SAN ANTONIO – The No. 38 Texas A&M University-Kingsville women's tennis program dropped the regular-season finale on Tuesday at the Rohrbach Stadium Tennis Complex to regional foe No. 7 St. Mary's.

The Javelinas (12-11) took the No. 2 doubles matchup against the Rattlers (17-3) but couldn't find the momentum in singles play as the hosts took the decision at 7-2.

Sophomore Valerie Ruiz (San Antonio, Texas) took advantage of playing in her home town and extended her regular-season unbeaten streak to 11 matches with a hard-fought, three-set win over Alex Corder at the No. 5 singles bout, 6-1, 5-7, 10-5.

Ruiz currently leads the Blue and Gold with a 14-6 record over the course of the spring season, including a 9-2 mark at the No. 5 singles spot.

The Ronald Reagan H.S. product teamed up with junior Phonephathep Philavong (Vientiane, Laos) to claim the only doubles win of the day over the Rattler duo of Paulina Torres and Rani Goodland with an 8-5 decision.

Philavong put up a fight in the No. 2 singles matchup against Tyra Timm, but Timm would hold out for a 6-3, 3-6, 10-2 final.

Coming into the match, the No. 3 combo of sophomore Victoria Romanovskaia (Simferopol, Crimea) and senior Viviana Ortiz (Guayaquil, Ecuador) owned a 10-2 record in doubles play, including a 7-2 mark at the third spot, but couldn't find the winning combination as they dropped an 8-3 decision to Corder and Ally Maciel.

Sophomore Stephanie Baerman (San Antonio, Texas) was unable to find the winning recipe to extend her unbeaten streak in singles play, which stood at 11 matches heading into today, as she suffered a 6-4, 6-1 loss to Rani Goodland at the No. 6 singles bout.

The Javelinas will now head into postseason play as the fourth seed in the Lone Star Conference Tournament, set for April 20-21 at the H.E.B. Tennis Center in Corpus Christi, Texas. TAMUK will face off with fifth-seeded Angelo State on Friday, April 20, with first serve set for 10 a.m. CT. The winner of the match will go on to face top-seeded Midwestern State later in the day.

Tennis Match Results
Tex. A&M-Kingsville vs St. Mary's (TX)
Apr 17, 2018 at San Antonio, Texas
(Rohrbach Stadium Tennis Complex)

#7 St. Mary's (TX) 7, #38 Tex. A&M-Kingsville 2

Singles competition
1. Kaylin Kruseman (STMU) def. Vic Romanovskaia (TAMUK) 6-2, 6-2
2. Tyra Timm (STMU) def. Thep Philavong (TAMUK) 6-3, 3-6, 10-2
3. Ally Maciel (STMU) def. Laura Montalvo (TAMUK) 6-3, 6-3
4. Paulina Torres (STMU) def. Julia Rauer (TAMUK) 6-4, 6-2
5. Valerie Ruiz (TAMUK) def. Alex Corder (STMU) 6-1, 5-7, 10-5
6. Rani Goodland (STMU) def. Stephanie Baerman (TAMUK) 6-4, 6-1

Doubles competition
1. Kaylin Kruseman/Tyra Timm (STMU) def. Stephanie Baerman/Laura Montalvo (TAMUK) 8-5
2. Valerie Ruiz/Thep Philavong (TAMUK) def. Paulina Torres/Rani Goodland (STMU) 8-5
3. Alex Corder/Ally Maciel (STMU) def. Vic Romanovskaia/Viviana Ortiz (TAMUK) 8-3

Match Notes:
Tex. A&M-Kingsville 12-11; National ranking #38; Regional ranking #7
St. Mary's (TX) 17-3; National ranking #7; Regional ranking #1

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