RIO GRANDE VALLEY – The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV) Vaqueros women's tennis team dropped a tough 4-3 battle to the Texas State Bobcats Saturday at the Orville Cox Tennis Center.
UTRGV (5-4) jumped out to a 1-0 lead after capturing its second consecutive doubles point. The No. 1 duo of graduate student
Isabelle Bahr and junior
Marjorie Souza set the tone with a 6-3 win on the top court. Texas State evened the session with a 6-2 win on the second court, but the Vaqueros quickly closed on the third court to secure the point. Senior
Lea Karren delivered a huge serve-receive on match point as she and junior
Kristal Dule earned a solid 6-3 win.
The singles matches were tightly contested, treating the engaged fans in attendance to long and exciting rallies. Souza and sophomore
Yaiza Vazquez won their first sets in the first and fourth singles matches. Souza used a good mix of deep volleys and high-speed forehands to get off to a 6-4 start over
Kiana Graham. Vazquez outdueled
Sofia Fortuno in a length battle, using her firepower to take a 7-6 (7:3) opening set.
Texas State took the first sets on the other four courts and quickly tied the match at 1-1 with a 6-2, 6-0 win at No. 3 by
Emily Niers.
Souza finished Graham off with sound play on the top court, winning 6-3 in the second to make it 2-1, Vaqueros. But the Bobcats came back with straight-set wins on the fifth and sixth courts to take their first lead at 3-2.
Vazquez rolled to start the second after playing through a tough opening set, jumping out to a 5-1 lead. Fortuno attempted a comeback and made it 5-2, but Vazquez closed the bout strong with her fiery play to win, 6-2, and knot the team score at 3-3.
All eyes turned to Court Two, where Bahr was battling in a must-win second set against
Callie Creath. Creath won the first set, 7-5, after the two went back-and-forth with long rallies and smart tennis. Bahr continued to compete while trailing in the second, but Creath held on to secure Texas State's victory, 6-3 in the frame.
The Vaqueros will hit the road for a pair of matches in California next week, starting with a 12 p.m. (CT) match at UC Riverside on Tuesday.
Complete Results
Doubles (1, 2, 3)
1.
Isabelle Bahr/
Marjorie Souza (UTRGV) def. Jadeh Chan/Mae McCutcheon (TXST) 6-3
2. Sofia Fortuno/Maria Lora (TXST) def.
Yaiza Vazquez/
Valentina Urraco (UTRGV) 6-2
3.
Lea Karren/
Kristal Dule (UTRGV) def. Emily Niers/Emma Carr (TXST) 6-3
Singles (3, 1, 5, 6, 4, 2)
1.
Marjorie Souza (UTRGV) def. Kiana Graham (TXST) 6-4, 6-3
2. Callie Creath (TXST) def.
Isabelle Bahr (UTRGV) 7-5, 6-3
3. Emily Niers (TXST) def.
Lea Karren (UTRGV) 6-2, 6-0
4.
Yaiza Vazquez (UTRGV) def. Sofia Fortuno (TXST) 7-6 (7:3), 6-2
5. Andrea Pineda (TXST) def.
Kristal Dule (UTRGV) 6-4, 6-4
6. Maria Lora (TXST) def.
Valentina Urraco (UTRGV) 6-4, 6-2
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