SAN ANTONIO -- Jasmin Starr and Kylee Kato turned in strong outings to help lead UTSA women's tennis to a 5-2 win over Southern Miss in the first of a two-match day on Thursday afternoon at the UTSA Tennis Center.
UTSA (9-8) edged Southern Miss (7-1) in its second match against a league foe in 2019. The Roadrunners won a battle for the doubles point to open the day and saw Starr, Kato, Mariah Plauth and Catalina Cabrique each earn singles points.
After the first two doubles matches were split, it came down to court one with Starr and Kato facing Ariana Amaning and Tjasa Jerse, who entered the day with a 5-1 record as a duo. The Golden Eagles rallied from down 3-5 to take a 6-5 lead before the Roadrunners evened it up at six. The tiebreaker went to 6-6 before the Roadrunners secured the point.
The pairing of Sophie Omoworare and Catalina Cabrique claimed the winner on court three, 5-1, with Rikeetha Pereira and Ebru Zeynep Yazgan posting a 5-2 win over Mariah Plauth and Charleen Tiwari on court two, improving to 7-1 as a pair.
The Roadrunners will return to action at 5 p.m. on Thursday, hosting Laredo Community College at the UTSA Tennis Center.
- UTSA -
UTSA Women's Tennis 5, Southern Miss 2
Singles competition
1. Jasmin Starr (UTSAW) def. Ariana Amaning (USM) 7-5, 7-5
2. Rikeetha Pereira (USM) def. Laura Cabrera (UTSAW) 6-4, 6-1
3. Kylee Kato (UTSAW) def. Tjasa Jerse (USM) 6-1, 6-1
4. Mariah Plauth (UTSAW) def. Katia De La Garza (USM) 6-4, 6-4
5. Ebru Zeynep Yazgan (USM) def. Charleen Tiwari (UTSAW) 6-7 (0-7), 6-2, 3-3, retired
6. Catalina Cabrique (UTSAW) def. Tanit Lopez (USM) 7-5, 2-6, 6-3
Doubles competition
1. Jasmin Starr/Kylee Kato (UTSAW) def. Ariana Amaning/Tjasa Jerse (USM) 7-6 (7-0)
2. Rikeetha Pereira/Ebru Zeynep Yazgan (USM) def. Mariah Plauth/Charleen Tiwari (UTSAW) 6-2
3. Sophie Omoworare/Catalina Cabrique (UTSAW) def. Monique Burton/Katia De La Garza (USM) 6-1
Order of finish: Doubles (3,2,1); Singles (5,3,1,2,6,4)
