RIO GRANDE VALLEY – The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV) Vaqueros women's tennis team was led from the top of the lineup to capture a 6-1 victory over the UT Permian Basin (UTPB) Falcons Thursday at the Orville Cox Tennis Center.
UTRGV (5-5, 2-2 Southland Conference) and the Falcons (3-3, 0-0 Lone Star Conference) battled in an exciting doubles session. The No. 2 duo of senior
Kristal Dule and junior
Valentina Urraco rolled to a 6-3 win to give the Vaqueros the early advantage, but the outside courts both needed to be decided in a tiebreaker.
On Court 1, sophomores
Rhea Makesar and
Madeleine Joffe responded well after falling behind 3-5, winning two games in a row and holding strong when UTPB went up 6-5 to knot the match at 6-6. The Vaqueros dominated the tiebreaker, opening up a 6:0 lead and finishing strong to take the 7-6 (7:1) victory to secure the 1-0 lead.
Junior
Yaiza Vazquez and freshman
Luna Buijtenhuijs finished the doubles sweep with a 7-6 (7:4) win. The Vaqueros had an early lead before the Falcons made a strong comeback, but Vazquez/Buijtenhuijs locked in late to force the extra frame at 6-6. The teams swapped points to 4-all, then the Vaqueros closed on fire to take the final three points and secure the win.
Makesar rolled in the top singles flight to extend the lead to 2-0. She used a big serve and powerful strokes to quickly dismantle her opponent in a 6-2, 6-0 win. UTPB got on the board with a 6-1, 6-0 win by
Dinethya Dharmaratne on the sixth court.
Dule extended her winning streak to five matches with a solid 6-3, 6-2 win in the second flight. She leaned on her athleticism to cover the court well and made smart shots to keep her momentum growing.
Joffe clinched UTRGV's victory with a 6-4, 6-2 match on the third court. She was in total control early in the first set, opening up a 5-0 lead before
Teodora Vrucan made a comeback attempt. Joffe sustained the push to win the set and again started strong in the second to hold a 5-1 lead. After Vrucan took a tight game, Joffe defended against the serve well to close it out.
Buijtenhuijs captured a hard-earned win in her home debut. She endured long rallies with her stamina to pick up a 6-2, 6-3 victory on Court Five for her first win of the season. Urraco followed suit with a gritty 7-5, 6-4 win in the fourth flight. Urraco showed her fight to erase early deficits in both sets, including a strong comeback after falling behind 1-4 in the second frame. She won five consecutive games to put the match away.
The Vaqueros will be back in action Tuesday at 10 a.m. at UTSA.
Results
Doubles (2, 1, 3)
1.
Rhea Makesar/
Madeleine Joffe (UTRGV) def. Brooke Runyan/Paige Bott (UTPB) 7-6 (7:1)
2.
Kristal Dule/
Valentina Urraco (UTRGV) def. Tuva Asplund/Teodora Vrucan (UTPB) 6-3
3.
Yaiza Vazquez/
Luna Buijtenhuijs (UTRGV) def. Sophia Rashid/Fanny Bergstrom (UTPB) 7-6 (7:4)
Singles (1, 6, 2, 3, 5, 4)
1.
Rhea Makesar (UTRGV) def. Brooke Runyan (UTPB) 6-2, 6-0
2.
Kristal Dule (UTRGV) def. Fanny Bergstrom (UTPB) 6-3, 6-2
3.
Madeleine Joffe (UTRGV) def. Teodora Vrucan (UTPB) 6-4, 6-2
4.
Valentina Urraco (UTRGV) def. Paige Bott (UTPB) 7-5, 6-4
5.
Luna Buijtenhuijs (UTRGV) def. Tuva Asplund (UTPB) 6-2, 6-3
6. Dinethya Dharmaratne (UTPB) def.
Giuliana Castelain (UTRGV) 6-1, 6-0
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