HUNTSVILLE – The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV) Vaqueros women's tennis team closed a huge opening weekend of Western Athletic Conference play with a 4-3 victory over the Abilene Christian Wildcats (ACU) on Sunday at Sam Houston's McAdams Tennis Center. 
 
The Vaqueros (10-4, 2-0 WAC) were picked to finish sixth in the Southwest Division in the pre-conference coaches poll. This weekend, they defeated two teams picked to finish second and fourth in the division. 
 
UTRGV won its third doubles point in a row and 10^th this season to take a 1-0 lead. The No. 1 duo of freshmen Barbara Martinez and Marjorie Souza won their second straight WAC doubles match to secure the point after sophomore Isabelle Bahr and senior Katarina Sasaroga got things started with a win at No. 2. 
 
Sophomore Stefanie Wilske cruised to her third consecutive win 6-1, 6-2 at No. 5 singles to put UTRGV up 2-0. ACU (6-9, 0-2 WAC) tied the match at 2-2 with wins in the first and sixth flights.  
 
Martinez gave the advantage back to the Vaqueros with a 6-4, 6-3 win at No. 4. Souza and senior Sandra Putz were leading in the second and third flights, respectively, with UTRGV needing just one more point to win. 
 
Souza's 6-4, 6-3 victory at No. 2 clinched the victory for the second time in a row. Putz battled at No. 3, winning the first set 7-6 and dropping the second 6-1. With the team win decided, Putz and ACU's Sylvia Viljoen played a 10-point tiebreaker in the third. Viljoen took the breaker 10-6 to get the win despite a great fight from Putz to the final point. 
 
UTRGV's next matches will be March 25 against New Mexico State and March 26 against UTEP, both in Stephenville. 
 
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