RIO GRANDE VALLEY – The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV) Vaqueros women's tennis team defended home court and picked up a good 5-2 win over the North Dakota (UND) Fighting Hawks Friday at the Orville Cox Tennis Center.
UTRGV (7-6) opened up a 1-0 lead after a gritty doubles session. North Dakota (7-10, 1-1 Summit League) took the first match on Court Three as the Vaqueros were trailing on the other two courts. But they battled well to close the gaps on both.
In the No. 2 match, senior
Lea Karren and sophomore
Yaiza Vazquez earned their early deficit to tie the bout at 5-5. They used their power and energetic play to control the final two games and even the session with a 7-5 win, turning all eyes to Court One.
UTRGV's top duo of graduate student
Isabelle Bahr and junior
Marjorie Souza came back from down 0-2 to take a 5-4 lead. The duos swapped games to a 6-6 tie, forcing a seven-point tiebreaker to decide the point. The Fighting Hawks jumped out to a 4:2 lead in the tiebreaker, then the Vaqueros turned things up and used their smart shots and athleticism to come back and win, 7-6 (8:6).
The Vaqueros rolled as singles play began, quickly taking the first set on the first, third and fourth courts. Karren was the first off the court, picking up a solid 6-2, 6-4 win in the third flight. She continued her high-energy play from doubles and was speedy across the court to get her win.
Souza was dynamic as she won the first set, 6-0, on the top court. She fell behind, 5-1, in the second set, and showed incredible mental toughness to take a moment and regroup and then come all the way back to win 7-5. She mixed up her shots well and covered the court with quick feet to secure her third singles win in a row.
North Dakota got a win on the sixth court to cut the deficit to 3-1. But Vazquez clinched UTRGV's victory in a back-and-forth match on Court Four. She won the first, 6-1, then dropped a competitive second set 6-7 (2:7). Vazquez came out strong to take control of the third and sealed the win with a 6-2 frame, capturing her third dub in a row.
Junior
Kristal Dule got back in the win column in a lengthy duel at No. 5. She came from behind after losing the first, 4-6, and showed great resilience and endurance to take an extremely tight second set, 7-6 (11:9). Dule also set the tone in the third to jump on top and never look back, taking the frame 6-1 to extend UTRGV's lead to 5-1. North Dakota picked up the final win at No. 2.
UTRGV will be back in action Sunday at 10 a.m. against Lamar at the Orville Cox Tennis Center.
Complete Results
Doubles (3, 2, 1)
1.
Isabelle Bahr/
Marjorie Souza (UTRGV) def. Andrea Jansson/Sapir Sela (UND) 7-6 (8:6)
2.
Lea Karren/
Yaiza Vazquez (UTRGV) def. Jule Schulte/Nore Heinitz (UND) 7-5
3. Lucia Rizza/Aziza Aubin (UND) def.
Kristal Dule/
Valentina Urraco (UTRGV) 6-2
Singles (3, 1, 6, 4, 5, 2)
1.
Marjorie Souza (UTRGV) def. Sapir Sela (UND) 6-0, 7-5
2. Andrea Jansson (UND) def.
Isabelle Bahr (UTRGV) 6-4, 4-6, 6-4
3.
Lea Karren (UTRGV) def. Jule Schulte (UND) 6-2, 6-4
4.
Yaiza Vazquez (UTRGV) def. Nore Heinitz (UND) 6-1, 6-7 (2:7), 6-2
5.
Kristal Dule (UTRGV) def. Lucia Rizza (UND) 4-6, 7-6 (11:9), 6-1
6. Aziza Aubin (UND) def.
Valentina Urraco (UTRGV) 6-3, 6-4
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