the doubles point and just didn’t take care of it,” Kleinecke said. “I was very proud of No. 1. I thought they did a great job of being ahead, keeping the lead and keeping the pressure on them.
“At the end of No. 2 doubles, I felt like we kind of pulled back a little bit, got a little tentative. And at No. 3, they made more errors in the first four or five games than they’ve made probably all the matches put together. So I’m disappointed in the doubles point. I thought that was key point of the match. We needed to win the doubles point.”
A&M tied the score early into the singles matches as SMU’s Katerina Vankova, who had played in only two matches this spring, retired with an injury after falling behind, 5-0, to Frank at the No. 2 line. It was the first loss this season at the No. 2 position for the Mustangs, who entered the match 13-0, but SMU would win the next four matches to claim the victory.
Hatamova put SMU ahead, 2-1, with a 6-2, 6-2 win against Lauren Santacroce at the No. 4 position.
In a battle of ranked players, No. 57 Potgieter fought off numerous match points before succumbing to No. 59 Lesniak, 6-4, 6-3, at the top of the lineup. With the win, Lesniak remained undefeated in dual matches, improving to 13-0 all at the No. 1 line.
Francis then clinched the winning point and gave the Mustangs a 4-1 lead with a 7-5, 6-2 win over Olivier at the No. 6 line. Cieplucha, ranked No. 117, dropped her first set, 6-2, to Liles at No. 5 but came back to win the next two sets, 7-6 (4), 6-2, to put the Mustangs ahead, 5-1.
“In the singles, we had an opportunity, and the match could have turned our way, but it’s a couple of points that can turn a match,” Kleinecke said. “SMU has a good team, and they came up with big shots at the right time.”
Urbina notched A&M’s final point and won her seventh consecutive match by defeating Malyarchikova, 6-7 (5), 6-1, 1-0 (8) at the No. 3 line. It was the first loss for Malyarchikova, who entered the match 12-0 in dual matches.
A&M drops to 4-5 with the loss, while SMU improves to 13-2.
The SMU match marked the beginning of a four-match home stand for the Aggies, who return to action on Wednesday, March 17 vs. Arkansas. First serve is slated for 6 p.m. at the Mitchell Tennis Center. The match against the Razorbacks is the final tune-up before A&M begins Big 12 Conference play against Kansas on Friday, March 19.
(#33) SMU 5, (#56) Texas A&M 2
March 9, 2010
George P. Mitchell Tennis Center
College Station, Texas
Attendance: 538
Singles
1. (#59) Marta Lesniak (SMU) def. (#57) Elzé Potgieter (TAMU), 6-4, 6-3
2. Morgan Frank (TAMU) def. Katerina Vankova (SMU), 5-0 retired (inj.)
3. (#74) Nazari Urbina (TAMU) def. Aleksandra Malyarchikova (SMU), 6-7 (5), 6-4, 1-0 (8)
4. Shahzoda Hatamova (SMU) def. Lauren Santacroce (TAMU), 6-2, 6-2
5. (#117) Edyta Cieplucha (SMU) def. Christi Liles (TAMU) 2-6, 7-6 (4), 6-2
6. Pavi Francis (SMU) def. Sheri Olivier (TAMU), 7-5, 6-2
Doubles (SMU wins the point)
1. Potgieter/Urbina (TAMU) def. Lesniak/Malyarchikova (SMU), 8-4
2. Cieplucha/Francis (SMU) def. Frank/Liles (TAMU), 9-7
3. Hatamova/Casey Kennedy (SMU) def. (#48) Davidson/Sheri Olivier (TAMU), 8-3
Order of finish
Doubles: 3, 1, 2
Singles: 2, 4, 1, 6*, 5, 3
*Clinched match
Team records
Texas A&M: 4-5
SMU: 13-2
