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RIO GRANDE VALLEY \u2013\u00a0The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV) women’s tennis team defeated the University of Texas Permian Basin (UTPB) Falcons, 5-2, Thursday at Orville Cox Tennis Center. Support UTRGV Women’s Tennis<\/a>\u00a0|\u00a0Become a Fan on Facebook<\/a>\u00a0|\u00a0Follow us on Twitter<\/a>\u00a0|\u00a0Follow us on Instagram<\/a>\u00a0|\u00a0Follow us on YouTube<\/a><\/p>\n Read Full Article
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\nThe two teams played four doubles matches, with the fourth court counting as an exhibition. The Vaqueros sweeped the doubles matches with dominant wins on all four courts. The first match to end was on court two where the duo of sophomore Mariia Bakhtina<\/a> and junior Hitakamya Narwal<\/a> earned a swift 6-0 win. The duo of sophomore Luna Buijtenhuijs<\/a> and senior Yaiza Vazquez<\/a> clinched the doubles point with a 6-1 win on court three.
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\nMeanwhile, junior Rhea Makesar<\/a> and graduate student Barbara Martinez<\/a> picked up a 6-2 win on court one to solidify the sweep. And on court four, junior Giuliana Castelain<\/a> and senior Valentina Urraco<\/a> dominated in a 6-0 win on the exhibition court.
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\nEntering singles play with a 1-0 lead, the Vaqueros continued to dominate. The first to finish was Martinez on court one. Martinez jumped out to an emphatic 5-0 first set lead, which included three breaks, before winning 6-1. In the second, her opponent Fanny Bergstrom took an early 3-1 lead. However, Martinez bounced back, winning five straight games to take the match with a 6-3 win.
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\nThe next match to finish was court four. Bakhtina cruised to a dominant 6-0 win over Mattea Bowe in the first set. Bowe broke Bakhtina’s serve to open the second set. Bakhtina returned the favor to knot the match at 2-2. Then, with a 5-4 lead in the second set, Bakhtina broke Bowe’s serve without allowing a single point to claim a 6-4 win.
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\nUrraco clinched the match with a 6-1, 6-3 win on court five. Urraco and Alyssa Glasgow were tied at 1-1 in the first before Urraco won five in a row to win the first 6-1. Glasgow jumped out to a quick 3-0 advantage in the second before Urraco turned in six straight games to clinch the match for the Vaqueros.
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\nThen, the Falcons picked up wins on courts two and six to make the overall score 4-2.
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\nThe final match of the day, on court three, went to a deciding 10-point tiebreaker. Makesar and Sophia Rashid played long points, often seeing rallies of over eight shots. That created a tense and long environment as their 6-2 set, in favor of Makesar, was the last first set to finish. In similar fashion, Rashid earned a 6-2 second set win, once again the longest of the day. In the tiebreaker, the opponents switched at 3-3 and 7-5, in favor of Makesar, proving the intensity of the match. Then, Makesar flipped the switch winning three of the final four points to clinch the match and a 5-2 win for UTRGV.
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\nThe Vaqueros will hit the road for a neutral site matchup with a familiar foe in Tarleton. They will meet at Austin Tennis Center for their match Sunday at 5 p.m.
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\nResults
\nDoubles (2, 3, 1)\u00a0
\n1. Rhea Makesar<\/a>\/Barbara Martinez<\/a> (UTRGV) def. Fanny Bergstrom\/Sophia Rashid (UTPB), 6-2
\n2. Mariia Bakhtina<\/a>\/Hitakamya Narwal<\/a> (UTRGV) def. Mattea Bowe\/Dinethya Dharmaratne (UTPB), 6-0
\n3. Luna Buijtenhuijs<\/a>\/Yaiza Vazquez<\/a> (UTRGV) def. Alyssa Glasgow\/Paige Sitanggang (UTPB), 6-1
\n4 (exhibition). Giuliana Castelain<\/a>\/Valentina Urraco<\/a> (UTRGV) def. Sophia Crosby\/Peyton Jones (UTPB), 6-0
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\nSingles (1, 4, 5, 6, 2, 3)\u00a0\u00a0
\n1. Barbara Martinez<\/a> (UTRGV) def. Fanny Bergstrom (UTPB), 6-1, 6-3
\n2. Dinethya Dharmaratne (UTPB) def. Yaiza Vazquez<\/a> (UTRGV), 6-2, 6-3
\n3. Rhea Makesar<\/a> (UTRGV) def. Sophia Rashid (UTPB), 6-2, 2-6, 1-0 (10:6)
\n4. Mariia Bakhtina<\/a> (UTRGV) def. Mattea Bowe (UTPB), 6-0, 6-4
\n5. Valentina Urraco<\/a> (UTRGV) def. Alyssa Glasgow (UTPB), 6-1, 6-3
\n6. Paige Sitanggang (UTPB) def. Giuliana Castelain<\/a> (UTRGV), 6-2, 6-2<\/p>\n
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