ARLINGTON, Texas - The Texas A&M-Kingsville women's tennis program clinched its first Lone Star Conference win of the 2021 dual season on Saturday with a 4-3 decision against DBU at the Arlington Tennis Center.
"It was a team win," said head coach Autumn Wollenzien. "The girls bounced back after doubles and dug deep on every court to pull out a great battle against a good team. I'm very proud of everyone."
The Javelinas (4-7, 1-3 LSC) dropped the doubles point to the Patriots (14-5, 4-3 LSC) but got a win in four singles flights, including three going to a third set, to come away with the victory.
Ira Vogelmann and Devon Austin-Canning turned in a 6-1 decision over newcomers Raina Zaffar (Guwahati, India) and Alessa Maier (Hechingen, Germany) in the third tandem to start doubles play. Sarah Castleberry and Adriana Carpenter followed suit with a 6-1 win over freshmen Milou ter Morsche (Goor, Netherlands) and Jana Knaab (Stuttgart, Germany) for the first team point.
TAMUK avoided the doubles sweep in the top billing as sophomore Maya Donkor (McLean, Va.) and junior Laura Montalvo (Cochabamba, Bolivia) finished with a 6-3 decision over Kate Daugherty and Taylor Leslie, turning the card over to the singles matchups.
Maier was the first to finish as she bounced Carpenter in straight sets, 6-1 and 6-3, in the third matchup to even the count. Leslie put the hosts back ahead with a 6-1, 6-3 win in the second flight over Montalvo before the Javelinas began their run.
Knaab kicked this off after battling back from a 6-3 first-set final that went in favor of Castleberry in the sixth flight. The freshman from across the pond posted a 6-3 win in the second set and took the decisive set at 6-1 to even the team score yet again at 2-2.
Zaffar faced a similar situation in the fourth pairing as Vogelmann took the first set, 6-2, before the Javelina came away with a 6-4 win in the second set and blanked the Patriot in the final set at 6-0 for a 3-2 advantage.
Ter Morsche put the Blue and Gold over the top with another hard-fought battle in the fifth matchup as Austin-Canning took set one at 6-2 before ter Morsche mirrored her in the second set at 6-2. The final set saw the Javelina secure the team win with a 6-3 final.
The top flight between Daugherty and Donkor also went the distance as Donkor took the first set at 6-4. Daugherty came back in the second set at 6-4 and ended the match with a 6-4 final in the third set to cement the teams scores at 4-3 in favor of the visitors.
TAMUK wraps up its league road trip tomorrow with a match against UT Permian Basin at 3 p.m. in Odessa, Texas.
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