Jayci Goldsmith Dominates as No. 8 Aggies Down No. 13 Florida

The Aggies start SEC play 2-0 and are off to the best overall start in program history

The Aggies women's tennis team has played 17 matches in 2022 so far and at 16-1 are off to the best start in program history. On Sunday, the Aggies moved to 2-0 in conference play as senior Jayci Goldsmith dominated in her final set that clinched the deciding point as No. 8 Texas A&M downed No. 13 Florida 5-2 a the George P. Mitchell Tennis Center in College Station.

Florida fell to 8-3 overall and 1-1 in conference play. The Aggies are boasting a seven-match win streak that dates back to the ITA National Women's Team Indoor Championships. It's the longest active streak among SEC programs.

Katya Townsend

Mary Stoiana

Carson Branstine

"I think that Florida is an excellent team," coach Mark Weaver said. "Right now, the rankings are a bit all over the place. I firmly believe that Florida is a top-10 team in the country. Anytime you can beat a program with Florida's pedigree, it's huge for your program. Coach (Roland) Thornqvist has won four national titles in his tenure there, and I have nothing but respect for him and his team. I think it was an excellent performance by our group today. We played an incredible doubles point and took down a pair of top-12 teams in the nation. Their roster has four ranked singles players, and I think we handled the pressure from that extremely well. This is still a very young team, and that was one of their first big-match experiences at home. The matches were on the line there, and the girls truly embraced the support from the crowd to pull this one out."

Sunday began with doubles, with both sides splitting matches. Jayci Goldsmith and Tatiana Makarova won their second top-10 victory of the season, as they cruised past No. 10 Carly Briggs and Marlee Zein with a 6-2 performance. Florida's McCartney Kessler and Emma Shelton defeated A&M's Jeanette Mireles and Gianna Pielet in a tough 6-4 contest.

In the deciding doubles match, Carson Branstine and Mary Stoiana fell behind 0-2 after Florida broke serve in the first game. But over the next five, both teams remained on serve, as Florida's No. 12-ranked tandem of Alicia Dudeney and Bente Spee held a 4-3 advantage. The Aggies dominated the next three, breaking Florida's serve twice and holding for a 6-4 win for an early 1-0 lead.

A&M bolted ahead in the singles competition and took four-of-six first sets. No. 41 Makarova beat No. 47 Zein in the second set that capped off a 6-3, 6-0 victory that gave the Aggies a 2-0 edge.

Elise Roberts

Jayci Goldsmith

Jeanette Mireles

No. 49 Kessler and the Gators responded with a straight-set win over No. 27 Branstine. But Pielet regained the Aggies lead after a dominating second set to seal a 6-4, 6-2 win over No. 106 Shelton and the Gators. 

A&M held a 3-2 lead with two singles matches left, just needing one court to seal the Aggies' 16th win of the season. No. 91 Stoiana won the first set against No. 119 Dudeney 6-3 before dropping the second frame 6-2. Goldsmith's match was underway with her and Briggs both winning 7-5 frames. Goldsmith finished off Briggs for her fifth-straight win and second SEC singles victory. Stoiana then finished off Dudeney winning a 6-3, 2-6, 7-6(3) match to lock in the Aggies' 5-2 win.

Makarova became the sixth player to reach the top-10 in both singles and doubles career victories at A&M. Her doubles win with Goldsmith pushed her into a tie for fourth with Aggie great Stephanie Davidson, while her 88th career singles win tied all-American Kim Labuschagne for 10th place in the record book.

Up next, the Aggies travel to Mississippi State for their first SEC road match on Friday at 4 p.m. at the A.J. Pitts Tennis Centre. 

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Follow Timm Hamm on Twitter @IndyCarTim

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