The Texas A&M Aggies women’s tennis team defeated the Quinnipiac Bobcats 4-0 in the first round of the NCAA Women’s Tennis Championship at Mitchell Tennis Center on May 2. With this victory, Texas A&M moves forward to face Baylor in the second round scheduled for Sunday at 1 p.m.
The Aggies established control early by winning doubles matches on courts one and three. Daria Smetannikov and Lexington Reed secured a 6-2 win over Emily Meng and Isabella Sicignano, while Mia Kupres and Lucciana Perez, ranked No. 11 nationally, clinched another doubles point with a 6-2 victory against Willow Renton and Caitlin Flower. The match on court two was left unfinished with Texas A&M leading.
In singles play, Violeta Martinez delivered a dominant performance by defeating Vera Sekerina without conceding a game. Lexington Reed continued the momentum for Texas A&M by beating Anagha Shankar decisively. Perez, ranked No. 1 nationally, secured the overall match for her team with a straight sets win over Renton.
Head Coach Mark Weaver said after the match, “Overall, I was pleased. First round NCAAs sometimes can be a little bit nervous, so it’s nice to get that first round match out of the way. It was a good day for the Aggies, and we took care of business. Time to move on to the 2nd round tomorrow.” Weaver also commented on Perez’s performance: “Lucciana has done a great job with mental toughness and staying in the moment. Lu’s done a great job of staying in the moment and happy for her to get us across the finish line.” Junior Lucciana Perez reflected on her teammates’ support saying, “It was getting a little bit tough at the end to close it out, overall I think on every court we brought intensity and the focus we wanted to bring out today. Especially for the first match in two weeks, we were looking forward to starting again and getting the rhythm of the matches.”
Looking ahead, Texas A&M will return to action against Baylor as they continue their campaign in pursuit of an NCAA title.
