RIO GRANDE VALLEY – The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV) Vaqueros women's tennis team dropped its Western Athletic Conference (WAC) opener, 6-1, on Friday to the Tarleton State Texans at the Orville Cox Tennis Center on Senior Day.
The Texans (10-2, 1-0 WAC) secured the doubles point with wins on the third and second courts. UTRGV's (8-7, 0-1 WAC) top duo of graduate student
Isabelle Bahr and junior
Marjorie Souza got their conference campaign started in a big way with a tight 6-4 win in the No. 1 flight.
Bahr/Souza opened up a 2-0 lead, but the Texans duo of
Maretha Burger/Martha Makantasi battled back to take a 3-2 lead. From there, the match saw the two teams swapping games as they played thrilling tennis. At 4-all, the Vaqueros turned things up and controlled the final two games with a good mix of deep strokes and quick hands on the net to get the win.
Tarleton State took the first set on five of the singles courts and clinched the team victory with wins on the third, sixth and fourth courts. The Texans opened their lead to 5-0 with a win at No. 2.
Souza got the Vaqueros on the board with a tough win in the No. 1 flight. She was dominant in the first set, taking a 6-2 win. Tarleton State's
Emma Persson challenged well in the second and took a 5-3 lead, but Souza bounced back and forced a tiebreaker at 6-6. Persson took the tiebreaker, 7:5, to force a 10-point tiebreaker in the third. Souza took control early, taking a 4-1 lead with her big serve and her incredible athleticism on the baseline. She went on to win the frame, 10:4, to get her WAC campaign started with a solid victory.
Junior
Kristal Dule competed well in her WAC debut against Tarleton State's
Clara Sobius on the fifth court. The two dueled through a long and tight first set, which Sobius won, 7-5. They continued to exchange blows in the second, going into a tiebreaker with the set knotted at 6-6.
On trend with the match, the tiebreaker saw Dule and Sobius swap points in an intense battle. They found themselves locked at 5:5, but Sobius held on to take the win, 7-6 (7:5).
The Vaqueros will be back in action Sunday at 10 a.m. at the Orville Cox Tennis Center for a WAC match against Abilene Christian.
Complete Results
Doubles (3, 2, 1)
1.
Isabelle Bahr/
Marjorie Souza (UTRGV) def. Maretha Burger/Martha Makantasi (TSU) 6-4
2. Elsa Boisson/Ximena Morales (TSU) def.
Lea Karren/
Yaiza Vazquez (UTRGV) 6-2
3. Emma Persson/Noelia Lorca (TSU) def.
Kristal Dule/
Valentina Urraco (UTRGV) 6-1
Singles (3, 6, 4, 2, 1, 5)
1.
Marjorie Souza (UTRGV) def. Emma Persson (TSU) 6-2, 6-7 (5:7), 1-0 (10:4)
2. Elsa Boisson (TSU) def.
Lea Karren (UTRGV) 6-4, 6-4
3. Martha Makantasi (TSU) def.
Isabelle Bahr (UTRGV) 6-3, 6-3
4. Noelia Lorca (TSU) def.
Yaiza Vazquez (UTRGV) 6-2, 6-3
5. Clara Sobius (TSU) def.
Kristal Dule (UTRGV) 7-5, 7-6 (7:5)
6. Adeliya Mukhutdinova (TSU) def.
Valentina Urraco (UTRGV) 6-0, 6-1
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