AUBURN, Ala. – The 20th-ranked Auburn women's tennis team came up short in a 4-1 loss to No. 17 Texas A&M Thursday afternoon at the Yarbrough Tennis Center.
Auburn (12-4, 7-3 SEC) saw four singles matches go to a third set but was unable to complete the comeback after dropping the doubles point.
"We battled until the very end against a tough Texas A&M team," Auburn head coach Caroline Lilley said. "We earned a lot of opportunities in both singles and doubles, windows to jump through, but we struggled to execute toward the end of matches. That is a part of sport and a part of competing.
"Our body language certainly did not help us at times as we just put too much pressure on ourselves instead of enjoying the moment. There are areas I loved about today, and of course there are some areas we will look to improve as well. We will learn and be better because of these matches, and that is what it is all about."
Texas A&M took two of three matches in doubles to take an early 1-0 lead. The Tigers' Yu Chen and Anastasia Astakhova earned their second win as a doubles tandem with a 6-3 victory on court three. But Auburn was unable to capitalize as Georgie Axon and Adeline Flach fell to 43rd-ranked Tatiana Makarova and Jayci Goldsmith at the top spot 6-4, and Selin Ovunc and Carolyn Ansari dropped a 6-3 match on court two.
The Aggies took a 2-0 lead as Ovunc fell to 22nd-ranked Makarova 6-2, 6-2 at the top singles spot. Auburn got on the board when Ansari won 6-4, 6-2 over Katya Townsend on court three. The remaining four matches went to a third set. Chen came up short to Goldsmith on court two, 4-6, 6-3, 6-2, and the Aggies clinched the match as Flach dropped a 7-5, 1-6, 2-6 decision to Renee McBryde at the No. 5 spot.
Axon had fought back to force a deciding set and was 1-1 in the third, and Astakhova was in a hard-fought match in the third set when play was halted.
The Tigers play their final home match of the season at noon CT Saturday when they host No. 14 LSU. Taylor Russo and Lindsay Song will be recognized following the match as part of Senior Day festivities.
For the latest on Auburn women's tennis, follow @AuburnWTennis on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.
#17 Texas A&M 4, #20 Auburn 1
Singles
1. #22 Tatiana Makarova (TAMU) def. #62 Selin Ovunc (AU), 6-2, 6-2
2. Jayci Goldsmith (TAMU) def. #100 Yu Chen (AU), 4-6, 6-3, 6-2
3. Carolyn Ansari (AU) def. Katya Townsend (TAMU), 6-4, 6-2
4. Georgie Axon (AU) vs. Dorthea Faa-Hviding (TAMU), 3-6, 6-4, 1-1 unfinished
5. Renee McBryde (TAMU) def. Adeline Flach (AU), 5-7, 6-1, 6-2
6. Anastasia Astakhova (AU) vs. Riley McQuaid (TAMU), 6-2, 5-7, 3-4 unfinished
Order of finish: 1, 3, 2, 5
Doubles
1. #43 Makarova/Goldsmith (TAMU) def. Axon/Flach (AU), 6-4
2. McBryde/Faa-Hviding (TAMU) def. Ansari/Ovunc (AU), 6-3
3. Chen/Astakhova (AU) def. Townsend/McQuaid (TAMU), 6-3
Order of finish: 3, 2, 1
