LAKELAND, Fla. - The Texas A&M-Kingsville women's tennis team opened up their Florida road trip with a dramatic win over No. 48 Indiana University Pennsylvania on Tuesday morning at the Wynee Warden Tennis Center, 4-3.

The Javelinas (6-2, 0-1 LSC) pick up their second win over a ranked opponent on the season after defeating then No. 16 Georgia College on Feb. 10. The Crimson Hawks (4-4, 0-0 PSAC) fall to their second ranked opponent in a row, dropping a match to No. 26 Embry-Riddle two days earlier.

To open the day, the Hawks grabbed early control, sweeping the doubles matches over the Hogs to take the first point. The No. 26 ranked pair of Alessa Maier and Milou ter Morsche drop their first doubles match of the season after coming into the match 7-0.

Holding the 1-0 advantage heading into singles, the Hawks looked to put the match away quickly, grabbing the first two wins on Courts 3 and 5 to put the score at 3-0. The Javelinas were not about to go down without a fight, however, as Manuela Turolo and Raina Zaffar returned the favor with straight set wins of their own.

Turolo found victory comfortably on Court 2, dominating the first set 6-1 and taking set two 6-4. Zaffar had to work a bit harder for her win on Court 6, but after taking a hard-fought first set, 7-6, delivered a 6-4 second set win as well.

With the Javelinas needing to take both of the remaining singles matches to win, Maier and Ter Morsche battled in three-set marathons. Maier delivered first on Court 1, taking set one 6-3 before her opponent responded with a 6-4 win in set two. Maier returned the favor in set three, chalking up a 6-4 win to tie the match score at 3-3.

On Court 4, in a match that clocked in at an enervating 2 hours 48 minutes, Ter Morsche secured the winning point for the Hogs in an absolute battle. After taking set one 6-3, Ter Morsche came back from an 0-3 deficit in set two to tie the score. The two players traded games before Ter Morsche's opponent finally took a 7-6 win to send the contest to a match-deciding third set.

In set three, the two players traded games once more with neither player holding more than a game lead before tying at 4-4. From there, Ter Morsche pulled away to take the last two games and the victory, 6-4.

The Javelinas get a day of rest before engaging in the second game of their Florida road trip as they take on Slippery Rock on Thursday, March 14 with first serve scheduled for 5 p.m. CT.

DOUBLES

No. 22 Ming Deewajee / Daniela Ramos (IUP) def. No. 26 Alessa Maier / Milou ter Morsche (TAMUK) 6-1

Katy Graydon / Lydia Vlachou (IUP) def. Luna Jokanovic / Manuela Turolo (TAMUK) 7-6

Veronica Sirci / Hannah Beitat (IUP) def. Ella Hester / Annika Andersson Gomez (TAMUK) 6-2

SINGLES

No. 6 Alessa Maier (TAMUK) def. Ming Deewajee (IUP) 6-3, 4-6, 6-4

Manuela Turolo (TAMUK) def. No. 67 Katy Graydon (IUP) 6-1, 6-4

Daniela Ramos (IUP) def. Luna Jokanovic (TAMUK) 6-2, 6-3

Milou ter Morsche (TAMUK) def. Lydia Vlachou (IUP) 6-3, 6-7, 6-4

Veronica Sirci (IUP) def. Annika Andersson Gomez (TAMUK) 6-3, 6-1

Raina Zaffar (TAMUK) def. Hannah Beitat (IUP) 7-6, 6-4