Texas A&M’s Mary Stoiana hits a backhand against Vanderbilt in NCAA tournament super regional action at the Mitchell Tennis Center. (Eagle file photo) the nation’s against programs. “Maybe now we’ll be taken seriously as a golf school.” A&M’s defining moment came in the final day regionals. The Aggies, coming off a ninth-place finish at the SEC championships, overcame a five-shot deficit in the last round to
claim the final spot for nationals by one shot. “I know that we learned a lot about ourselves [that day],” Chadwell said. The tennis team had its own success story. The Aggies reached the NCAA
tournament quarterfinals for the second time in program history, losing to Oklahoma 4-3. A&M was 33-2, setting a program record for victories as it won the SEC regularseason title and tournament title. The Aggies won 24 straight matches after dropping a 4-3 match to
California in the Intercollegiate Tennis Association’s national indoor championships. “It was such an amazing season,” A&M coach Mark Weaver said. “We went undefeated at home, undefeated on the road and undefeated in matches played outdoors. Our only two losses of the season were 4-3 matches indoors and we were playing for a national title on both occasions.” A&M had a trio of All-Americans in junior transfer Carson Branstine, senior Jayci Goldsmith and graduate Tatiana Makarova. Its young talented players were led by freshmen Mary Stoiana, Gianna Pielet and Jeanette Mireles who combined to win 75 singles matches and were part of 63 doubles wins. A&M will add a highly ranked freshman class. “The good news is that we will be back,” Weaver said. “This was only the beginning of something special here in Aggieland.” Weaver, who was a standout with the A&M men’s tennis team, was rewarded for his efforts with a five-year contract extension through 2027. A&M hired Georgia women’s basketball coach Joni Taylor and Arizona State softball coach Trisha
Ford to replace its outgoing Hall of Famers, hopeful they can duplicate Chadwell’s first-year success. Taylor made an immediate impact in recruiting, landing former Georgia signees Janiah Barker, Sydney Bowles and Tineya Hilton who in November were rated the nation’s seventh-best recruiting class. Ford was a dealt an early setback when two-time All-American Haley Lee entered the transfer portal, eventually deciding on Oklahoma. A&M will return seven position starters led by shortstop Koko Wooley who batted .359 with 26 stolen bases. The pitching staff includes fellow sophomore Emiley Kennedy (13-11, 2.94 ERA) who threw a staff-high 140 2/3 innings. A&M expects a bounce-back season from the soccer program, which had made every NCAA tournament since 1995 until it was riddled with injuries last year. A&M was 7-9-2 last year, including 3-6-1 in SEC play. The Aggies return senior defender Katie Smith who was a second-team, all-conference pick. Forward Maile Hayes and defender Mia Pante made the all-freshman team a year ago.
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