ST. GEORGE, Utah – The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV) Vaqueros women's tennis team picked up its first Western Athletic Conference (WAC) win Sunday with a comeback 5-2 victory over the Utah Tech Trailblazers at the Trailblazer Tennis Courts.
Utah Tech took the doubles point with wins on the third and first courts. At No. 2, playing together for the first time this spring, sophomores
Yaiza Vazquez and
Valentina Urraco battled nicely to outduel their opponents and pick up a 7-6 (7:4) victory.
Utah Tech extended the lead to 2-0 with a win on the sixth singles court. But the Vaqueros (9-11, 1-5 WAC) won the first set on four of the other five courts to put themselves in good position for the comeback.
Urraco's momentum carried over from the doubles courts and she earned her first WAC win of the season, swiftly taking a 6-3, 6-2 win on the fifth court to cut UTRGV's deficit to 2-1.
The Vaqueros jumped out to a 3-2 lead with wins on the first and fourth courts. Junior
Marjorie Souza captured a sound 6-3, 6-4 win on the top court and junior
Kristal Dule earned a tough 6-4, 7-5 victory on the fourth court.
Vazquez clinched the team victory with a gritty 7-5, 6-3 win at No. 3. She closed the first set strong, taking the final two games when the frame knotted up at 5-5. Again in the second, Vazquez and her opponent were locked at 3-3, then the sophomore found another gear to rip three games in a row and secure hers and UTRGV's win.
Graduate student
Isabelle Bahr fought through a tight No. 2 match. She played tight in the first but dropped it, 7-6 (7:4), then came back strong to take the second, 6-1, and force a full third. She went back-and-forth with
Ana Gutierrez Sampere in the third, swapping points until they went to a tiebreaker knotted at 6-6. Bahr opened a 4:1 lead in the decider and closed things nicely, securing her win at 7-6 (7:4).
UTRGV wraps up the regular season Sunday at 10 a.m. at Stephen F. Austin.
Complete Results
Doubles (3, 1, 2)
1. Rachel Mellor/Mariana Zurita Berdecio (UTU) def.
Isabelle Bahr/
Marjorie Souza (UTRGV) 6-2
2.
Valentina Urraco/
Yaiza Vazquez (UTRGV) def. Ya-Chi Hsu/Ana Gutierrez Sampere (UTU) 7-6 (7:4)
3. Olivia Bustos/Adithi Venkatakrishnan (UTU) def.
Kristal Dule/
Giuliana Castelain (UTRGV) 6-1
Singles (6, 5, 1, 4, 3, 2)
1.
Marjorie Souza (UTRGV) def. Adithi Venkatakrishnan (UTU) 6-3, 6-4
2.
Isabelle Bahr (UTRGV) def. Ana Gutierrez Sampere (UTU) 6-7 (4:7), 6-1, 7-6 (7:4)
3.
Yaiza Vazquez (UTRGV) def. Mariana Zurita Berdecio (UTU) 7-5, 6-3
4.
Kristal Dule (UTRGV) def. Rachel Mellor (UTU) 6-4, 7-5
5.
Valentina Urraco (UTRGV) def. Ya-Chi Hsu (UTU) 6-3, 6-2
6. Olivia Bustos (UTU) def.
Giuliana Castelain (UTRGV) 6-0, 6-1
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