CHAMPS! Texas A&M women's tennis beats UGA to complete SEC double

Champions! Again!

Just over a week after winning the Southeastern Conference regular-season crown, No. 6 Texas A&M won the SEC Tournament title in Gainesville to complete the program’s first-ever double-championship season. The Aggies defeated No. 14 Georgia, 4-0, to lift their second SEC trophy of the year.

By sweeping the Bulldogs in the SEC Tournament final, Mark Weaver’s Aggies improved to 30-1 on the season and have now won 21 consecutive matches, the longest winning streak in program history.

“It feels great,” Weaver told the SEC Network. “The 4-0 sweep there in the finals against a storied team like Georgia, it doesn’t get much better than that.”

To get to the SEC final, the top-seeded Aggies defeated Vanderbilt in the quarterfinals on Friday before defeating No. 15 Florida on the Gators’ home courts in Saturday’s semifinal.

The win over Georgia also serves as revenge after the Bulldogs defeated the Aggies in the conference title match in 2021.

“When we went up to Athens and beat them 7-0 in their house, things were looking pretty good for the Aggies," Weaver said. “Our goal all year was just to get better every match, and that’s something we've done. We’ve got a hungry group that gets better every day.”

In doubles action, the pairing of Carson Branstine and Mary Stoiana defeated Meg Kowalski and  Mell Reasco, 6-3, on Court No. 2 before the third-ranked duo of Jayci Goldsmith and Tatiana Makarova took down Morgan Coppoc and Ania Hertel, 6-4, on Court No. 1 to clinch the all-important doubles point.

“That really set the tone for the match,” Weaver added. “I really felt if we got the doubles, we'd be in great shape today.”

Goldsmith became the first to win her singles match, defeating Kowalski on Court No. 4 in straight sets (6-2, 6-1) to get the Aggies halfway to glory. Makarova added A&M’s third point, defeating Dasha Vidmanova on Court No. 2 in straight sets (6-2, 6-3).

Leading 3-0, it was the freshman sensation Stoiana that clinched the Aggies’ first-ever SEC Tournament championship. The four-time SEC Freshman of the Week took down Coppoc in straight sets (6-2, 6-2) as the Maroon & White swarmed her to begin celebrating.

“I couldn’t ask for more,” Weaver said. “What a great group of young ladies we have that represent our university so well. It’s just an amazing day for Texas A&M and Aggies all over the world.”

Against SEC foes this season, the Aggies are now a perfect 16-0, adding three SEC Tournament victories to their perfect 13-0 run in the regular season.

What has been a historic 2022 campaign, the Aggies are not done yet. The NCAA Tournament is set to begin on May 6, with the first two weekends being held at campus sites. As one of the top teams in the nation, the Aggies should undoubtedly host the first two rounds at the Mitchell Tennis Center.

The NCAA field will be announced on May 2 as the Aggies turn their sights towards their next goal: Winning a national championship.