EDINBURG, Texas (Tennis) – No. 20
Mariaxi Herrera and
Nadia Grlj came from behind to earn tiebreaking victories in singles No. 1 and 4 and
Erika Larrea downed Camilla Trujillo in straight sets in flight No. 6 but Texas A&M University-Kingsville (0-1) fell to Western Athletic Conference affiliate University of Texas-Pan American (3-2), 4-3, on Sunday morning at the Orville Cox Tennis Center.
The Division I Broncs improved to 3-0 against the Javelinas after taking all three doubles matches (count as one point in NCAA Division I).
Larrea's 6-2, 6-2 win in singles No. 6 gave the Hogs their first point of the season-opening match and cut TAMUK's deficit to 2-1. However, UTPA earned a close match point with a 6-4, 7-5 victory in singles No. 2 over
Marija Dimitrovska that was countered with a 3-6, 6-3, 6-3 win by Kingsville's Grlj. Texas-Pan American clinched the win with a 6-4, 7-5 victory in No. 5 despite
Paula Saenz's furious rally. The three-set thriller in singles No. 1 stole the show as Herrera was able to come from behind and earn a win over Dominique Esparza, 2-6, 6-4, 7-5.
Texas A&M-Kingsville returns to the courts on Feb. 6 to take on another Division I foe, Prairie View A&M University at 2 p.m. The Panthers swept TAMUK, 9-0, in their lone meeting on Feb. 3, 2012, the second match of TAMUK's first season since being reinstated.
For all the latest in Texas A&M-Kingsville Tennis, please follow @JavelinaTennis on Twitter and @JavelinaAthletics on Instagram, and like the official TAMUK Facebook page (JavelinaNation) or visit the official website at JavelinaAthletics.com.
