SAN ANTONIO – The UTSA women’s tennis team ended the regular season with a 7-0 sweep of Lamar at the UTSA Tennis Courts on Wednesday afternoon in San Antonio.
The Roadrunners improved to a 16-6 record, while Lamar fell to a 9-14 record. UTSA closed out its regular season with an undefeated 9-0 record at home, its first undefeated record since the 1992 season. The Roadrunners also concluded the regular season on a six-match winning streak.
The Roadrunners took an early advantage, sweeping all three courts in doubles action. The duo of Fatima Gutierrez and Ekua Youri defeated the Cardinals’ Martina Alcaino and Elena Rubio by 6-1 at the second court to start it off strong. Then, Cassie McLay and Aleksandra Zlatarova took down Megan Do and Marika Mueller at the top spot, 6-2, to clinch the doubles point quickly. Playing through the final court, Eva Beyebach and Magda Tuells came out victorious in a hard-fought 7-5 victory at No. 3 to earn the UTSA sweep in doubles.
Baccino, a freshman from Savona, Italy, dominated her opponent at the No. 4 court, earning a quick win in two sets by 6-3 and 6-0 to open singles action. Shortly after that, Zlatarova took down Do at the second court by sets of 6-0 and 6-2 to put the team just one point from clinching the win.
Gutierrez followed quickly behind, defeating Mueller at the No. 1 spot with sets of 6-0 and 6-2, to officially clinch the win for the Roadrunners. The teams continued to play through the final three singles courts.
With two sets of 6-2, Youri extended her winning streak to four by defeating her opponent Martina Alcaino at the fifth court. McLay then won her third court by sets of 6-1 and 6-2 for the sixth point of the match. At the sixth court, Tuells battled through a tough three-set matchup with her opponent Saloni Tamang. She won the first set by 7-5 before losing the second set by 6-4. In the third set, the two of them battled back and forth for a while, but Tuells came out victorious by 10-6 to clinch the match-sweeping seventh point. UTSA defeated Lamar by 7-0 on the Wednesday regular season finale matchup.
UTSA 7 – LU 0
Doubles Results (UTSA 1 – LU 0)
Order of Finish: 2, 1, 3
1. Cassie McLay/Aleksandra Zlatarova (UTSA) def. Megan Do/Marika Mueller (LU) 6-2
2. Fatima Gutierrez/Ekua Youri (UTSA) def. Martina Alcaino/Elena Rubio (LU) 6-1
3. Eva Beyebach/Magda Tuells (UTSA) def. Saloni Tamang/Jayci Wong (LU) 7-5
Singles Results (UTSA 6 – LU 0)
Order of Finish: 4, 2, 1, 5, 3, 6
1. Fatima Gutierrez (UTSA) def. Marika Mueller (LU) 6-0, 6-2
2. Aleksandra Zlatarova (UTSA) def. Megan Do (LU) 6-0, 6-2
3. Cassie McLay (UTSA) def. Elena Rubio (LU) 6-1, 6-2
4. Vittoria Baccino (UTSA) def. Nouray Metwally (LU) 6-3, 6-0
5. Ekua Youri (UTSA) def. Martina Alcaino (LU) 6-2, 6-2
6. Magda Tuells (UTSA) def. Saloni Tamang (LU) 7-5, 4-6, 10-6
SENIOR DAY RECOGNITIONS
Prior to the start of today’s match, four Roadrunners were recognized for Senior Day celebrations. The first senior of the recognition was Eva Beyebach. A native of Madrid, Spain, Beyebach joined the Roadrunners as a freshman in 2021. In her four-year career, she has picked up 11 wins in singles action and five doubles victories. Off the court, she has excelled in the classroom, earning multiple awards including ITA Scholar-Athlete twice, C-USA Commissioner’s Honor Roll three times and Commissioner’s Academic Medal twice.
The next Roadrunner to be recognized was fifth year graduate student Cassie McLay. The Melbourne, Florida, native joined the squad this past fall to use her final year of eligibility as a graduate student, after spending three seasons and earning her bachelor’s degree at Cincinnati. Since she joined the Roadrunners, she has picked up seven singles wins and 14 doubles victories this spring. Along with fellow senior Aleksandra Zlatarova, McLay was part of the doubles pair that advanced to the semifinal round of the ITA Texas Regionals in the fall.
The next senior was Magda Tuells. Tuells became part of the UTSA family in 2023 after playing at Valdosta State and Hillsborough College. A native of Ibiza, Spain, she has made a huge impact to the Roadrunners in her two seasons, picking up 16 singles wins and 22 doubles victories. In the classroom, she has also seen lots of success as she was named to the C-USA Commissioner’s Honor Roll last year.
The final senior for the ceremony was Aleksandra Zlatarova. A native of Burgas, Bulgaria, she joined the team as a freshman in 2021 and she has been a main stay in the lineup ever since. In her four seasons at UTSA, she has picked up 47 singles wins and 50 doubles wins. At the conclusion of the 2023 season, she was named to the C-USA All-Conference Singles First Team. Along with fellow senior Cassie McLay, she was part of the doubles pair that advanced to the semifinal round of the ITA Texas Regionals in the fall. She has also excelled in the classroom, earning ITA Scholar-Athlete twice, C-USA Commissioner’s Honor Roll three times and C-USA Academic Medal once.
Up Next
The Roadrunners will wait to find out what seed they have earned for the upcoming American Athletic Conference Championships, which is taking place on April 17-21 at the Styslinger/Altec Tennis Complex on SMU’s campus in Dallas, Texas.
-UTSA-