ARLINGTON – The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV) Vaqueros women's tennis team fell in a battle for the top spot in the Western Athletic Conference (WAC) standings Saturday, 4-3 to the UT Arlington (UTA) Mavericks at the UTA Tennis Center. 
 
The Mavericks (14-3, 6-1 WAC) took the 1-0 lead behind wins on all three courts in the doubles session, then extended the lead with a win by Ana Paula Jimenez in the fifth doubles flight. 
 
UTRGV (10-7, 5-2 WAC) battled on the singles courts in the tightly-contested match. Sophomores Barbara Martinez and Marjorie Souza each improved to 6-1 in conference singles play with solid wins in the fourth and third flights. Martinez dominated the second set of her match after a tight first for a 7-5, 6-1 win. Souza increased her singles winning streak to six matches with a strong 6-4, 6-3 win, cutting the Vaqueros deficit to 3-2 after UTA picked up a win at No. 2 by Tara Gorinsek. 
 
The Mavericks clinched the match with a win by Francisca Vergara at No. 6. 
 
Junior Lea Karren turned in another gritty performance in a tough No. 1 match. She fought for a well-earned 7-6 (7:5) win in the first set of the close bout. Liz Chileno took the second, 6-1, forcing the match into a 10-point tiebreaker. Karren closed the back-and-forth frame strong to claim the 1-0 (10:7) win. 
 
The Vaqueros are back in action Sunday at 1 p.m. against North Texas at the Waranch Tennis Complex. 
 
Complete Results
Singles (5, 4, 2, 3, 6, 1) 
1. Lea Karren (UTRGV) def. Liz Chileno (UTA) 7-6 (7:5), 1-6, 1-0 (10:7) 
2. Tara Gorinsek (UTA) def. Isabelle Bahr (UTRGV) 6-1, 6-4 
3. Marjorie Souza (UTRGV) def. Sarina Reinertsen (UTA) 6-4, 6-3 
4. Barbara Martinez (UTRGV) def. Bruna Casasampere (UTA) 7-5, 6-1 
5. Ana Paula Jimenez (UTA) def. Stefanie Wilske (UTRGV) 6-3, 6-0 
6. Francisca Vergara (UTA) def. Yaiza Vazquez (UTRGV) 6-3, 6-4  
 
Doubles (3, 1, 2) 
1. Tara Gorinsek/Ana Paula Jimenez (UTA) def. Lea Karren/Barbara Martinez (UTRGV) 6-4
2. Liz Chileno/Sarina Reinertsen (UTA) def. Isabelle Bahr/Marjorie Souza (UTRGV) 7-5 
3. Bruna Casasampere/Francisca Vergara (UTA) def. Daniela Rosenberger/Stefanie Wilske (UTRGV) 6-3 

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