EDINBURG – The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley women's tennis team fell 1-6 to St. Mary's University, who is ranked 10^th in the Division II Intercollegiate Tennis Association rankings, in their home opener on Sunday at the Orville Cox Tennis Center.
 
"I liked the way they finished," UTRGV head coach Sonia Hahn said. "I was a little disappointed with the way they started. I thought they came out a little bit flat and a little nervous playing at home but they did a lot better towards the end. It is a good learning process. We have to learn from it and get ready for our match on Wednesday."
 
UTRGV (1-4) fell behind 0-1 early in the match as St. Mary's (1-0) swept through doubles before rattling off three straight singles victories on courts six, two and five to clinch the match.
 
Sophomore Dominique Esparza recorded the lone point for UTRGV after defeating Tyra Timm 6-4, 6-1 in straights sets on court four.
 
"With her I always see consistent fight," Hahn said. "I thought she played a really smart match today, considering how windy it was and I think it came down to a more of attrition with her in her match. She is mentally tough, just keeps fighting and stuck to her game plan."
 
Freshman Anastasia Belyaeva and junior Dominique Esparza battled by taking the second set to seven games on courts three and one but St. Mary's closed the match with wins on both courts.
 
UTRGV will be back in action on Wednesday, February 1, when they host Texas A&M-Corpus Christi at the Orville Cox Tennis Center at 1 p.m. as part of the South Texas Showdown, Presented by Navy Army Community Credit Union.
 
Complete Results
 
Singles (6,2,5,4,3,1)
1. Camille Clausse-Pujo (STMU) def. Dominique Esparza (UTRGV) 6-4, 7-6 (2)
2. Kaylin Kruseman (STMU) def. Marine Darzyan (UTRGV) 6-2, 6-3
3. Ally Maciel (STMU) def. Anastasia Belyaeva (UTRGV) 6-4, 7-5
4. Dominique Ibarra (UTRGV) def. Tyra Timm (STMU) 6-4, 6-1
5. Hannah Petersen (STMU) def. Chloe Leclere (UTRGV) 6-3, 6-3
6. Mariela Sarinana (STMU) def. Amanda Guardia (UTRGV) 6-4, 6-0
 
Doubles (2,3,1)
1. Hannah Petersen/Ally Maciel (STMU) def. Dominique Esparza/Anastasia Belyaeva (UTRGV) 6-3
2. Kaylin Kruseman/Tyra Timm (STMU) def. Marine Darzyan/Chloe Leclere (UTRGV) 6-1
3. Mariela Sarinana/Camille Clausse-Pujo (STMU) def. Dominique Ibarra/Amanda Guardia (UTRGV) 6-2

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