SAN DIEGO – In the biggest test for San Diego women's tennis so far this season, the Toreros faced off against No. 2 Texas A&M in a back-and-forth finish, falling 4-2.
 
"It was such a tough battle, and we competed extremely well against the second-best team while showing what we are made of," said head coach Nadia Abdala.
 
The Toreros proved they can hang against top-level programs, winning the doubles point in commanding fashion to give USD a 1-0 lead. 
 
On court two, the sophomore duo of Gabby Gregg and Hannah Read finished first with an impressive 6-2 victory over a 76th-ranked pairing before Charlotte Keitel and Maria Shmakova won 6-4 to clinch the doubles point for San Diego.
 
In singles play, the freshman Shmakova got a big victory on court six as her dual finished first on court six with sets of 6-3 and a 6-1 thumping to double San Diego's lead at 2-0.
 
Texas A&M proceeded to tie it at 2-2, then got its first lead of the day after a battle from Keitel ended up short, with a pair of 5-7 sets.
 
The Toreros found themselves relying on freshman Vilma Krebs Hyllested and Read to come back. Although the two Toreros lost their respective first sets, both matches had competitive second sets, both going all the way to a tiebreaker in which both Toreros won. Read won her tiebreak 7-4 and Krebs Hyllested 7-5 – after the Copenhagen native was down both 5-4 and 6-5 – to force third sets. 
 
Read found herself in another ranked dual on main court, coming in as the ITA No. 51, facing off against the ITA's 34th-ranked player. Ultimately, she couldn't pull off the upset, dropping the third set 6-4, seeing the dual concluded at 4-2 and Krebs Hyllested's match unfinished.
 
"Today's match was a step in the right direction, and if we keep showing up the way we did, we will have a really fun season ahead of us," Abdala said. 
 
Up Next
Later this week the San Diego women's tennis team travels across state borders to face off against Arizona State on Saturday, February 7th at 1:00 p.m PT.
 
Results
San Diego 2, #2 Texas A&M 4
 
Doubles
1. Vilma KrebsHyllested/Kristina Nordikyan (USD) vs. Mia Kupres/Lucciana Perez (TAMU) 4-4, unfinished
2. Gabby Gregg/Hannah Read (USD) def. #76 Violeta Martinez/Anna Perelman (TAMU) 6-2
3. Charlotte Keitel/Maria Shmakova (USD) def. Daria Smetannikov/Lexington Reed (TAMU) 6-4
 
Singles
1. #34 Mia Kupres (TAMU) def. #51 Hannah Read (USD) 6-2, 6-7 (4-7), 6-4
2. Lucciana Perez (TAMU) def. Charlotte Keitel (USD) 7-5, 7-5
3. Vilma KrebsHyllested (USD) vs. Lexington Reed (TAMU) 4-6, 7-6 (7-5), 2-3, unfinished
4. Violeta Martinez (TAMU) def. Ines Leon (USD) 6-2, 6-1
5. #83 Daria Smetannikov (TAMU) def. Gabby Gregg (USD) 6-3, 6-3
6. Maria Shmakova (USD) def. Anna Perelman (TAMU) 6-3, 6-1
 
Match Notes:
Texas A&M 6-1; National ranking #2
San Diego 3-2
Order of finish: Doubles (2,3); Singles (6,5,4,2,1)