SAN ANTONIO – The UTSA women's tennis team host their first home matches of the spring season this weekend, welcoming Tarleton State on Friday at 2 p.m. (CT) and Texas State on Sunday at 1 p.m. at UTSA Tennis Center.
UTSA has a 4-2 record to start the season, after coming off their second straight weekend sweep. The Roadrunners are currently on a four-match winning streak, defeating Lamar, 4-1, on Feb. 4 and Sam Houston, 4-3, on Feb. 5. There are three Roadrunners with four wins in singles action – Aleksandra Zlatarova (4-1 at No. 1), Lexie Weir (4-2 at No. 2) and Magda Tuells (4-2 at No. 4).
Aleksandra Zlatarova was just named the C-USA Women's Tennis Player of the Week on Wednesday after a great showing last weekend. Zlatarova helped lead UTSA to its second straight weekend sweep over Lamar, 4-1 and Sam Houston, 4-3. Zlatarova, along with teammate Fatima Gutierrez, opened up doubles play with a 6-2 win over Lamar's duo at the No. 1 spot. In singles, Zlatarova won the first set, 6-4, and went unfinished in the second set, 6-6, at the No. 1 spot as UTSA clinched the 4-1 win. Against Sam Houston, Zlatarova and Gutierrez clinched the doubles point with a 6-4 win. In singles action, she lost the first set by 5-7, but won the second set 7-5 after being down 5-2, taking it to a third set which she won, 6-2.
The Texans have a 2-2 record to start the season, after defeating Oral Roberts, 4-3 on Feb. 3. Friday's match will be the first time UTSA and Tarleton State have played each other, after Tarleton State made the transition to Division I in 2020. Tarleton's No. 1 singles player Martha Makantasi has started the season with a 2-1 record, also going 1-1 in doubles action with teammate Elsa Boisson.
The Bobcats have a 1-2 record to begin the 2023 campaign, after falling to UIW, 4-3, on Feb. 4. UTSA and Sam Houston last played each other on April 9, 2021, when the Roadrunners defeated the Bobcats, 4-1. UTSA is on a six-match winning streak over Texas State, dating back to 2016. The Bobcats' No. 1 singles player Kiana Graham holds a 1-2 record, while No. 5 player Andrea Pineda is the only singles player with at least two wins so far.
UP NEXT: The Roadrunners head west for a three-match weekend in Las Vegas, Nev., on Feb. 17-19. UTSA opens the weekend against Utah Tech on Feb. 17 at 10 a.m., before facing UNLV on Feb. 18 at 10 a.m. and Kansas City on Feb. 19 at 10 a.m.
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Mario Terrana