KINGSVILLE, Texas – Phonephathep Philavong won a tiebreaking final set to seal an upset for the Texas A&M-Kingsville women's tennis team over the No. 12 Midwestern State Mustangs, 5-4, at the Javelinas Tennis Courts on Saturday evening in Kingsville, Texas.

Philavong's match clinching win came after she dropped the first set to Bianca Duff, an all-Lone Star Conference selection in 2017. Philavong came back to take the second, 6-4, and forged a 5-2 lead in the third. Duff clawed back to within 5-4, but TAMUK's junior ended any hopes for a revival right there. She broke Duff's serve to seal the victory, 3-6, 6-4, 6-4

The match began with three doubles tandems from each side facing off and the Mustangs grabbed the early lead. Duff and Maddy Coffman earned an 8-4 win over Victoria Romanovskaia and Valerie Ruiz. Stephanie Baerman and Laura Montalvo got the Javelinas on the board by edging Greta Lazzarotto and Ashley Ramirez, 9-7, but the Javs ended the doubles portion down 2-1 when Philavong and Viviana Ortiz were defeated 8-6.

Singles play is where the Hoggies swung the match in their favor. Ruiz cruised past Anna Claire Gerletti 6-3, 6-1 and Montalvo had nearly as easy a time with Lazzarotto, earning another Javelina point in 6-4, 6-1 fashion. Coffman and Ramirez swung the Mustangs back into the lead by topping Romanovskaia and Julia Rauer, but it was a short-lived advantage. Baerman tied things up soon after, besting Emilija Segetlija 6-4, 6-4 and giving Philavong a chance to finish the upset.

March 3rd is the date for TAMUK's next match which will be held in Arlington against Arkansas-Fort Smith. Receive content for Texas A&M-Kingsville tennis by following @JavelinaTennis on Twitter and Instagram, liking the official Facebook page of Javelina Athletics (/JavelinaSports), and subscribing to the JavelinaAthletics YouTube channel.