LAKE CHARLES, La. – The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV) women's tennis team fell at first-place McNeese, 5-2, in their Southland Conference (SLC) and regular season finale Monday at Nancy Hank Tennis Center.
Sophomore
Luna Buijtenhuijs once again shined on the top court, defeating reigning SLC Women's Tennis Player of the Year,
Salome Fluri. Buijtenhuijs jumped out to a huge 4-1 lead in the first set before Fluri narrowed the gap to 5-4. Buijtenhuijs closed out the set with a massive game to take it 6-4. Fluri bounced back, winning the second 6-2 to set up the deciding 10-point tiebreaker.
In the tiebreaker, Buijtenhuijs rallied from multiple point deficits on three occasions. First, she trailed 3-1 before knotting it at 3-3. Then, she fell behind 5-3 before rattling off four straight points to take a 7-5 lead. However, Fluri won four consecutive points to set up double match point. Trailing 9-7, Buijtenhuijs once again came through, this time winning four in a row to take the tiebreaker, 1-0 (11:9).
This win was Buijtenhuijs' second straight win at the number one spot, extended her singles win streak to three, pushed her record in SLC play to 8-1.
Junior
Rhea Makesar earned the first win for the Vaqueros, defeating
Stella Rundova 6-1, 6-4 on court three. In the first set, Makesar and Rundova were tied at 1-1 before Makesar strung together five straight games to take a swift first set. The pair traded games in the second set until Makesar broke to take a 4-2 lead. The pair then traded breaks until Makesar pulled through with a 6-4 second set win.
McNeese earned the win with a sweep of a tightly contested doubles session and wins on courts two, four, five, and six in singles play.
The Vaqueros will turn their sights to the SLC Women's Tennis Tournament which will run from April 19-21 in Beaumont, Texas. UTRGV will enter the tournament as the No. 7 seed and face No. 2 Northwestern State on Sunday, April 19 at 10 a.m.
Results
Doubles (3, 2, 1)
1. Elena Morales/Stella Rundova (McNeese) def.
Hitakamya Narwal/
Mariia Bakhtina (UTRGV), 7-5
2. Salome Fluri/Erica Hagi (McNeese) def.
Luna Buijtenhuijs/
Valentina Urraco (UTRGV), 6-4
3.
Naomi Hagi/Ana Hollweg (McNeese) def. Madeleine Joffe/Rhea Makesar (UTRGV), 6-2
Singles (5, 6, 4, 2, 3, 1)
1.
Luna Buijtenhuijs (UTRGV) def. Salome Fluri (McNeese), 6-4, 2-6, 1-0 (11:9)
2. Alexa Martinez Mendoza (McNeese) def.
Hitakamya Narwal (UTRGV), 6-4, 6-3
3.
Rhea Makesar (UTRGV) def. Stella Rundova (McNeese), 6-1, 6-4
4. Ana Hollweg (McNeese) def.
Madeleine Joffe (UTRGV), 6-0, 6-3
5. Erica Hagi (McNeese) def.
Valentina Urraco (UTRGV), 6-1, 6-1
6.Elena Morales Dorantes (McNeese) def.
Giuliana Castelain (UTRGV), 6-1, 6-1
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