WACO – The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV) Vaqueros women's tennis team was defeated 6-1 by the Houston Cougars (UH) on Sunday at Baylor's Hawkins Indoor Tennis Center. 
 
UTRGV (0-2) battled on the doubles courts, but the Cougars (1-2) managed to take the 1-0 lead with wins in the first and second flights. At No. 3, junior Isabelle Bahr and freshman Yaiza Vazquez claimed a solid 6-4 victory, coming back from down 2-4 and closing out the match strong. Junior Lea Karren and sophomore Daniela Rosenberger gave UH's Sophie Schouten/Elena Trencheva all they could handle at No. 1. The Vaqueros were trailing 3-5 and came fighting back with a three-game run to take the 6-5 lead, but Houston's duo pushed the match to a tiebreaker and held on to take the win 7-6 (7-3). 
 
Houston extended its lead to 2-0 with a singles win at No. 4. In the fifth and sixth singles flights, Rosenberger and senior Stefanie Wilske, respectively, both pushed their first sets to a tiebreaker. Schouten held on to top Rosenberger in the first 7-6 (7-5), then took the second set 6-1 to win the No. 5 match. Blanca Cortijo won the tiebreaker to beat Wilske in the No. 6 match 7-6 (7-0), 6-0, clinching the victory for the Cougars. 
 
Bahr earned a gritty win over Trencheva in the No. 2 match. She controlled the first to win 6-2, then had to outduel Trencheva in a long tiebreaker after the second tied at 6-6. Bahr went up 6-2 in the tiebreaker, but Trencheva clawed back to 6-6. Bahr stayed mentally tough and captured a 6-2, 7-6 (10-8) win to put UTRGV on the board. 
 
Karren grinded through a tough, lengthy match against Maria Dzemeshkevich in the No. 1 flight. The first set went to a tiebreaker and was won by Houston 7-6 (7-1). Karren kept battling in the second frame and closed it strong, taking the win 6-4 to force a 10-point tiebreaker. The two competitors swapped points until Dzemeshkevich opened up a 9-5 lead, but Karren kept plugging away and fought off three match points, making it 9-8. Dzemeshkevich held on to win 10-8. 
 
Sophomore Marjorie Souza showed resiliency in her No. 3 match. After dropping the first set 6-2, Souza bounced back to win the second 6-3 and force the 10-point tiebreaker. It was a back-and-forth affair to 6-6, then Laura Slisane created some separation up 8-6. Souza kept fighting and tied the frame at 8-8, but Slisane won a long rally to end it 10-8. 
 
UTRGV's next match is Feb. 12 at Lamar at 11 a.m. 
 
Complete Results
Singles (4, 5, 6, 3, 2, 1) 
1. Maria Dzemeshkevich (UH) def. Lea Karren (UTRGV) 7-6 (1), 4-6, 1-0 (8) 
2. Isabelle Bahr (UTRGV) def. Elena Trencheva (UH) 6-2, 7-6 (8) 
3. Laura Slisane (UH) def. Marjorie Souza (UTRGV) 6-2, 3-6, 1-0 (8) 
4. Azul Pedemonti (UH) def. Yaiza Vazquez (UTRGV) 6-1, 6-2 
5. Sophie Schouten (UH) def. Daniela Rosenberger (UTRGV) 7-6 (5), 6-1 
6. Blanca Cortijo (UH) def. Stefanie Wilske (UTRGV) 7-6 (0), 6-0 
 
Doubles (2, 3, 1) 
1. Sophie Schouten/Elena Trencheva (UH) def. Lea Karren/Daniela Rosenberger (UTRGV) 7-6 (7-3) 
2. Laura Slisane/Blanca Cortijo (UH) def. Marjorie Souza/Barbara Martinez (UTRGV) 6-2 
3. Isabelle Bahr/Yaiza Vazquez (UTRGV) def. Azul Pedemonti/Maria Dzemeshkevich (UH) 6-4 

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