DENTON, Texas – The eighth-seeded UTSA women's tennis team ended its outstanding season in the quarterfinal round of the C-USA Championships, falling to No. 1 seed FIU by 4-0 on Friday morning at Waranch Tennis Complex in Denton, Texas.
The Panthers took an early 1-0 advantage after winning the doubles point. The duo of Fatima Gutierrez and Alexandra Weir fell to FIU's Yasmine Kabbaj/Oyinlomo Quadre by 6-0 at the second court. Then, Stanislava Borovnikova and Adeliya Mukhutdinova fell to Salma Loudili and Katerina Mandelikova by 6-3 at the third spot.
In singles action, Weir fell to Ekate Khairutdinova by both sets of 6-1 at the second court.
Then, FIU extended its lead to 3-0 as Gutierrez dropped the third court to Quadre by both sets of 6-1.
At the top spot, Zlatarova battled with Kabbaj through three sets. Zlatarova took the first set by 6-2, while Kabbaj tok the second one by 6-1. FIU sealed the deal as Kabbaj took the third set by 6-2. UTSA fell to the No. 38 Panthers by 4-0 in the quarterfinal round of the C-USA Championships.
UTSA ends its season with a 14-10 overall record, while FIU moves on with a 16-4 record.
This marks the end of one of the most successful seasons for the women's tennis programs in recent history. The Roadrunners' 14 wins was the most since the 2009 season when the team had a 16-8 record. Some of the most notable wins include a four-match winning streak early in the season, a win over No. 69 North Texas and a program-first win over Houston.
The Roadrunners saw a lot of individual success from returners and newcomers alike. Aleksandra Zlatarova dominated at the top singles spot with 17-4 record, while Lexie Weir held down the second court with a 15-8 record. Newcomers Magda Tuells and Fatima Gutierrez made an immediate impact to the UTSA lineup, toting 11-9 and 9-9 records at the fourth and third courts, respectively. Tuells and Zlatarova put up double-digit wins (10) at the first doubles court together.
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