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Texas A&M
No. 11 Women’s Tennis falls to No. 2 Texas A&M, 4-2
02.08.2025 | Women's Tennis
The Longhorns were downed in a close ITA Indoors quarterfinals match and will face No. 7 Michigan in a consolation match on Sunday.
Champaign, Ill. – No. 11 Texas Women's Tennis fell to No. 2 Texas A&M, 4-2, in the quarterfinals of the ITA National Indoor Championships on Saturday in Champaign, Ill. The Longhorns move to the consolation draw where they will face No. 7 Michigan on Sunday.
After dropping an extremely close doubles point in a tiebreaker of the deciding match, Texas received singles victories from freshmen No. 39 Ariana Anazagasty-Pursoo at No. 6 and No. 105 Aston Bowers at No. 3. However, Texas A&M added singles wins at Nos. 5, 1 and 2 to clinch, including three-set decisions at Nos. 1 and 2, while the match at No. 4 was left unfinished heading into a third set.
The Longhorns began doubles with a decisive 6-2 win by Anazagasty-Pursoo and Bowers over Mary Stoiana and Lucciana Perez at No. 1. After Texas A&M held serve to open the match, Texas went on a 5-0 run, including a deuce-point break for a 2-1 lead. The Aggies got one game back on serve, but the Longhorns served out the match from there.
The match at No. 3 finished next with senior Sabina Zeynalova and freshman Eszter Meri coming up just short to Jeanette Mireles and Nicole Khirin, 7-5. Texas A&M broke in the opening game, but Texas broke right back to put the match back on serve where it stayed until the Aggies broke again for a 5-4 lead. That would be the first of three-straight breaks, leaving Texas A&M with a 6-5 lead before they served for the win.
That left the deciding match at No. 2, which was even closer than No. 3 with freshmen Salma Drugdova and Carmen Herea being downed in a tiebreaker by Mia Kupres and Daria Smetannikov, 7-6 (3). Texas A&M broke first for a 2-0 lead, but Texas answered the break and held to even it, 2-2. The Aggies broke again for 5-3, but once again, the Longhorns responded with a break and held on a deuce point for 5-5. The next two games then stayed on serve to the tiebreaker where Texas A&M moved out to a 3-1 lead. Texas won the next two points for 3-3, but the Aggies closed on a 4-0 run to secure the point and the 1-0 overall lead.
Texas A&M increased its lead to 2-0 as No. 125 Smetannikov defeated freshman Salma Drugdova, 6-1, 6-3, at No. 5. Smetannikov pushed out to a 4-0 lead, and although Drugdova got one game back on serve at that point, Smetannikov finished the set with a hold and a break. In the second set, Smetannikov held and broke for a 2-0 lead, but Drugdova reversed that to even it. Smetannikov broke again two games later on a deuce point for 4-2, but after Drugdova got within 4-3, Smetannikov broke and held for the win.
The only other straight-sets match went in favor of Anazagasty-Pursoo, 7-6 (4), 6-3, over Lexington Reed at No. 6. Anazagasty-Pursoo found herself in a quick 3-0 hole after Reed broke in the second game, and Reed maintained that lead to 4-1. That's when Anazagasty-Pursoo set out on a 4-0 run, capped by a deuce-point break for a 5-4 lead. She had a chance to serve out the set then, but Reed kept it alive with a break and retook the lead with a deuce-point hold. Anazagasty-Pursoo also held, sending it to a tiebreaker. There, Anazagasty-Pursoo claimed the first two points starting with a mini-break, but Reed responded to even it. The players then alternated the next five points starting with Anazagasty-Pursoo, giving her a 5-4 lead, and she closed with the next two points to win. In the second set, it was Anazagasty-Pursoo who got out to a 3-0 lead with a break in the second game. The next three games then all went to deuce but stayed on serve, as did the rest of the set to Anazagasty-Pursoo's win.
The next match to finish was No. 1 where No. 71 Zeynalova produced an impressive first set, but eventually fell to No. 3 Stoiana, 1-6, 6-1, 6-2. After Zeynalova broke at deuce to begin the match and Stoiana broke back, Zeynalova set out on a 5-0 run that included deuce-point wins for 3-1 and 6-1. The second set was then the reverse, starting with two holds before Stoiana went on a 5-0 run, including a deuce-point hold for 3-1. In the third set, Stoiana broke for a 2-0 lead and then consolidated on a deuce-point. The next four games were then held until Stoiana broke again for the match.
Bowers drew the Longhorns back within one with a 2-6, 6-3, 6-4 win over No. 101 Kupres. Bowers won eight of the match's first nine points to hold and break, but Kupres went on a 6-0 run from there, including a deuce-point hold for 2-2. In the second set, Bowers won eight of the first 10 points for a 2-0 lead, and Kupres again tied it, but this time, it was Bowers who finished on a 4-1 run for the set with Kupres' game coming on a deuce-point break for her to trail 4-3. The players again traded 2-0 runs to start the third set starting with Kupres, while Bowers' games were both won on deuce points. Kupres then held on a deuce point for a 3-2 lead but Bowers went on a 3-0 run for 5-3 and the last two games were on serve to her win.
The clinch came at No. 2 where No. 92 Meri was downed in three sets by No. 12 Khirin, 6-2, 5-7, 6-2. Both players broke to begin the match, starting with Meri. They both then held at deuce for 2-2, but Khirin followed with a 4-0 run capped by two deuce-point wins for a hold and a break for the set. Khirin extended the run to 6-0 by taking the first two games of the second set. Meri stopped the run with a deuce-point break, but Khirin picked up the next two games for a 4-1 lead. That's when Meri turned the set around with a 4-0 run that started with a deuce-point hold. Khirin then broke to even it, 5-5, but Meri broke back at deuce and served out the set to go to a third. The first four games of that frame all went to deuce with Khirin breaking on the last of them for a 3-1 lead. Meri answered the break for 3-2, but Khirin finished the match on a 3-0 run for the overall win.
One match remained unfinished at No. 4 where freshman No. 25 Herea had split two sets with #41 Perez, 7-6 (5), 5-7. Perez held on a deuce point to open the match, but after that the players traded 4-0 runs, leaving Perez with a 5-4 lead. The next three games stayed on serve to a tiebreaker where Perez established a 3-1 lead. Herea tied it, 3-3, and after the players exchanged leads and retied it, 5-5, Herea claimed the last two points to win. Herea held on a deuce point to start the third set, but the next four games were all breaks until Herea held for a 4-3 lead. She had a chance to extend to 5-3 on a deuce point, but Perez managed to hold for 4-4. The breaks resumed again for the next three games until Perez held for the 7-5 win.
#2 Texas A&M 4, #11 Texas 2
Singles – Order of Finish (1,3,2)
1. #3 Mary Stoiana (TAMU) def. #71 Sabina Zeynalova (TEXAS) 1-6, 6-1, 6-2
2. #12 Nicole Khirin (TAMU) def. #92 Eszter Meri (TEXAS) 6-2, 5-7, 6-2
3. #105 Ashton Bowers (TEXAS) def. #101 Mia Kupres (TAMU) 2-6, 6-3, 6-4
4. #41 Lucciana Perez (TAMU) vs. #25 Carmen Herea (TEXAS) 6-7 (5), 7-5, unf.
5. #125 Daria Smetannikov (TAMU) def. Salma Drugdova (TEXAS) 6-1, 6-3
6. #39 Ariana Anazagasty-Pursoo (TEXAS) def. Lexington Reed (TAMU) 7-6 (4), 6-3
Doubles – Order of Finish (5,6,1,3,2)
1. Ashton Bowers/Ariana Anazagasty-Pursoo (TEXAS) def. Mary Stoiana/Lucciana Perez (TAMU) 6-2
2. Mia Kupres/Daria Smetannikov (TAMU) def. Salma Drugdova/Carmen Herea (TEXAS) 7-6 (3)
3. Jeanette Mireles/Nicole Khirin (TAMU) def. Eszter Meri/Sabina Zeynalova (TEXAS) 7-5
Players Mentioned
