Final Stats

HOUSTON, Texas - UTA women's tennis opened the 2017 campaign on a positive as it downed Houston 4-2 on Saturday afternoon.

The Mavericks (1-0) built up momentum by taking the doubles point with wins from the tandems of Angeles de los Rios/Agustina Serio at No. 1 (6-3) and Astrid Gehre/Anna Wichert at No. 2 (6-0). Houston battled back to bring the match within 3-2 late, but UTA pulled out a win with the third sets going UTA's way.

"They played very solid doubles and were doing very good in getting a point on the board," UTA coach Diego Benitez said. "They really started the match with a lot of intensity. I am proud of everyone dealing with adversity. It was a collective effort and a great way to start the season."

Serio put the second point on the board for the Mavericks in singles as she swept No. 3 singles in straight sets. Wichert followed suit with a 6-2, 4-6, 6-2 win at No. 5 to get the Mavs within a point of the opening win.

The Cougars battled back by taking two points the were drawn out, but it was UTA that would come out on top.

UTA heads home for the home opener against Michigan State on Jan. 29 at 10 a.m. The Mavs enter 2017 with a 23-match home winning streak after sweeping matches at the UTA Tennis Center last season.