ARLINGTON– The UT Arlington women's tennis team (10-5, 0-1 WAC) suffered a tough loss to Abilene Christian 4-3 in their Western Athletic Conference opener on Friday at the UTA Tennis Center.
The Mavericks and Wildcats split doubles matches, which left the early advantage down to a tiebreaker on Court 3.
Bruna Casasampere and
Francisca Vergara got off to a strong start and took the victory on Court 2 over Libby Blair and Maryjoe Crisologo. The pair dropped only one game in pursuit of the win, closing out the match 6-1 and earning their tenth win of the season.
The Wildcats retaliated to even the score as Maria Cascos and Masha Vrsalovic overpowered
Tara Gorinsek and
Mariana Manyoma-Velasquez on Court 1. The match stayed close, with Gorinsek keeping the score within one game throughout the set. A late break from the Wildcats helped them go up 6-5, before they closed out the match 7-5.
The doubles point came down to a tight tiebreaker on Court 3, where
Sarina Reinertsen and
Nika Novikova fell short two points to Andrea Guerrero and Olivia Sears. The Mavericks earned an early lead, going up 3-0 to start the match. Guerrero and Sears fought back to even the score, then earned a one-game advantage. Reinertsen and Novikova evened the score at 6-6 to force the set to a seven-point tiebreaker.
The tiebreaker went back-and-forth, with both teams fighting for leads and battling to even the score. Eventually, the Wildcats earned two points to take the final doubles match 7-6 (9).
The Mavericks fought hard in singles play to come back from the doubles loss, but ultimately the Wildcats earned the final three points needed to clinch the win.
Reinertsen evened the match score with her third consecutive victory on Court 3 as she took down Crisologo in straight sets. The first set finished in a dominant fashion as Reinertsen did not allow Crisologo a game in the 6-0 victory.
In the second set, Reinertsen got off to a commanding start as she went up 4-0. Crisologo made a small comeback, bringing the score to 4-3. Reinertsen then managed to close out the match as she won the next two games for the 6-3 triumph.
Gorinsek gave the Mavs a brief lead as she earned the next win on Court 1 over Sears for another straight-set win. The first set went smoothly as Gorinsek dropped only one game before going up 6-1 in the match.
Sears made a push in the second after Gorinsek got off to a strong 4-1 start, bringing the score to 4-3. Gorinsek earned the next game for the 5-3 lead, but Sears stayed in it as she pushed to 5-4. In the final game, Gorinsek finished strong as she triumphed 6-4 to put the Mavericks at 2-1.
The Wildcats were quick to even the score as Guerrero took the next match over Casasampere on Court 5 in straight sets. Casasampere trailed by one game throughout the first set, but Guerrero gained a 5-3 lead before winning 6-3.
Casasampere fell behind by two games in the second set, but managed to bring the score close as she was down 5-4. She could not overcome Guerrero, falling in the last game 6-4.
Vergara was the next off as she fell in a close three-set match to Cascos on Court 4. The first set came down to two games, as Vergara trailed close behind throughout. Cascos managed to close out the set by winning the final two games for the 6-4 lead.
The second set finished in a similar manner, except Vergara reversed the score to even the match. She started with a two-game lead, leaving Cascos trailing by one before ending the set 6-4.
Cascos was too much to overcome in the deciding set, starting with a 4-1 lead before allowing Vergara only one more game. The 6-2 victory gave the Wildcats the 3-2 lead in the match as the final matches went to three sets as well.
In a strong comeback on Court 3, Manyoma-Velasquez earned her twelfth victory of the season as she defeated Vrsalovic in the deciding set. The first set stayed close, as Vrsalovic led by one game throughout. Manyoma-Velasquez fought to keep the score within one but fell 7-5.
Manyoma-Velasquez came into the second set fired up, earning a dominant 5-2 lead before battling hard from the baseline to even the score 6-2. The final set finished in a similar fashion, with Manyoma-Velasquez triumphing 6-2 to bring the match score to 3-3.
All eyes were on Court 6 as Novikova played the third deciding-set match of the day, where she ultimately fell to Blair. Novikova came out with momentum in the first set, earning a commanding 4-1 lead. Blair fought back some to bring the score to 4-3, but Novikova closed out the remaining three games for the 6-3 win.
Blair then went up 4-0 in the second set, but Novikova mirrored the first set comeback and brought the score to 4-3. In the final two games, Blair managed to close out the set and even the score 6-3.
The final set stayed close, as Novikova trailed by one throughout. She eventually held her serve then broke Blair's, going up 6-5. As Novikova was one hold away from victory, Blair fought to bring the match to a tiebreaker. Novikova stayed close in the beginning, but Blair clinched the win in a 7-6 (4) set.
The Mavericks will be back in action for their second WAC opponent Tarleton on Sunday at 11 a.m. at the UTA Tennis Center.
UTA 3, ACU 4
Doubles
- Maria Cascos/ Masha Vrsalovic (ACU) def. Tara Gorinsek/ Mariana Manyoma-Velasquez (UTA) 7-5
- Bruna Casasampere/ Francisca Vergara (UTA) def. Libby Blair/ Maryjoe Crisologo (ACU) 6-1
- Andrea Guerrero/ Olivia Sears (ACU) def. Sarina Reinertsen/ Nika Novikova (UTA) 7-6 (9)
Singles
- Tara Gorinsek (UTA) def. Olivia Sears (ACU) 6-1, 6-4
- Sarina Reinertsen (UTA) def. Maryjoe Crisologo (ACU) 6-0, 6-3
- Mariana Manyoma-Velasquez (UTA) def. Masha Vrsalovic (ACU) 5-7, 6-2, 6-2
- Maria Cascos (ACU) def. Francisca Vergara (UTA) 6-4, 4-6, 6-2
- Andrea Guerrero (UTA) def. Bruna Casasampere (UTA) 6-3, 6-4
- Libby Blair (UTA) def. Nika Novikova (UTA) 6-3, 3-6, 7-6 (4)
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