Deciding Set Victory Helps Mavs Defeat GCU 4-3

Sunday, March 26

Arlington, TX

11 AM

University of Texas Arlington

Grand Canyon

Box Score (PDF)

Photo by: Nicholas Huenefeld

3/26/2023 3:57:00 PM | Women's Tennis

Box Score

By: Mia Kovachev (@miakovacheva)

ARLINGTON, Texas– With a key performance from Sarina Reinertsen, the UT Arlington women's tennis team (12-2, 4-0 WAC) kept their winning streak alive after defeating Grand Canyon 4-3 on Sunday at the UTA Tennis Center.

The early lead came in clutch for the Mavericks, with the team winning the 1-0 lead going into singles.

Reinertsen and Liz Chileno had a strong showing on Court 2, moving to 9-3 on the season. The pair went up early in the match, earning a 4-1 lead. Aggressive volleys from Chileno and strong baseline play from Reinertsen helped the duo finish out the match over Anali Kocevar and Madeline Lamoreux. Reinertsen ended the match with a strong serve, winning 6-1.

The Lopes evened the score by earning the next win on Court 1 over Tara Gorinsek and Ana Paula Jimenez. Natasha Puehse and Santa Strombacha took an early lead to start the match, going up 4-2. After bringing the score to deuce at 5-2, Gorinsek and Jimenez could not overcome Puehse and Strombacha, dropping the match 6-2.

The Mavs were not to be outdone, with Bruna Casasampere and Francisca Vergara taking the next match on Court 3 over Dania Deaifi and Valentina Del Marco to secure the advantage. A volley winner from Vergara got the pair off to a strong start, going up 2-1.

With aggressive net play from Vergara and strong baseline shots from Casasampere, the pair was able to go up 5-3 in the match. The duo secured the win after a double fault gave them the 6-3 win.

Singles play came down to the final court, with the Mavericks pulling out the close victory in a deciding set.

Vergara continued her impressive season with a win over Del Marco on Court 6. After going up 4-1, Vergara finished off the first set strong, allowing Del Marco only two games for the 6-2 victory.

The second set followed in a similar manner, with Vergara rallying from the baseline in order to earn a 6-0 win for the match. This is her tenth win of the season and her third WAC win.

Grand Canyon responded by taking a straight set win on Court 1 over Chileno. Puehse had a strong showing, forcing Chileno to run down balls and rally from the baseline. After going down 1-3, Chileno battled hard to bring the score back to 2-3. Puehse earned the next game to go up 4-2, then finished off the set 6-2. Chileno could not overcome Puehse in the second set, falling 6-0.

Strombacha earned the next win over Gorinsek on Court 2 to tie the score at two points each. Gorinsek fought hard to come back in the first set after going down 3-0. She forced an error to bring the score to 3-2, but lost the next game to give Strombacha the 4-2 lead, which helped her win the set 6-4. The second set followed in a similar manner, with Strombacha earning a 6-2 victory.

Casasampere was the next to fall, giving the Lopes the 3-2 lead on Court 5. Lamoreux earned an early lead in the first set, going up 5-2 then finishing out the set 6-2. Casasampere went down 5-2 in the second, but earned two consecutive games to bring the score to 5-4. Lamoreux was too much to overcome in the final game, securing the 6-4 win.

Jimenez retaliated in the next set with a key win over Deaifi on Court 4 to tie the score at 3-3. With long rallies in the first set, the score stayed close with Jimenez up 5-4. Aggressive serving helped her finish off the set 6-4.

The second set followed in a similar manner, with Deaifi forcing Jimenez to run down the ball in long baseline rallies. After a big forehand winner to go up 2-1, Jimenez allowed her opponent one more game before she earned the victory. She earned the decisive 6-2 win and moved to 10-1 on the season after finishing the match with a long rally and forehand winner.

With the score tied, the match came down to the deciding set between Reinertsen and Kocevar on Court 3. Reinertsen played a solid first set, winning long rallies and forcing errors to go up 3-0. She allowed Kocevar one game before winning the set 6-1.

Kocevar responded by fighting back in the second set by coming back from a 3-0 deficit. She finished off the set 6-3 to force a deciding set.

Reinertsen dominated in the third set by starting off with a forced error to win the first game. With strong baseline rallies, she was able to earn the 3-0 lead over Kocevar after a long point. Kocevar made a slight comeback, bringing the score to 3-2. Reinertsen proceeded to rally in the next game, forcing an error to go up 4-2. A strong passing shot allowed her to gain the 5-2 lead before serving out the match. Reinertsen ended with a 6-2 victory, securing the victory for the Mavericks.

The Mavericks are set to travel to Saint George, Utah and Seattle to take on WAC opponents Utah Tech and Seattle. They will face the Trailblazers at 1 p.m. Friday and the Redhawks at 1 p.m. Sunday.

UTA 4, GCU 3
Singles

Natasha Puehse (GCU) def. Liz Chileno (UTA) 6-2, 6-0
Santa Strombacha (GCU) def. Tara Gorinsek (UTA) 6-4, 6-2
Sarina Reinertsen (UTA) def. Anali Kocevar (GCU) 6-1, 3-6, 6-2
Ana Paula Jimenez (UTA) def. Dania Deaifi (GCU) 6-4, 6-2
Madeline Lamoreux (GCU) def. Bruna Casasampere (UTA) 6-2, 6-4
Francisca Vergara (UTA) def. Valentina Del Marco (GCU) 6-2, 6-0

Doubles

Natasha Puehse/Santa Strombacha (GCU) def. Tara Gorinsek/Ana Paula Jimenez (UTA) 6-2
Liz Chileno/Sarina Reinertsen (UTA) def. Anali Kocevar/Madeline Lamoreux (GCU) 6-1
Bruna Casasampere/Francisca Vergara (UTA) def. Dania Deaifi/Valentina Del Marco (GCU) 6-3

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