STEPHENVILLE – The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV) Vaqueros women's tennis team was defeated 6-1 by the Stephen F. Austin (SFA) Ladyjacks in a Western Athletic Conference (WAC) Southwest Division match on Saturday at Tarleton's Potishman-Lard Tennis Courts.    
 
UTRGV (10-8, 2-1 WAC Southwest) claimed the doubles point and the early 1-0 advantage with wins in the first and second doubles flights. No. 1 duo of freshmen Marjorie Souza and Barbara Martinez was trailing 1-3 in its match, then closed strong to take the 6-3 win. No. 2 pairing of sophomore Isabelle Bahr and senior Katarina Sasaroga clinched the point. 
 
SFA (9-7, 2-1 WAC Southwest) swept the singles courts. Wins in the fourth, fifth, third and sixth flights secured the match victory. 
 
Souza battled well in her No. 2 match against Nyah Kauders. Kauders slimly took the first set 7-5, then Souza came roaring back to win the second 6-1. With the team victory secured, the third set was a tightly contested 10-point tiebreaker. Kauders held on to take the win 10-7.  
 
Bahr and Martinez went down fighting in the first and third flights. After dropping the first set against Paula Cerda 1-6, Martinez was resilient in the second, but Cerda took the 7-5 win. Sasaroga won the first set of the No. 6 bout, but Ainoa Fabre took the next two. 
 
UTRGV and the Tarleton Texans will face off on Sunday at 12 p.m. at the Potishman-Lard Tennis Courts. 
 
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