Final Stats

By Hannah Altheide | UTAMavs.com

ARLINGTON, Texas -- The UT Arlington women's tennis team defeated Louisiana 4-0 Thursday afternoon at the UTA Tennis Center. The Mavericks are now 2-0 in Sun Belt Conference play and 11-4 overall.

"We played some great tennis today," UTA coach Diego Benitez said. "It is always nice to take care of business on your home court, especially in a conference match against a great team."

Astrid Gehre and Jessica Birowski got things going for the Mavericks when they defeated Alexandra Way and Abby Johnson 8-1 in doubles play. The previously-ranked duo of Elizabeth Thoms and Angeles de los Rios quickly added to the winnings by defeating Nelo Phiri and Elena Sava 8-3, clinching the double point for UTA.

"We're playing with a lot of confidence right now which is great," Benitez said. "We hope to continue this level of play going into this weekend and into New Orleans."

The Mavericks went into dual play with momentum. De los Rios defeated Louisiana's Phiri 6-0, 6-0, and UTA clinched the match with wins from Thoms and Gehre.

UTA has a big weekend ahead of them as they host four Sun Belt teams in Arlington for round-robin play.  The Ragin Cajuns will be back out at the UTA Tennis Center along with ULM, Texas State and Arkansas State.

Each team will play one another throughout the weekend in preparation for the Sun Belt Championship.

"It is a great opportunity for all of us to see our competition," Benitez said. "I am glad we are able to host our Sun Belt competitors and it should be a great weekend for tennis."

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