SAN ANTONIO — The UTSA women's tennis team split a pair of matches on Saturday at the UTSA Tennis Center, defeating Northwestern State, 4-3, before dropping a 4-3 decision to UIW.
The Roadrunners moved to 8-5 on the season, while the Lady Demons fell to 5-2 and the Cardinals improved to 6-3.
UTSA 4, Northwestern State 3
UTSA earned its eighth victory of the season in thrilling fashion over Northwestern State on Saturday morning, as Aleksandra Zlatarova providing the clinching point in a 4-3 decision with a three-set win at the top of the singles lineup.
The Roadrunners jumped out to a 1-0 lead after claiming the doubles point.
Zlatarova and Magda Tuells teamed up to defeat Tjasa Klevisar and Ayu Ishibashi, 6-2 at No. 1, only to see the Lady Demons score a 6-2 decision at the second spot. The deciding doubles match came down to court three, where Alexandra Weir and Adeliya Mukhutdinova registered a 6-3 win over Dorota Szczygielska and Renske Ubachs to secure the early advantage.
In singles play, Weir and Tuells posted straight-set victories to hand UTSA a 3-0 lead. Weir downed Klevisar, 6-1, 6-2, at No. 2 and Tuells turned in a 6-4, 6-3 triumph at No. 4.
Northwestern State rallied to within 3-2 after Ubachs Renske upended Stanislava Bobrovnikova, 6-1, 6-4, at the fifth spot and Gig Kanaphuet beat Eva Beyebach, 6-4, 6-3.
The Lady Demons then knotted the score at 3-all after Sofi Garcia pulled out a straight-win on court three.
With all eyes on the No. 1 singles matchup, Zlatarova posted a convincing 6-1 win in the third set after she split the first two, 6-3, 4-6, with Ishibashi, securing the win for the Roadrunners.
UIW 4, UTSA 3
The Roadrunners saw their two-match winning streak come to an end with a close 4-3 setback to UIW in the afternoon match.
UTSA fell behind early to the crosstown Cardinals after dropping the doubles point.
UIW's duo of Amelie Montalvo and Gargi Pawar defeated Beyebach and Bobrovnikova, 6-1, at No. 2 doubles. Lyric Bonilla and Nitika Girish then clinched the first point of the match with a 6-2 decision over Weir and Mukhutdinova on court three.
The Roadrunners pulled even after the completion of the first singles matchup, which saw Weir cruise to a 6-0, 6-1, triumph over Montalvo at No. 2.
The Cardinals reclaimed the lead after Bonilla's straight-set win over Mukhutdinova at the third spot.
Bobrovnikova tied things up at 2-2 after outlasting Sophia Kermet in three sets, 6-3, 4-6, 6-1, on court six.
After UIW moved ahead by one with a three-set win at No. 1 by Brandelyn Fulgenzi over Zlatarova, UTSA made it 3-all when Beyebach registered a 6-4, 3-6, 6-4 victory over Estefania Gonzalez at the fifth position.
With the second match of the day coming down to the final singles match, this time at No. 4, UIW's Pawar and Tuells battled to a third set. Tuells scored a 6-4 win in the opening set, but Pawar forced a third frame after a 6-2 decision, and then outlasted the Roadrunner, 6-3, to clinch the match for the Cardinals.
UP NEXT: The Roadrunners will hit the road to face Rice at 11 a.m. Friday, March 3.
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