EDINBURG – The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV) women's tennis picked up its second victory of the day after defeating Texas A&M University Kingsville 7-0 on Sunday at the Orville Cox Tennis Center.
 
"It was a real difficult day with tough weather conditions and having to play a doubleheader but the team did a great job of preparing," UTRGV head coach Sonia Hahn said. "They fought hard and they worked really well as a team today and it made a big difference."
 
UTRGV (2-2) jumped out to the early lead after taking the doubles point. Senior Dominique Esparza and freshman Emma Louise Tranberg teamed up to defeat Texas A&M Kingsville's (0-1) Viviana Ortiz and Phonephathep Philavong 6-2 on court two. 
 
It was a race to see which match would be the clincher as courts one and three vied for the clinching win. It was junior Doris Aleksovska and Anastasia Belyaeva on court three that came away with the point clinching 6-4 win over Laura Montalvo and Stephanie Baerman. Juniors Marine Darzyan and Dominique Ibarra held a 5-4 lead in their match against Victoria Romanovskaia and Valerie Ruiz before it went unfinished.
 
In singles, UTRGV took care of business on each of the six courts to put the match away. Ibarra got things rolling in singles defeating Ruiz 6-2, 6-1 on court four. Aleksovska pushed UTRGV's lead to 3-0 with a 6-2, 6-4 win over Ortiz on court five and then Darzyan clinched the victory with a 6-1, 6-2 win over Romanovskaia on court two.
 
Belyaeva made it 5-0 after defeating Julia Rauer 7-5, 6-0 on court three. Esparza dropped her first set 4-6 to Philavong before bouncing back with a 6-2 victory in the second. In the tiebreaker, Esparza ran away with it late picking up the 10-6. 
 
Freshman Lasya Patnaik close out the match with a 6-3, 7-6 victory on court six over Laura Montalvo. 
 
UTRGV will hit the road starting on Friday, February 2, when they head to Arlington to face UT Arlington at 10 a.m.
 
Singles (4,5,2,3,1,6)
1. Dominique Esparza (UTRGV) def. Phonephathep Philavong (TAMUK) 4-6, 6-2, 10-6
2. Marine Darzyan (UTRGV) def. Victoria Romanovskaia (TAMUK) 6-1, 6-2
3. Anastasia Belyaeva (UTRGV) def. Julia Rauer (TAMUK) 7-5, 6-0
4. Dominique Ibarra (UTRGV) def. Valerie Ruiz (TAMUK) 6-2, 6-1
5. Doris Aleksovska (UTRGV) def. Viviana Ortiz (TAMUK) 6-2, 6-4
6. Lasya Patnaik (UTRGV) def. Laura Montalvo (TAMUK) 6-3, 7-6 (6)
 
Doubles (2,3)
1. Marine Darzyan/Dominique Ibarra (UTRGV) vs. Victoria Romanovskaia/Valerie Ruiz (TAMUK) 5-4 unfinished
2. Dominique Esparza/Emma Louise Tranberg (UTRGV) def. Viviana Ortiz/Phonephathep Philavong (TAMUK) 6-2
3. Doris Aleksovska/Anastasia Belyaeva (UTRGV) def. Laura Montalvo/Stephanie Baerman (TAMUK) 6-4

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