DALLAS – The UTSA women’s tennis team battled with eighth-seeded Tulane and prevailed with a 4-2 victory in the second round of the American Athletic Conference Championships at the Styslinger/Altec Tennis Complex on Thursday morning in Dallas.
UTSA improved to a 17-6 overall record, while Tulane ends its season with an 11-9 record. The Roadrunners have extended their match-winning streak to seven matches in a row.
Cassie McLay and Aleksandra Zlatarova set the tone with a 6-3 win at the top doubles court against the Green Wave’s Kristen Borland and Lahari Yelamanchili. The Roadrunners then clinched the doubles point as the duo of Fatima Gutierrez/Ekua Youri took down Cora Barber and Mackenzie Clark by 6-4 at the second spot.
With a 1-0 advantage, the Roadrunners geared up for singles action. Freshman Vittoria Baccino started things off with a victory at the fourth spot, winning by sets of 6-1 and 6-4 over Barber. The Green Wave then took the next two singles points at the second and third courts to knot the score at 2-2.
Magda Tuells got the 3-2 advantage back for UTSA as she defeated her opponent Jiayun Zhu by set scores of 6-2 and 6-0 at the sixth spot. The final two courts were fighting to clinch the match, forcing third sets at both the first and fifth spots. It was freshman phenom Youri who got the job done for the Roadrunners.
Falling in the first set by 6-0, Youri fought through the early disadvantage. She took the second set by 6-2 over Brooke Theis at the No. 5 court, forcing a deciding third set. Youri then completed the victory with a 6-3 third set win, clinching the 4-2 win for UTSA to advance to the quarterfinal round.
UTSA 4 – TULANE 2
Doubles Results (UTSA 1 – TULANE 0)
Order of Finish: 1, 2
1. Cassie McLay/Aleksandra Zlatarova (UTSA) def. Kristen Borland/Lahari Yelamanchili (TLN) 6-3
2. Fatima Gutierrez/Ekua Youri (UTSA) def. Cora Barber/Mackenzie Clark (TLN) 6-4
3. Brooke Theis/Jiayun Zhu (TLN) vs. Vittoria Baccino/Magda Tuells (UTSA) 5-4, unfinished
Singles Results (UTSA 3 – TULANE 2)
Order of Finish: 4, 2, 3, 6, 5
1. Lahari Yelamanchili (TLN) vs. Fatima Gutierrez (UTSA) 7-5, 0-6, 4-1, unfinished
2. Mackenzie Clark (TLN) def. Aleksandra Zlatarova (UTSA) 6-2, 6-3
3. Kristen Borland (TLN) def. Cassie McLay (UTSA) 6-3, 6-4
4. Vittoria Baccino (UTSA) def. Cora Barber (TLN) 6-1, 6-4
5. Ekua Youri (UTSA) def. Brooke Theis (TLN) 0-6, 6-2, 6-3
6. Magda Tuells (UTSA) def. Jiayun Zhu (TLN) 6-2, 6-0
Up Next
The Roadrunners advance to the quarterfinal round where they will face No. 1 seed and No. 45 ranked SMU on Friday at 9 a.m. The Mustangs hold a 10-11 overall record this season. Hadley Doyle leads the team with 10 wins at the No. 3 singles court, while Taylor Johnson and Drew Morris trail shortly behind with nine wins apiece. Johnson and Lana Mavor have a team-leading 9-4 record at the top doubles court. SMU holds an 11-0 record over UTSA in the all-time series, dating back to the 1995 season.
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