RIO GRANDE VALLEY – The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV) Vaqueros women's tennis team dropped a tight 4-3 battle Monday to the Stephen F. Austin (SFA) Ladyjacks in a Southland Conference (SLC) match at the Orville Cox Tennis Center.
The Vaqueros (1-10, 0-2 SLC) opened 2-0 leads across all courts to start doubles. Both teams had to battle significant winds which made lobs challenging, but UTRGV found success pushing the margins. SFA made good adjustments and rallied on the top two courts. The No. 1 duo of
Felicia Back/Sonja Rooth won six games in a row to claim the first doubles match, 6-2.
UTRGV's
Mariia Bakhtina/Hitakamya Narwal controlled Court 3. They were aggressive with mixed shots and cruised to a 6-2 victory to even up the session. All eyes turned to Court 2, where SFA's
Avery Kinsey/Ana Paula Chavez held a 5-3 lead as the set went to the deciding point at 40-all.
Luna Buijtenhuijs and
Valentina Urraco held strong to win the game and keep the session alive, but Kinsey/Chavez secured the 1-0 lead for the Ladyjacks (1-6, 1-1 SLC) with a 6-4 win.
The singles matches were competitive across the board. SFA opened strong, winning the first set on three courts, but UTRGV showed good fight. Courts 3 through 6 all needed tiebreakers to decide the first sets, and the Vaqueros battled to take two of those, courtesy of
Rhea Makesar on Court 4 and Buijtenhuijs on Court 5.
Barbara Martinez evened the match at 1-1 as she earned a solid win in the No. 1 flight. She went back-and-forth with Back in the first set, then opened the second on a roll to take a dominant 5-0 lead. Back got one game, but Martinez used her fiery play and powerful stroke to earn the 7-5, 6-1 win.
The Ladyjacks picked up wins on the third and second courts to take a 3-1 lead. The back three courts continued to play hard through long rallies.
Makesar showed her resilience to get a key win on Court 4, making it 3-2 SFA. Makesar and Chavez went punch-for-punch in the first set, won in 7:3 tiebreak by Makesar, a one-sided second set. Makesar played aggressive and used her big serve to earn a 7-6 (7:3), 6-1 victory.
UTRGV was fired up as the last two courts rolled on. Buijtenhuijs jumped out to a 3-1 lead in her second set in the fifth flight, and Urraco held a 3-2 lead in a must-win second on Court 6. Despite a lack of rhythm in the set due to frequent protests from SFA, Buijtenhuijs stayed focused and maintained her momentum to earn a 7-6 (7:2), 6-4 win, knotting the match at 3-3.
Alkmini Giannakogiorgou rallied in a tight second set against Urraco to secure SFA's victory with a 7-6 (7:5), 7-5 win in the sixth flight.
Up next for the Vaqueros is a 1 p.m. SLC match Saturday at Southeastern.
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