ARLINGTON – The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV) Vaqueros #3 women's tennis team dropped a heartbreaking match 4-3 to the #6 New Mexico State Aggies Thursday in the first round of the Western Athletic Conference (WAC) Tournament at the Arlington Tennis Center. 
 
The Vaqueros came out on fire to get an early lead. Senior Stefanie Wilske and freshman Yaiza Vazquez dominated their No. 3 doubles match to take a 6-0 win. UTRGV's All-WAC Second Team duo of junior Lea Karren and sophomore Barbara Martinez secured the doubles point for the Vaqueros with a solid 6-2 win in the No. 1 flight. Junior Isabelle Bahr and sophomore Marjorie Souza were leading the No. 2 match 5-1, but it went unfinished with the 1-0 lead locked up. 
 
The singles session was incredibly tight between two fighting teams. The Vaqueros and Aggies split first sets, with UTRGV taking the early advantage on the first, third and fifth courts while NM State won the first set on the other three. 
 
Souza extended UTRGV's lead to 2-0 with a solid 6-2, 6-3 win at No. 3, showing good endurance through long rallies and delivering precise scoring shots. But the Aggies tied the score at 2-2 with wins by Miranda Bishard and Bella Nguyen on the fourth and sixth courts. Bahr battled back in the second set of her No. 2 match, but Lisa Zhu held on for the 6-1, 7-5 win to make it 3-2 NM State. 
 
Vazquez picked up a gritty 6-2, 6-4 win in the No. 5 flight to even the score at 3-3. She was resilient in the back-and-forth match and came on strong to close it out when her team needed her. 
 
With the score tied, all eyes turned to the top court to watch an intense battle between Karren and Anna Pinaieva. Karren won the first set 6-4, then Pinaieva came back to take the second 6-2. Pinaieva opened up a 4-2 lead, then Karren came rallying back to tie the match at 4-all. Pinaieva held on to take the set 6-4 and clinch the victory for NM State. 
 
UTRGV finishes the season 12-9. 
 
Complete Results
Singles (3, 4, 5, 2, 5, 1) 
1. Anna Pinaieva (NMS) def. Lea Karren (UTRGV) 4-6, 6-2, 6-4  
2. Lisa Zhu (NMS) def. Isabelle Bahr (UTRGV) 6-1, 7-5 
3. Marjorie Souza (UTRGV) def. Valeriia Ivanovskaia (NMS) 6-2, 6-3 
4. Miranda Bishard (NMS) def. Barbara Martinez (UTRGV) 7-5, 6-3 
5. Yaiza Vazquez (UTRGV) def. Natsuki Nishimura (NMS) 6-2, 6-4 
6. Bella Nguyen (NMS) def. Stefanie Wilske (UTRGV) 6-3, 7-5 
 
Doubles (3, 1) 
1. Lea Karren/Barbara Martinez (UTRGV) def. Anna Pinaieva/Lisa Zhu (NMS) 6-2   
2. Isabelle Bahr/Marjorie Souza (UTRGV) vs. Miranda Bishard/Bella Nguyen (NMS) 5-1, unf.   
3. Yaiza Vazquez/Stefanie Wilske (UTRGV) def. Valeriia Ivanovskaia/Dora Kurdi (NMS) 6-0 

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