Aggies End TCU Women’s Tennis Season
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COLLEGE STATION, Texas – TCU’s women’s tennis team gave the No. 3 Texas A&M Aggies everything they had Sunday in the second round of the NCAA Tennis Championships at A&M’s Mitchell Tennis Center. However, it was not meant to be as the No. 29 Horned Frogs fell to TAMU 4-1.
TCU finished the season with a 18-7 overall record, and a 6-3 record in Big 12 play.
“We did not play well in doubles,” TCU head coach Dave Borelli said. “However, we came back in singles and were able to give ourselves a chance early on.”
After dropping the doubles point, the Horned Frogs got off to a fast start in the singles competition, sensing the urgency to get back into the match before it was too late. TCU was able to take first sets at No. 1, No. 2 and No. 5 singles.
“When watching the first sets, I thought we could still win the match,” Borelli said. “It was an opportunity against the No. 3 team in the country, but we backed off. That can happen when you are trying so hard against a team that is better than you.”
TCU was facing a 3-0 deficit after Texas A&M secured straight-set victories at No. 3 and No. 4 singles. Monika Sirilova got TCU on the board with a 6-4, 6-0 win at No. 5 singles over A&M’s Wen Sun. Sirilova finished the Championships with three wins after earning a singles and doubles win yesterday.
However, the run came to an end for the Frogs. Federica Denti was unable to hold onto a
first set lead at No. 6 singles against A&M’s Stefania Hristov and fell 7-6 (4), 6-0 to clinch the match for Texas A&M.
Though their matches went unfinished, Stefanie Tan at No. 1 singles and Simona Parajova at No. 2 singles were working hard to keep TCU in the match. Tan took the first set off of the ITA’s No. 4 ranked singles player, A&M’s Cristina Sanchez-Quintanar, and had it tied 5-5 in the second when the match was called. Parajova and No. 68 Cristina Stancu split the first two sets and were battling a tight third set when the match was called.
Sunday was the last match of the TCU careers of seniors Denti, Olivia Smith and Kelsey Sundaram.
“I am proud of our seniors,” Borelli said. “They have helped turn around a mediocre program so that we can have opportunities to compete against teams like Texas A&M. We have to continue to recruit well to build the program.”
While the team portion of the season has come to an end, Stefanie Tan’s season has not. She will compete in the NCAA Tennis Championships singles competition May 22-27 in Urbana, Ill.
