#13 Texas A&M makes quick work of Islanders to reach Round of 32
Quick work and onto the next.
Hosting the first round of the NCAA Tournament for the third straight year, No. 13 seed Texas A&M swept Southland Champion Texas A&M-Corpus Christi on Saturday afternoon, 4-0, to move onto Sunday’s second round.
“We performed at a high level. We were clicking on all cylinders,” A&M head coach Mark Weaver said. “All six girls in the doubles and singles are playing at the level they’re playing at. We’re a pretty rough team out there.”
Domination for the home side was felt from the jump during the doubles matches.
The No. 7 doubles pairing in the nation of Mary Stoiana and Mia Kupres commanded Court #1 with a 6-0 sweep of Emma Aucagne and Naomi Moi McKenzie.
On Court #3, the Maroon & White paired SEC Freshman of the Year Lucciana Perez with Carson Branstine, who returned to Mitchell Tennis Center for the first time since last year.
Despite not playing a doubles match with each other until Saturday, Perez and Branstine faced no trouble and cruised to a 6-2 victory, earning the Aggies the doubles point.
“I think they complement each other well,” Weaver said. “They’ve got good energy together, good chemistry. I think their game styles match up well. Carson is a big hitter, and Lucciana just making a ton of balls out there.”
Branstine echoed that same sentiment.
“We had a great time on court today,” Branstine said. “It was kind of funny. It was the old with the new. I'm the oldest on the team. She's the youngest. So, a little bit of wisdom and a little bit of young energy out there, and we played great together, and I can't wait to get back out there again tomorrow.”
The momentum continued A&M in singles play, who had to make a late substitution for Nicole Khirin. After playing on Court #5 in doubles, Weaver replaced her with Daria Smetannikov for singles play.
“She’s fine,” Weaver said of Khirin. “She wasn’t quite at 100 percent today. She could have definitely played the match. She’ll definitely be playing tomorrow. Just one of those things where it’s just doing the best thing for the student-athlete. Very, very mild situation there.”
SEC Player of the Year Mary Stoiana took the first set 6-4 on Court #2 in the first set, and the Aggies assumed control on all six courts through Set #1.
Stoiana’s match was the only one in which the Islanders took three or more points from A&M.
Kupres, Perez and Jeanette Mireles cruised to 6-1 victories, while Branstine and Smetannikov won 6-2 in their respective first set.
A&M picked up its first singles win on Court #1 as Branstine finished off Aucagne in straight sets (6-2, 6-1).
There were less than 30 seconds between points three and four, as Perez won 6-1 and Mireles won 6-0 in Set 2. Each swept their opponents and finished off the win for the host side.
With the win, the Aggies will face Oklahoma on Sunday. The Sooners swept Arizona 4-0 earlier in the day.
“We know their players quite well,” Weaver said. “They’re a feisty group. They’re gonna compete hard. We’re glad to be playing them here in Aggieland. We have that extra sense of confidence on our home court.
“It’s going to be a tough match for us. We will have to play at a high level.”
A&M has some recent history with the Sooners, who knocked them out of the NCAA Tournament in the Elite Eight in 2022.
“It’s definitely a little bit of a rematch,” Branstine said. “I want to bring some of that fire back and show them who’s boss this time.”