RIO GRANDE VALLEY – The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV) Vaqueros women's tennis team won its fourth Southland Conference (SLC) match in a row Monday, 4-3, over the Incarnate Word (UIW) Cardinals at the Orville Cox Tennis Center. 
 
With the match knotted at 3-3, all eyes turned to sophomore Hitakamya Narwal on Court 5. Narwal showed great fight to respond from dropping the first set of her match to battle through a grueling second set, which she won to force a full deciding third. Narwal was sharp from the first serve, taking the early lead and closing strong to clinch the team victory with a 1-6, 7-5, 6-2 win. 
 
UTRGV (9-6, 6-2 SLC) picked up the doubles point in an up-and-down session. On Court 2, the team of sophomoreRhea Makesar and freshman Mariia Bakhtina rolled to a 6-1 victory to give the Vaqueros the early edge. UTRGV led by several games on the outside courts, but the Cardinals (3-12, 1-6 SLC) made a comeback, knotting the third and first matches at 5-5. 
 
UTRGV's sophomore duo of Narwal and Madeleine Joffe secured the 1-0 lead with a gritty finish on Court 3. Behind Joffe's big serve and good defense on the baseline, the Vaqueros won 7-5 to take the point. 
 
The Vaqueros extended their lead to 3-0 with a pair of speedy wins on the third and sixth courts. In the third flight, junior Yaiza Vazquez dominated her match to capture a 6-1, 6-2 win. Junior Valentina Urraco was just as solid in the sixth flight, picking up a 6-1, 6-3 victory. 
 
UIW won first sets on three courts to keep things tight. The Cardinals trimmed the deficit to 3-1 with a comeback win by Lyric Bonilla in the second flight, 1-6, 6-3, 6-1. They took leads in third sets on the first and fourth courts, but on the fifth, Narwal created some needed momentum for the Vaqueros with her second set dub. 
 
The Cardinals got a three-set win by Amelie Montalvo on Court 4 to get within 3-2. Makesar and UIW No. 1 Estefania Gonzalez were locked in a thrilling and well-played match on the top court, with Gonzalez taking the first set and Makesar rallying back to win the second. Gonzalez forced a tiebreaker by tying the third at 6-6, then got to match point up 6:4. Makesar won three consecutive points to get her own match point, but Gonzalez held on to win the match, 6-1, 3-6, 7-6 (9:7). 
 
UTRGV will play the regular season finale Saturday at 11 a.m. at Texas A&M-Corpus Christi as part of the South Texas Showdown, presented by Rally Credit Union. 
 
Results
Doubles (2, 3) 
1. Kristal Dule/Yaiza Vazquez (UTRGV) vs. Estefania Gonzalez/Amelie Montalvo (UIW) 5-5, unfinished
2. Rhea Makesar/Mariia Bakhtina (UTRGV) def. Lyric Bonilla/Smilia Matovic (UIW) 6-1
3. Madeleine Joffe/Hitakamya Narwal (UTRGV) def. McKenzy Byfield/Luciana Paez (UIW) 7-5 
 
Singles (3, 6, 2, 4, 1, 5)  
1. Estefania Gonzalez (UIW) def. Rhea Makesar (UTRGV) 6-1, 3-6, 7-6 (9:7) 
2. Lyric Bonilla (UIW) def. Kristal Dule (UTRGV) 1-6, 6-3, 6-1
3. Yaiza Vazquez (UTRGV) def. Smilia Matovic (UIW) 6-1, 6-2 
4. Amelie Montalvo (UIW) def. Madeleine Joffe (UTRGV) 6-2, 3-6, 6-3 
5. Hitakamya Narwal (UTRGV) def. Luciana Paez (UIW) 1-6, 7-5, 6-2 
6. Valentina Urraco (UTRGV) def. McKenzy Byfield (UIW) 6-1, 6-3

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