(This is a look back at one of the best performances of the 2023-24 season.) Apr. 8, 2024

ARLINGTON– The UT Arlington women's tennis team finished their final match of the season at the UTA Tennis Center with a dominant 6-1 victory over Seattle University.
 
The Mavericks made an impressive doubles showing as they secured all three wins by two games.
 
First court to finish was Court 2 as Ioana Dumitrescu and Tara Gorinsek earned their second victory as a team. The pair started off strong as they went up 2-0 over Liliya Dimova and Yuna Kadowaki. The Redhawks brought the score within one as they scored the next game then eventually evened out the score at 4-4. Dumitrescu and Gorinsek made the final push to secure the initial doubles win as they closed out the final two games for a 6-4 win.
 
Ana Paula Jimenez and Sarina Reinertsen clinched the early lead for singles over Lamija Avdic and Lola Tavcar as they earned their fourth conference and twelfth overall victory on Court 3. Avdic and Tavcar took the initial lead as Jimenez and Reinertsen trailed by one game throughout the beginning of the match. After going down 4-3, the Mavs made a strong three-game run, which closed out the match and did not allow the Redhawks another game for the 6-4 victory.
 
After the doubles point had already been decided, all eyes were on senior duo Bruna Casasampere and Francisca Vergara as they fought to earn their final doubles victory at the UTA Tennis Center. The pair kept the score close against Elena Kraleva and Jade Quintana on Court 1 towards the beginning of the match. The Redhawks carried a one-game lead throughout, until 4-3 when they were able to break Vergara's serve and go up one game away from victory. Casasempere and Vergara fought hard to even the score, bringing it to 5-5 after a break on Quintana's serve and a strong hold from Casasampere. The senior duo then pulled out the final two games to secure their fifth WAC win 7-5 as they remain undefeated.
 
The momentum from doubles play carried into singles as the Mavericks secured the next five out of six wins to finish off their home season on a high note.
 
Senior Casasampere kept rolling from her doubles victory as she secured her final win as a Maverick on Court 4, dropping only two games against Kadowaki. The first set went smoothly for Casasampere, as she gained a 5-0 lead before Kadowaki earned a game. Casasampere then closed out the set 6-1 for the lead.
 
The second set followed in a similar manner as Casasampere gained a 3-0 lead before Kadowaki earned a game. Casasampere then closed out her final match at the UTA Tennis Center in a commanding fashion as she did not drop a game for the 6-1 win. She still holds the most WAC wins on the team with a 5-1 record.
 
The second singles victory came from senior Vergara as she concluded her final home match on a high note on Court 5. Vergara was the first to lose a game in her match against Tavcar as she went down 2-1 at the second changeover. She was quick to rebound, however, earning the next five games for the 6-2 win.
 
The second set followed with Vergara taking the 4-1 lead early on. Tavcar fought to earn a second game, but Vergara was not to be outdone as she finished off the match 6-2. The victory marks her first WAC and her twelfth overall win as she finishes her career at the UTA Tennis Center.
 
The match was clinched on Court 1 as Gorinsek's opponent Kraleva was forced to retire due to injury. Gorinsek had fallen in a tough first set 6-3 and was leading 3-2 in the second set when Kraleva got injured.
 
After the match had been decided, Jimenez was the next Mav to triumph as she defeated Dimova in straight sets on Court 3. Jimenez started off strong as she gained a 3-1 lead and eventually went up 5-2. Dimova added one more game to her score before Jimenez closed out the first set 6-3.
 
Dimova made a push in the second set as she took the initial lead, going up 3-1 after a break of serve. Jimenez fought to even the score as she brought it to 4-4 before eventually earning the lead. Dimova was not far behind but could not overcome Jimenez in the final game. The 7-5 win puts Jimenez at 4-1 in WAC play and 19-7 overall.
 
The final two matches still on-court came down to ten-point tie breakers for the deciding sets as the match had already been clinched.
 
Dumitrescu continued her winning streak with another victory on Court 6 as she took down Anastasia Nikolova. Nikolova played a strong first set, allowing Dumitrescu to stay close until 4-3, when she won the final two games for the 6-3 victory.
 
The second set saw a turnaround for Dumitrescu as she battled to even the score with a tight win. Dumitrescu earned the initial break which allowed her to go up 2-1 at the second changeover. Nikolova was not far behind, but Dumitrescu was able to secure the final two games near the end as she closed out the set 7-5.
 
The ten-point tiebreaker came down to four points as Dumitrescu rose to the pressure and finished off the match. Nikolova threatened a comeback as she stayed within two points for much of the tiebreaker, but Dumitrescu had a solid showing near the end and closed out 10-6.
 
The Redhawks earned a victory on Court 2 in the final match of the day as Avdic managed to overpower Reinertsen in another tiebreaker for the deciding set. Reinertsen played a close first set as Avdic trailed by one game throughout. Eventually, Reinertsen secured the last two games and went up 6-4 in the match.
 
Avdic retaliated in the second set as she rolled through the first five games for a 5-0 lead. Reinertsen was not to be counted out, as she slowly started to chip away at a comeback. She eventually brought the score to 5-4 as she played strong defense and hit aggressive passing shots. On a no-ad point after a long baseline rally, Avdic managed to secure the set 6-4 and even the score.
 
The tiebreaker went in Advic's favor as she played a strong ten points to close out. Reinertsen earned three points before falling 10-3 for the match.
 
UTA 6, SU 1

1.  Bruna Casasampere/ Francisca Vergara (UTA) def. Elena Kraleva/ Jade Quintana (SU) 7-5
2. Ioana Dumitrescu/ Tara Gorinsek (UTA) def. Liliya Dimova/ Yuna Kadowaki (SU) 6-4
3. Ana Paula Jimenez/ Sarina Reinertsen (UTA) def. Lamija Avdic/ Lola Tavcar (SU) 6-4

1. Tara Gorinsek (UTA) def. Elena Kraleva (SU) 3-6, 3-2 WR
2. Lamija Avdic (SU) def. Sarina Reinertsen (UTA) 4-6, 6-4, 10-3
3. Ana Paula Jimenez (UTA) def. Liliya Dimova (SU) 6-3, 7-5
4. Bruna Casasampere (UTA) def. Yuna Kadowaki (SU) 6-1, 6-1
5. Francisca Vergara (UTA) def. Lola Tavcar (SU) 6-2, 6-2
6. Ioana Dumitrescu (UTA) def. Anastasia Nikolova (SU) 3-6, 7-5, 10-6

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