Special to The Eagle
STANFORD, Calif. -- The Texas A&M women's tennis team beat Washington 4-1 at the Taube Family Tennis Stadium on Friday to advance to the second round of the NCAA Tournament.
A&M (17-8) will face Stanford at 2 p.m. Saturday.
Stanford, seeded fourth nationally, has won five of the last seven national championships and 15 of 26 total. The Cardinal (20-4) beat Boston University 4-0 to advance.
"This is exciting," A&M coach Bobby Kleinecke said. "You get a chance to play Stanford, who has the history that they have and knowing what they are bringing to the table. It is a chance to play them at their home place. I think the players are excited about it. This is what we wanted to come here and do, and in order to advance on, we knew we were going to have to get through them. This is our opportunity to get out there and see what we can do."
In their ninth straight NCAA appearance, the Aggies had little trouble in doubles and won at Nos. 1 and 3 to take a 1-0 lead.
In singles, Washington tied the dual match at 1 when Venise Chan beat Elze Potgieter 6-4, 6-1 on the first line. But the Aggies quickly regained the lead with Anna Blagodarova beating Tara Simpson 6-0, 6-3 at No. 3 singles and Stephanie Davidson beating Allison Rainey 6-3, 6-1 at No. 6.
Christi Liles then clinched the team victory with a 6-3, 6-3 decision over Aleksandra Malovic at No. 2 singles.
Blagodarova's singles victory was the 99th of her A&M career.
Texas A&M 4, Washington 1
NCAA Tournament
First Round
Friday at Taube Family Tennis Center, Stanford, Calif.
Singles
(ITA rankings in parentheses)
1. (37) Venise Chan, UW, def. (104) Elze Potgieter 6-4, 6-1
2. Christi Liles, A&M, def. Aleksandra Malovic 6-3, 6-3
3. Anna Blagodarova, A&M, def. Tara Simpson 6-0, 6-3
4. Morgan Frank, A&M, vs. Joyce Ardies 6-7 (5), 2-2, suspended
5. Tiffany Clifford, A&M, vs. Kelsey Anonsen 2-6, 6-4, 2-0, suspended
6. Stephanie Davidson, A&M, def. Allison Rainey 6-3, 6-1
Doubles
(A&M wins the point)
1. (51) Blagodarova/Clifford/, A&M, def. Ardies/Simpson 8-4
2. Liles/Potgieter, A&M, vs. Anonsen/Chan 7-6, suspended
3. Davidson/Frank, A&M, def. Malovic/Vanja Radunovic 8-4
ORDER OF FINISH: D3, D1, S1, S3, S6, S2* (*clinched match)
RECORDS: A&M (17-8), Washington (12-10)
ITA TEAM RANKINGS: No. 31 A&M, No. 38 Washington
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