ARLINGTON, Texas – The UT Arlington women's tennis team began their season in winning fashion, picking up two wins in a double header on Saturday, defeating Cameron 4-0 before beating Central Oklahoma 5-2.

UTA vs. Cameron
"I thought it was a really good match at the beginning of the season for the girls," said head coach Diego Benitez. "The girls played solid doubles and then came out very aggressive in singles and that's what we always look for."

The Mavericks jumped out to a quick doubles win thanks to an incomplete lineup from Cameron.  Nanaka Takeuchi and Liz Chileno took care of business on Court One, not allowing a single point in the 6-0 sweep over Vasilisa Polunova and Pilar Jaurena.  Momoka Horiguchi and Polina Akimova were down 2-3 when their match was forced to stop with the Mavs clinching the doubles point.
 
Needing just three points to win the match, the Mavs wasted no time.  Lucia Natal took Court Three in a 6-2, 6-1 win over Alisa Savina, while Takeuchi won Court Four over Jarena 6-2, 6-0.  Another incomplete lineup on Court Six secured the win for the Mavs.  With the match finished, Horiguchi, Akimova and Garcia Mendez were all forced to stop their match, but they were all leading at the time of stoppage.
 
UTA vs. Central Oklahoma
"UCO is one of the best Division II programs in the nation," said Benitez. "They made a deep run at national last year, so we knew it was going to be tough. We were fortunate to win the doubles point. That gave us the momentum heading into singles. This match is exactly what we need this early in the year."

Nanaka Takeuchi and Liz Chileno got things rolling in doubles, winning the No. 1 spot 6-3.  Akimova and Horiguchi fell on Court Two 6-3, leaving it up to Natal and Boza to come away with the win. After trailing 3-1 to begin the match, Natal and Boza fought back to win 7-5 and clinch the doubles point.
 
In singles play, Akimova cruised to a 6-2, 6-1 win on Court Two, while Natal took Court Four 7-5, 6-3 and put the Mavericks a single point away from clinching the victory.  Liz Chileno was the third to finish, but fell in the No. 3 spot, 6-3, 6-1.  Still just one match away from clinching, Horiguchi gutted out a tough 7-5, 6-3 win on Court One to secure the Maverick win.  Takeuchi and Carla Pons finished their matches, with Takeuchi falling 6-4, 2-6, 6-4 and Pons winning 6-1, 6-2, 6-1.
 
UP NEXT
The Mavericks will stay in Arlington next weekend to take on Rice at 11:00 am at the UTA Tennis Center.