SAN ANTONIO — UTSA rallied for the doubles point and then held off McNeese State in several competitive singles contests for a 5-2 victory on Saturday at the UTSA Tennis Center.
After Hannah Brett and Charoline Erlandsson downed Laura Cabrera and Charlene Tiwari on the third doubles court, 6-3, the Roadrunners (1-0) picked up wins at the Nos. 1 and 2 positions to take an early 1-0 lead.
Kylee Kato and Miriam Rosell Canudas held off Giovanna Fioretti and Sarah Jurakova 7-5, on center court and Denisa Ibrahimovic and Sonia Madroñal Medina defeated Stella Carra and Phonexay Chitdara, 6-4, to clinch the point.
Rosell Canudas, the nation's 51st-ranked singles player, quickly extended the advantage to two when she downed Fioretti in straight sets (6-2, 6-1) at the top spot in the lineup.
The Cowgirls (1-3) quickly pulled to within one when Brett extended her winning streak to 18 matches after getting past Lina Hallgren on the third court by scores of 6-1, 6-4.
McNeese State then tied things up after Jurakova topped Ibrahimovic in two sets (6-3, 6-4) at the second position.
That set the stage for an exciting finish, as the final three matches all were nail-biters.
Kato held off Carra in three stanzas at the No. 6 slot, 6-1, 4-6, 6-3, to help UTSA retake the lead and Cabrera got past Erlandsson in a second-set tiebreaker at court five, 7-5, 7-6 (8-6), to clinch the Roadrunners' fourth victory in their last five matchups with their former Southland Conference foe.
Tiwari closed out the three-hour, 24-minute affair with a 4-6, 6-4, 6-2 triumph against Chitdara at the No. 4 position.
UTSA will return to action next Saturday, Feb. 4, when it makes the trek north to San Marcos to square off with I-35 rival Texas State (1-0). First serve is scheduled for 3 p.m.
UTSA 5, McNeese State 2
Doubles
1. Kato/Rosell Canudas (UTSA) def. Fioretti/Jurakova (MCN) 7-5
2. Ibrahimovic/Madroñal Medina (UTSA) def. Carra/Chitdara (MCN) 6-4
3. Brett/Erlandsson (MCN) def. Cabrera/Tiwari (UTSA) 6-3
Singles
1. #51 Miriam Rosell Canudas (UTSA) def. Giovanna Fioretti (MCN) 6-2, 6-1
2. Sarah Jurakova (MCN) def. Denisa Ibrahimovic (UTSA) 6-3, 6-4
3. Hannah Brett (MCN) def. Lina Hallgren (UTSA) 6-1, 6-4
4. Charleen Tiwari (UTSA) def. Phonexay Chitdara (MCN) 4-6, 6-4, 6-2
5. Laura Cabrera (UTSA) def. Charoline Erlandsson (MCN) 7-5, 7-6 (8-6)
6. Kylee Kato (UTSA) def. Stella Carra (MCN) 6-1, 4-6, 6-3
Order of finish: Doubles (3,1,2); Singles (1,3,2,6,5,4)
