KINGSVILLE, Texas – The Texas A&M-Kingsville women's tennis program turned in an impressive performance in the 2020 dual season opener on Monday with a 5-2 win over Division I foe Prairie View A&M at the Javelina Tennis Courts.

The Javelinas (1-0) dropped the three doubles matches to the Panthers (0-7) but roared back in the singles matchups with decisions in five of the six pairings to clinch the victory.

"I'm pleased with the way we played," said head coach Autumn Wollenzien. "I saw a lot of the things we've been working on in the last month. We will improve in doubles and singles were on par with what we expected.

"We fought hard, stayed resilient and came away with a win. That's all I asked for."

The doubles tandems featured sophomore Maya Donkor (McLean, Va.) and senior Victoria Romanovskaia (Simferopol, Crimea, Russia) at the top spot that saw the two fall 6-4 to Victoria Castillo and Mahogani Green. Junior Laura Montalvo (Cochabamba, Bolivia) and senior Stephanie Baerman (San Antonio, Texas) faced Jessica Lackey and Jimena Duran-Castellanos in the second slot where the PVAMU duo handed the TAMUK pair a 6-1 loss.

Newcomer Franka Sindicic (Zagreb, Croatia) teamed up with senior Valerie Ruiz (San Antonio, Texas) in the third tandem against Salma Villalobos and Claudia Medina, but eventually fell 6-4 to wrap up doubles play.

The singles matchups told a different story as Romanovskaia was the first to finish with a 6-2, 6-2 sweep of Duran-Castellanos in the top flight. Baerman followed suit with a 6-2, 6-3 win over Anette Lira in the sixth position, while Donkor added a 6-1, 6-3 win over Green in the third spot.

Villalobos handed out the only singles loss for the Javelinas as she bested Sindicic in consecutive sets, 6-4 and 6-3, but Ruiz clinched the match for the hosts with a 6-4, 6-3 win over Medina in the fourth matchup.

The final pairing between Montalvo and Castillo encroached on a third set as Montalvo grabbed the first at 6-1 before Castillo forced a super tiebreaker in the second with a 6-6 score. A tense back-and-forth battle ensued on both halves of the court but it was Montalvo who won out in the end as she sealed the tiebreak at 9-7 for the 5-2 team final.

The Javelinas have a brief reprieve from their schedule and will return to action on Thursday, February 6, with a matchup against their second Division I foe of the season in Corpus Christi, Texas, against Texas A&M-Corpus Christi starting at 2 p.m. CT.

To keep up-to-date with Javelina tennis, follow the program on Facebook at /JavelinaSports or on Twitter @JavelinaTennis

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