ARLINGTON– The UT Arlington women's tennis team (10-6, 0-2 WAC) fell 5-2 in a close battle against Tarleton State in their second Western Athletic Conference match of the season on Sunday at the UTA Tennis Center.
 
The Mavericks got off to a strong start as they took the doubles point with two out of three wins.
 
Bruna Casasampere and Francisca Vergara finished their match on Court 2 first, earning their third consecutive win in a dominant fashion. The pair allowed Ximena Morales and Elsa Boisson only one game before they won the next six, closing out the match 6-1.
 
Court 1 clinched the doubles point as Tara Gorinsek and Mariana Manyoma-Velasquez evened their record with a solid win over Maretha Burger and Martha Makantasi. The score stayed close to begin with, until Gorinsek and Manyoma-Velasquez took the 4-3 lead. Strong net play from Gorinsek helped the Mavs close out the match 6-3 and clinch the early lead.
 
Doubles play continued after the clinch, as the Texans earned their only doubles win on Court 3. Noelia Lorca and Emma Persson won a tight battle after leading by one game throughout over Ana Paula Jimenez and Sarina Reinertsen 6-4.
 
Despite several Mavs going up by one set to begin singles play, they could not overcome a late push from the Texans as they fell in all but one singles match.
 
Casasampere kept the doubles momentum going as she earned the only straight-set win of the day over Adeliya Mukhutdinova on Court 6. Initially, Casasampere went down 4-1 in the first set as Mukhutdinova took the lead. A strong comeback from Casasampere helped her to eventually lead 5-4, then take the last game for the 6-4 win.
 
In the second set, Mukhutdinova stayed close behind Casasampere as she carried a one-game lead throughout the set. Casasampere eventually earned the final game necessary to win 6-4 and put the Mavs up 2-0.
 
The Texans retaliated on Court 3 as Makantasi snapped Manyoma-Velasquez's winning streak in three sets. Manyoma-Velasquez earned a commanding lead in the first set, going up 5-0 before allowing Makantasi two games. She managed to finish it off 6-2 before heading into the next set.
 
Makantasi earned a lead of her own to begin the second set, going up 3-0. Manyoma-Velasquez closed the gap slightly as she earned the next two games to trail by one, but Makantasi eventually tied up the score 6-3.
 
The final set came down to two games, with Manyoma-Velasquez falling 6-4. Makantasi gave the Texans their first point of the match at 2-1.
 
Next to fall was Gorinsek in another close deciding-set match on Court 1. She came out strong, dropping only one game to Persson for the 6-1 win.
 
Gorinsek then went up 3-0 in the second, but a late push from Persson put Gorinsek behind 4-3. She earned only one more game before Persson evened the score with the 6-4 win.
 
The next set followed in a similar fashion, coming down to the final two games. Gorinsek battled to keep the score within one game, but Persson was too strong to overcome, evening the match with a 6-3 win.
 
Court 5 also went to three sets, where Vergara took a tough loss to Morales. Vergara also continued her doubles success as she was quick to take the first set 6-3. Morales was quick to come back with her own set win as she closed out the second 6-2.
 
Vergara carried a one game lead throughout the third set, but Morales made a two-game run to gain the lead. Morales overpowered Vergara in the final game as she put the Texans in the lead with her 6-4 victory.
 
With the Mavs trailing by one, Reinertsen had a strong showing on Court 2 to try and even the score but could not overcome Boisson in three tight sets.
 
After going down by three games, Reinertsen made a push to comeback and even the score at 4-4. She kept the score even as she moved Boisson around the court, which eventually led to a set tiebreaker. Reinertsen came out victorious as she won the final two points for the 7-6 (5) triumph.
 
Boisson did not back down in the second set as she pushed Reinertsen to keep the score tight. She eventually earned the late lead to go up 5-4, then took the final game for the 6-4 win and a tied match.
 
The final set followed in a similar manner, but Reinertsen fell short as Boisson clinched the match for the Texans. As the score stayed tight, Boisson earned a two-game lead to go up 5-3. Reinertsen stayed in the set, earning the next game for a one-game deficit. She could not overpower Boisson in the end, as she fell 6-4.
 
After the match had been decided, Jimenez continued her three-set battle on Court 4 against Lorca but had to retire due to injury. She fought hard to keep the match competitive as she brought the first set to a tiebreaker. The tiebreaker stayed close as the opponents exchanged points, but Lorca eventually took the 7-6 (6) win to go up one set.
 
Jimenez battled back in the second, earning a small lead as Lorca trailed by one. She managed to close the set out and even the score with a 6-4 win.
 
As the pair went into the third set, Lorca earned a 4-1 lead before Jimenez retired.
 
The Mavericks will be back in action for their next round of WAC matches as they take on Stephen F. Austin in Nacogdoches, Texas on Friday at 2 p.m., then UT Rio Grande Valley on March 31 in Edinburg, Texas at 11 a.m.
 
UTA 2, TARLETON 5
Doubles

1. Tara Gorinsek/ Mariana Manyoma-Velasquez (UTA) def. Maretha Burger/ Martha Makantasi (TSU) 6-3
2. Bruna Casasampere/ Francisca Vergara (UTA) def. Ximena Morales/ Elsa Boisson (TSU) 6-1
3. Noelia Lorca/ Emma Persson (TSU) def. Ana Paula Jimenez/ Sarina Reinertsen (UTA) 6-4

Singles

1. Emma Persson (TSU) def. Tara Gorinsek (UTA) 1-6, 6-4, 6-3
2. Elsa Boisson (TSU) def. Sarina Reinertsen (UTA) 6-7 (5), 6-4, 6-4
3. Martha Makantasi (TSU) def. Mariana Manyoma-Velasquez (UTA) 2-6, 6-3, 6-4
4. Noelia Lorca (TSU) def. Ana Paula Jimenez (UTA) 7-6 (6), 4-6, 4-1 wr
5. Ximena Morales def. Francisca Vergara (UTA) 3-6, 6-2, 6-4
6. Bruna Casasampere (UTA) def. Adeliya Mukhutdinova (TSU) 6-4, 6-4

 
   
 
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