BROWNSVILLE – The No. 2 University of Texas Rio Grande Valley Vaqueros women's tennis team defeated the No. 1 New Mexico State Aggies 4-2 on Sunday at the Brownsville Tennis Center for the program's first-ever Western Athletic Conference Championship.
 
"It was a long season," Vaqueros head coach Stephanie Wooten-Quijada said. "We really played as a team the whole way. We have been through some ups and downs but they battled back. We really played for this moment."
 
The Vaqueros fell behind early as the Aggies took the doubles point with wins on courts one and two to take the 1-0 lead.
 
The Aggies grabbed another point after they won on court two but the Vaqueros would rally with four straight wins in singles.
 
Doris Aleksovska got things rolling for UTRGV as she picked up a straight set 6-2, 6-4 victory over Linsay Harlas on court five. Dominique Ibarra then followed with a 6-4, 6-4 win on court four over Erika Castillo to tie the match at two.
 
On court three, Natacha Minc went back and forth with Chloe Jolliff but came away with a 7-6 (8) victory in the first set. Minc then clinched her match with a 6-4 win in the second set to give the Vaqueros the 3-2 lead.
 
It all came down to the final two courts as Tara Donaho clinched the championship for the Vaqueros as she came away with the 7-6 (5), 6-4 win over Mia Brandt on court six.
 
"This is the best day of my life," Donaho said. "This is what we have been working for all season. I never thought I would come in and win the WAC. We all knew that we needed to fight and give everything we had. We had nothing to lose and we all agreed that we all were not going to give up. There was nothing that was going to stop me from winning that game. I knew my team needed me at that point."
 
The Vaqueros will find out who they face in the first round of the NCAA Tennis Championship on Tuesday at 4 p.m. when the NCAA makes the announcement on NCAA.com
 
Complete Results:
 
Singles (2,5,4,3,6)
1. Reegan Greenwood (UTRGV) vs. Ashvarya Shrivastav (NMSU) unfinished
2. Rimpledeep Kaur (NMSU) def. Dominique Esparza (UTRGV) 6-3, 6-3
3. Natacha Minc (UTRGV) def. Chloe Jolliff (NMSU) 7-6 (8-6), 6-4
4. Dominique Ibarra (UTRGV) def. Erika Castillo Lopez (NMSU) 6-4, 6-4
5. Doris Aleksovska (UTRGV) def. Lindsay Harlas (NMSU) 6-2, 6-4
6. Tara Donaho (UTRGV) def. Mia Brandt (NMSU) 7-6 (7-5), 6-4
 
Doubles (1,2)
1. Erika Castillo Lopez/Gabrielle Joyce (NMSU) def. Reegan Greenwood/Tara Donaho (UTRGV) 6-2
2. Ashvarya Shrivastav/Rimpledeep Kaur (NMSU) def. Dominique Esparza/Natacha Minc (UTRGV) 6-2
3. Dominique Ibarra/Doris Aleksovska (UTRGV) vs. Chloe Jolliff/Lindsay Harlas (NMSU) unfinished

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