HUNTSVILLE – The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV) women's tennis freshman Marjorie Souza shined in her first Western Athletic Conference (WAC) match to clinch a 4-3 victory for the Vaqueros over the Sam Houston State (SHSU) Bearkats on Saturday at the McAdams Tennis Center. 
 
Souza and her freshman partner Barbara Martinez picked up a 6-1 victory in No. 1 doubles to help UTRGV (9-4, 1-0 WAC) take a 1-0 lead as the No. 3 duo of senior Sandra Putz and junior Kristyna Mamicova also won. 
 
Sam Houston (5-8, 0-1 WAC) claimed singles wins on the first, third and sixth courts to jump out to a 3-1 advantage. But Souza and the Vaqueros closed the match with a vengeance.   
 
Sophomore Stefanie Wilske earned her second impressive win in a row at No. 5, coming back from a 2-6 loss in the first set to win the second 6-3 and dominate the third 6-0. Martinez was strong at No. 4, defeating her opponent 6-4, 6-4 to tie the match score at 3-3. 
 
After dropping the opener of her No. 2 match 3-6, Souza won the second 6-4. Everything came down to the third set between Souza and SHSU's Andjela Vidovic, and the Vaqueros turned their high-energy positivity all the way up to 10 to cheer on the freshman. 
 
Souza played well from the jump, opening up a 3-0 lead. She endured competitive, lengthy rallies to claim a 6-3 win, getting herself and UTRGV off to a great start in conference play.  
 
Next up, the Vaqueros face Abilene Christian on Sunday at 8 a.m. back at SHSU's McAdams Tennis Center. 
 
Complete Results 
Singles (1, 3, 6, 5, 4, 2)  
1. Megan Basson (SHSU) def. Isabelle Bahr (UTRGV) 6-0, 6-2 
2. Marjorie Souza (UTRGV) def. Andjela Vidovic (SHSU) 3-6, 6-4, 6-3 
3. Sahithi Vutukuru (SHSU) def. Sandra Putz (UTRGV) 6-4, 6-2 
4. Barbara Martinez (UTRGV) def. Lusine Chobanyan (SHSU) 6-4, 6-4 
5. Stefanie Wilske (UTRGV) def. Isidora Zivkovic (SHSU) 2-6, 6-3, 6-0 
6. Petra Kaszas (SHSU) def. Katarina Sasaroga (UTRGV) 0-6, 6-2, 6-0 
 
Doubles (1, 3) 
1. Barbara Martinez/Marjorie Souza (UTRGV) def. Isidora Zivkovic/Andjela Vidovic (SHSU) 6-1 
2. Isabelle Bahr/Katarina Sasaroga (UTRGV) vs. Megan Basson/Petra Kaszas (SHSU) 5-4, unfinished 
3. Sandra Putz/Kristyna Mamicova (UTRGV) def. Sahithi Vutukuru/Lusine Chobanyan (SHSU) 6-2 

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