South Carolina Falls to Texas A&M
College Station, Texas – No. 52 South Carolina dropped a tough 6-1 decision at No. 8 Texas A&M Friday. In the loss, No. 1 Sarah Hamner extended her singles winning streak to five matches.
In doubles, the Aggies secured the win in the No. 3 spot in an efficient 6-2 decision. In the No. 2 spot, Ayana Akli and Ana Cruz fought back from an 0-3 deficit to tie things up at three games all. The pair won one more game but Texas A&M prevailed 6-4 to clinch the doubles point.
At the top of the doubles lineup, Megan Davies and Hamner paired together for the first time to take on No. 3 Jayci Goldsmith and Tatiana Makarova. The Gamecocks were neck-in-neck with their Aggie opponents and were down 5-6 when play was suspended.
In singles, Texas A&M quickly solidified their win with straight sets decisions in the Nos. 5, 3 and 6 spots, respectively. Play was competitive on the three remaining courts, beginning with No. 1 Hamner at the top of the slate.
Hamner cruised to a 6-2 first set win over No. 27 Carson Branstine, but play was much closer in the second set. The two went back and forth in games wins until they entered a tiebreak. Hamner went up 5-2 before sealing the 7-6 (2) win to earn South Carolina’s only point in the match.
On Court 4, No. 68 Elise Mills faced Goldsmith. Mills dropped the first set 6-1 but came back from a 0-4 second set deficit to win 7-5. The third set started the same as the second with Goldsmith winning the first four games. Mills fought to win the next three games, but the Aggies earned the point with a 6-3 third set win.
In the No. 2 spot, No. 74 Akli also dropped her first set against No. 41 Marakova in a 6-2 decision. Akli found her momentum and went up 3-0 in the second set on the way to win 6-4. The third set was closely contested with Marakova tying things up at five games all. The Aggie pulled ahead from there to win 7-5 and gave Texas A&M its sixth point.
The Gamecocks will continue SEC play and take on LSU Sunday at 1 p.m. ET. Live scoring for the match will be available here and video will be available here.
#8 Texas A&M def. #52 South Carolina 6-1
Doubles (Order of Finish: 1, 2*)
1. Megan Davies / Sarah Hamner (SC) vs. No. 3 Jayci Goldsmith / Tatiana Makarova (TAMU) 5-6 DNF
2. Carson Branstine / Mary Stoiana (TAMU) def. Ayana Akli / Ana Cruz (SC) 6-4
3. Jeanette Mireles / Gianna Pielet (TAMU) def. Misa Malkin / Elise Mills (SC) 6-2
Singles (Order of Finish: 5, 3, 6*, 1, 4, 2)
1. No. 1 Sarah Hamner (SC) def. No. 27 Carson Branstine (TAMU) 6-2, 7-6 (5)
2. No. 41 Tatiana Makarova (TAMU) def. No. 74 Ayana Akli (SC) 6-2, 4-6, 7-5
3. No. 91 Mary Stoiana (TAMU) def. Megan Davies (SC) 6-1, 6-1
4. Jayci Goldsmith (TAMU) def. No. 68 Elise Mills (SC) 6-1, 5-7, 6-3
5. Gianna Pielet (TAMU) def. Misa Malkin (SC) 6-1, 6-1
6. Jeanette Mireles (TAMU) def. Ana Cruz (SC) 6-1, 6-2
