Southern Miss
UTSA
Golden Eagles Fall in C-USA Opener at UTSA
3/14/2019 4:26:00 PM | Women's Tennis
SAN ANTONIO, Texas - The Southern Miss women's tennis team dropped its Conference USA opener on Thursday afternoon at UTSA. The Roadrunners (9-8, 1-1 CUSA) grabbed the doubles point en route to a 5-2 win in San Antonio, Texas, over the Golden Eagles (7-2, 0-1 CUSA). Senior Rikeetha Pereira and freshman Ebru Zeynep Yazgan were perfect on the day, winning both their singles and doubles matches.
However, the Golden Eagles made it difficult for UTSA to win the doubles point. UTSA won at No. 3 doubles to take a 1-0 doubles lead. Then, Pereira and Yazgan won at No. 2 doubles to force a deciding match at No. 1 doubles. Jasmin Starr and Kylee Kato were able to outlast Arina Amaning and Tjasa Jerse in a 7-6(7-0) tiebreaker to take the point.
"Credit to UTSA for competing at a high level today," said head coach Steve Schram. "We lost a very close doubles point and we need to focus on regrouping going into singles. It was nice to Rikeetha (Pereira) come away with a nice win in doubles and singles."
Yazgan momentarily tied the match at one after Charleen Tiwari retired in the third set. The two were tied at 3-3 when Tiwari retired. The Roadrunners bested Jerse at No. 3 singles to regain the lead, winning 6-1, 6-1. Starr followed with a two-set sweep over Amaning at No. 1 singles. With the Golden Eagles needing a win to stay alive, Pereira delivered a 6-4, 6-1 victory over Laura Cabrera at No. 2 singles. However, Tanit Lopez fell in a three-set thriller at No. 6 singles to Catalina Cabrique. Cabrique outlasted Lopez with a 7-5, 2-6, 6-3 win.
Pereira moved to 5-1 on the season and Yazgan now sits at 5-2. The two are now 7-1 in doubles play for the Golden Eagles.
Today's loss is just the second on the season for the Golden Eagles, but it marks the first C-USA loss of the season. As of now, Southern Miss is slated for a 10 a.m. match at UT-Rio Grande Valley on Saturday morning.
Singles Results
No. 1: Jasmin Starr (UTSAW) def. Ariana Amaning (USM) 7-5, 7-5
No. 2: Rikeetha Pereira (USM) def. Laura Cabrera (UTSAW) 6-4, 6-1
No. 3: Kylee Kato (UTSAW) def. Tjasa Jerse (USM) 6-1, 6-1
No. 4: Mariah Plauth (UTSAW) def. Katia De La Garza (USM) 6-4, 6-4
No. 5: Ebru Zeynep Yazgan (USM) def. Charleen Tiwari (UTSAW) 6-7 (0-7), 6-2, 3-3, retired
No. 6: Catalina Cabrique (UTSAW) def. Tanit Lopez (USM) 7-5, 2-6, 6-3
Order of finish: 5,3,1,2,6,4
Doubles Results
No. 1: Jasmin Starr/Kylee Kato (UTSAW) def. Ariana Amaning/Tjasa Jerse (USM) 7-6 (7-0)
No. 2: Rikeetha Pereira/Ebru Zeynep Yazgan (USM) def. Mariah Plauth/Charleen Tiwari (UTSAW) 6-2
No. 3: Sophie Omoworare/Catalina Cabrique (UTSAW) def. Monique Burton/Katia De La Garza (USM) 6-1
Order of finish: Doubles 3,2,1
Team Stats
#1 Doubles Match
#2 Doubles Match
#3 Doubles Match
Order of Finish:
3,2,1
#1 Singles Match
#2 Singles Match
#3 Singles Match
#4 Singles Match
#5 Singles Match
#6 Singles Match
Order of Finish:
5,3,1,2,6,4
Players Mentioned
