COLLEGE STATION, Texas – The 34th-ranked Auburn women's tennis team fought back from an early deficit in singles, but came up short in a 4-2 setback at No. 24 Texas A&M Friday afternoon.
The Tigers (13-3, 0-1 SEC) won the doubles point to take an early 1-0 lead, then fell behind as Texas A&M took a 3-1 lead in singles. Auburn then got a win on court six and forced third sets on courts one and four, but the Tigers could not complete the comeback.
Auburn won the doubles point for the 14th time in 16 matches to jump out to the early lead. Jaeda Daniel and Madeline Meredith started things off with a 6-4 win on court 2, and the 43rd-ranked team of freshman Sophia Graver and junior Taylor Russo took a 6-4 win on court 1 to give the Tigers a 1-0 lead.
After Texas A&M won on courts 2, 3, and 5 to take a 3-1 lead – and took the first sets on courts 1 and 4 – Russo and Daniel fought back to force third sets in their matches. Meanwhile, freshman Yu Chen earned a straight-sets win on court six, 6-4, 7-6 (6), to cut the team deficit to 3-2. But Russo was unable to complete the comeback on court four, falling in three sets as A&M clinched the win.
The Tigers finish off the conference-opening road trip Sunday afternoon when they travel to Baton Rouge, La., to face LSU. Match time is noon CT; live coverage is available at LSUsports.net.
For the latest on Auburn Women's Tennis, follow @AuburnWTennis on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.
#24 Texas A&M 4, #34 Auburn 2
Singles
1. #75 Jaeda Daniel (AU) vs. Katya Townsend (TAMU), 3-6, 7-6, 0-0 unfinished
2. #89 Jayci Goldsmith (TAMU) def. Madeline Meredith (AU), 6-4, 6-3
3. Tatiana Makarova (TAMU) def. Sophia Graver (AU), 6-3, 6-4
4. Renee McBryde (TAMU) def. Taylor Russo (AU), 6-2, 6-7 (4), 6-1
5. Riley McQuaid (TAMU) def. Alannah Griffin (AU), 6-1, 6-3
6. Yu Chen (AU) def. Lucia Quiterio (TAMU), 6-4, 7-6 (6)
Order of finish: 2, 3, 5, 6, 4
Doubles
1. #43 Graver/Russo (AU) def. Makarova/Goldsmith (TAMU), 6-4
2. Daniel/Meredith (AU) def. #52 McBryde/Townsend (TAMU), 6-4
3. Chen/Griffin (AU) vs. McQuaid/Quiterio (TAMU), 4-4 unfinished
Order of finish: 2, 1