ARLINGTON– The UT Arlington women's tennis team (13-6, 3-2 WAC) secured their third Western Athletic Conference (WAC) victory with a 6-1 triumph over Utah Tech on Wednesday at the UTA Tennis Center.
 
Doubles went in the Mavs' favor as they secured wins on each court for the 1-0 lead heading into singles play.
 
First-time pairing Tara Gorinsek and Ioana Dumitrescu secured their first win as a duo on Court 2 without dropping a game. The two got off to a strong start over Ana Gutierrez Sampere and Ya-Chi Hsu as they continued to break and hold serve throughout the match. The 6-0 victory gave the Mavs the first win of the day and put the pair at 1-0 on the season.
 
Next off was Ana Paula Jimenez and Sarina Reinertsen as they earned another commanding win to clinch the doubles point on Court 3 over Olivia Bustos and Adithi Venkatakrishnan. The Mavs earned the first game, then the Trailblazers shortly followed to even the score. Jimenez and Reinertsen then earned the next five games to secure the 6-1, allowing Bustos and Venkatakrishnan just the one game. The victory puts Jimenez and Reinertsen at 3-1 in WAC play and pushes them to 11-6 overall.
 
After the early lead had been decided, Francisca Vergara and Bruna Casasampere closed out a tight match over Rachel Mellor and Mariana Zurita in their Court 1 debut. The Trailblazers got off to an early lead, going up 3-0 at the second changeover. Casasampere and Vergara fought hard to comeback as they secured three games in a row to even the score.
 
As the set remained on-serve, Mellor and Zurita led by one game until Vergara and Casasampere managed to tie up the match at 6-6. As the tiebreaker began, the Trailblazers started off strong to go up 5-3, but the Mavs were not to be outdone as they scored the next four points for the 7-6 (5) win. The victory gives Casasampere and Vergara their thirteenth win of the season and they remain undefeated in WAC play.
 
Singles play followed in a similar fashion, with the Mavs dominating all but one court in the 6-1 conquest.
 
First off was Court 2, as Reinertsen's opponent Sampere was forced to retire due to injury in the second set. After Reinertsen had closed out the first set 6-1, she had gone up 4-1 in the second when the match was called.
 
Casasampere put the Mavs one win away from victory as she closed out her match on Court 4 over Mellor in straight sets. In the first set, Casasampere carried a one-game lead up until 3-2, when she secured three consecutive games for the 6-3 lead heading into the second set.
 
The momentum continued into the second set, as Casasampere earned a commanding 5-1 lead to begin. Mellor made a small push near the end, earning two games in a row, but Casasampere was not to be outdone. She scored the final game for the 6-3 win as she moved her WAC record to 4-1 and 19-7 overall.
 
Shortly after Casasampere closed out her match, Nika Novikova secured her first WAC win on Court 6 as she clinched the victory for the Mavs. Novika left little doubt in the first set, dropping zero games to Bustos as she closed out the set 6-0.
 
She carried the energy into the second set, earning a strong 3-0 lead before Bustos made a push to bring the score to 3-2. After that, Novikova did not drop another game as she finished off the remaining three games for the 6-2 win.
 
Dumitrescu sustained the lead as she earned her third consecutive singles win with a victory over Hsu on Court 5. The first set got off to an impressive start for Dumitrescu as she went up 4-0 to begin. Hsu earned her only game at 4-1 before Dumitrescu took care of the rest of the set, finishing 6-1.
 
Hsu fought back in the second set, but Dumitrescu proved too strong as she concluded the final game in a dominant fashion. Dumitrescu carried a one-game lead over Hsu throughout the set until 4-3 when she secured the two-game lead to go up 5-3. Hsu made a push to bring the score within one, but Dumitrescu served the match out for the 6-4 win.
 
Jimenez was the next off as she dropped only two games in her Court 3 triumph over Zurita. Zurita held the initial lead in the first set, going up 2-1 at the first changeover. Jimenez then secured the next two games as she reversed the roles and took over the lead. She then proceeded to score the next five games, closing out the set 6-2.
 
The match continued to go in Jimenez's favor in the second set as she capped off her win without dropping another game. The 6-0 victory put her at 3-1 in WAC play and 18-7 overall.
 
All eyes were on Court 1 as Gorinsek was in the middle of a battle with Venkatakrishnan. Venkatakrishnan managed to pull out the first set despite a comeback from Gorinsek after going down 3-0. In the final game of the set, Venkatakrishnan broke Gorinsek's serve on a no-ad point to secure the 6-4 lead.
 
In the second set, Gorinsek got off to a commanding start, going up 3-0 before 5-1. Venkatakrishnan earned her final game of the second set before Gorinsek closed out the set 6-2.
 
As the match had already been decided, a ten-point tiebreaker was in order to decide the winner on Court 1. The tiebreaker stayed even as both players evened the score for one-point leads. As the tiebreaker continued into extra points, Venkatakrishnan gave the Trailblazers a win as she closed out 12-10.
 
The Mavericks will be back in action for their final home match of the season as they take on Seattle University at 2 p.m. on Monday at the UTA Tennis Center.
 
UTA 6, UTAH TECH 1
Doubles

1. Francisca Vergara/ Bruna Casasampere (UTA) def. Rachel Mellor/ Mariana Zurita (UT) 7-6 (5)
2. Tara Gorinsek/ Ioana Dumitrescu (UTA) def. Ana Gutierrez Sampere/ Ya-Chi Hsu (UT) 6-0
3. Ana Paula Jimenez/ Sarina Reinertsen (UTA) def. Olivia Bustos/ Adithi Venkatakrishnan (UT) 6-1

Singles

1. Adithi Venkatakrishnan (UT) def. Tara Gorinsek (UTA) 6-4, 2-6, 12-10
2. Sarina Reinertsen (UTA) def. Ana Gutierrez Sampere (UT) 6-1, 4-1 WR
3. Ana Paula Jimenez (UTA) def. Mariana Zurita (UT) 6-2, 6-0
4. Bruna Casasampere (UTA) def. Rachel Mellor (UT) 6-2, 6-3
5. Ioana Dumitrescu (UTA) def. Ya-Chi Hsu (UT) 6-1, 6-4
6. Nika Novikova (UTA) def. Olivia Bustos (UT) 6-0, 6-2

   
 
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