COLLEGE STATION, Texas — Saturday’s women’s tennis match between No. 16 Florida (13-6, 8-5) and No. 2 Texas A&M (20-3, 12-1) was delayed for seven hours as inclement weather passed through the area throughout the day. When the match finally got underway at 7 p.m. CDT, it was the Aggies coming away with the 4-0 victory.
Although it goes into the books as a shutout, the match was closer than the final score would indicate. In singles play, India Houghton split sets with the number one player in the nation, Luciana Perez, and was about to begin the third when the Aggies clinched. Valery Gynina squared off against the 42nd-ranked player in the country, and was one game away from forcing a third set when the overall match ended, while at that same time, Nikola Daubernova had just begun her third set against Anna Perelman.
On the doubles side, Brooke Black and Valery Gynina snapped a three-match losing streak with a brisk 6-2 victory over Violeta Martinez and Perelman at number two. The Aggies evened the score with a 6-2 victory at number one doubles where Perez and Mia Kupres bested Xinyi Nong and Daubnerova. Lucie Pawlak and Houghton found themselves down a break early and trailing 5-4 with Texas A&M serving for the match. The Gators picked up a break of their own to knot things up at five games apiece, but the Aggies won the next two games for the 7-5 win.
Texas A&M went up 2-0 when Black was forced to retire at number four singles trailing 6-4, 1-0. Pawlak dropped a 6-4, 6-3 decision to Daria Smetannikov, and Lexington Reed closed out the win for A&M with a 6-3, 6-3 victory over GabiaPaskausas.
The Aggies are all alone in first place in the SEC with two matches remaining in the regular season, while the Gators are in seventh place, one game back of Vanderbilt (9-4), and two games behind Texas (10-3) and Georgia (10-3).
The Gators return home for their final two regular season home matches this week, taking on No. 11 Vanderbilt on Friday, April 10 at 5 p.m. EDT, and Missouri on. Sunday, April 12 at 1 p.m.
FINAL RESULTS
Singles
1
#79
India Houghton (UF)
unf.
#1
Lucciana Perez (A&M)
2-6, 6-2
2
#42
Mia Kupres (A&M)
unf.
#68
Valery Gynina (UF)
7-5, 4-5
3
#124
Lexington Reed (A&M)
def.
#47
Gabia Paskauskas (UF)
6-3, 6-3
4
#102
Violeta Martinez (A&M)
ret.
Brooke Black (UF)
6-4, 1-0
5
Daria Smetannikov (A&M)
def.
#105
Lucie Pawlak (UF)
6-4, 6-3
6
#86
Nikola Daubnerova (UF)
unf.
Anna Perelman (A&M )
6-3, 1-6, 1-0
Order of Finish 4, 5, 3
Doubles
1
#18
Perez / Kupres (A&M)
def.
#22
Xinyi Nong / Daubnerova (UF)
6-2
2
Gynina / Black (UF)
def.
Martinez / Perelman (A&M)
6-2
3
Reed / Smetannikov (A&M)
def.
Houghton / Pawlak (UF)
7-5
Order of Finish 2, 1, 3
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