EDINBURG – The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV) women's tennis team opened its 2019 spring dual match season with a 1-6 loss to Sam Houston State University on Monday at the Orville Cox Tennis Center.
 
The loss snaps UTRGV's home win streak at 11 matches with the last home loss coming at the hands of Sam Houston State back on February 26, 2017.
 
UTRGV (0-1) got off to a good start as it swept through doubles to take the early 1-0 lead. The duo of seniors Michelle Walker and Doris Aleksovska defeated Isidora Zivkovic and Roos Gerritsen 6-3 on court two.
 
Seniors Marine Darzyan and Dominique Ibarra then clinched the doubles point with a 7-5 win over Sahaja Yamalapalli and Karla De La Luz Montalvo on court one. The freshman tandem of Ana Platisa and Nethmi Waduge made it a clean sweep with a 7-6 win over Ema Barkovic andPetra Kaszas on court three.
 
In singles, Sam Houston State (1-0) swept through singles courts three, two, four, and five to clinch the win.
 
Ibarra opened her match against Yamalapalli on court one with a 6-1 win in the first set but fell 6-3, 6-4 in the second and third. 
 
Freshman Katarina Sasaroga dropped the first set to Kaszas 6-7 before winning her first set 6-3 in the second. She battled in the third set before Kasas won 6-4 to close out the match.
 
UTRGV will be back in action on January 19, when it heads to Waco to face Baylor University at 4 p.m.
 
Singles (3,2,4,5,1,6)
1. Sahaja Yamalapalli (SHSU) def. Dominique Ibarra (UTRGV) 1-6, 6-3, 6-4
2. Ema Barkovic (SHSU) def. Doris Aleksovska (UTRGV) 6-4, 6-2
3. Isidora Zivkovic (SHSU) def. Marine Darzyan (UTRGV) 6-0, 6-0
4. Karla De La Luz Montalvo (SHSU) def. Nethmi Waduge (UTRGV) 7-6 (6), 6-0
5. Lusine Chobanyan (SHSU) def. Ana Platisa (UTRGV) 6-3, 7-5
6. Petra Kaszas (SHSU) def. Katarina Sasaroga (UTRGV) 7-6 (4), 3-6, 6-4
 
Doubles (2,1,3)
1. Marine Darzyan/Dominique Ibarra (UTRGV) def. Sahaja Yamalapalli/Karla De La Luz Montalvo (SHSU) 7-5
2. Michelle Walker/Doris Aleksovska (UTRGV) def. Isidora Zivkovic/Roos Gerritsen (SHSU) 6-3
3. Ana Platisa/Nethmi Waduge (UTRGV) def. Ema Barkovic/Petra Kaszas (SHSU) 7-6 (4)

Support UTRGV Women's Tennis | Become a Fan on Facebook | Follow us on Twitter | Follow us on Instagram | Follow us on YouTube