EDINBURG –
Masha Vrsalovic fought off four match points and gave Abilene Christian a dramatic 4-3 win over UT Rio Grande Valley in Western Athletic Conference women's tennis action on Sunday.
Vrsalovic was on court three for nearly three hours before being mobbed by teammates after the win. Lea Karren had taken the first set, 7-5, but Vrsalovic won the second set, 6-3. The pair played evenly to 6-6 in the third set, forcing the tiebreaker.
Vrsalovic fell behind 6-3, but fought off four match points and eventually claimed the 10-8 tiebreaker victory in 2:51.
"The girls battled really tough conditions today and fought extremely hard," said ACU Head Coach
Bryan Rainwater. "Great team win and a huge performance by Masha to fight off four match points and close it out! All around just proud of them."
Contrasting Vrsalovic's marathon win,
Maryjoe Crisologo and
Libby Blair were off the No. 2 doubles court in 24 minutes with a 6-1 win.
Olivia Sears and
Andrea Guerrero won at No. 3 to clinch the doubles point for ACU.
Blair put ACU up 2-1, dispatching her No. 6 singles opponent in under an hour, 6-1, 6-0.
UTRGV won the next two singles matches but Guerrero came back from down a set for a 3-6, 6-1, 6-1 win at No. 5 to give ACU a 3-2 lead.
Sears lost a tough match in three sets at No. 1 to set up the showdown on court three.
The win propelled ACU to 2-0 in the WAC. The Cats host Seattle at 1 p.m. on Thursday and Utah Tech at 11 a.m. on Saturday.
Abilene Christian 4, UTRGV 3
Singles competition
1. Marjorie Souza (WRGV) def.
Olivia Sears (ACU) 3-6, 6-4, 7-6 (7-5)
2. Isabelle Bahr (WRGV) def.
Maryjoe Crisologo (ACU) 7-5, 6-2
3.
Masha Vrsalovic (ACU) def. Lea Karren (WRGV) 5-7, 6-3, 7-6 (10-8)
4. Yaiza Vazquez (WRGV) def.
Maria Cascos (ACU) 6-2, 6-4
5.
Andrea Guerrero (ACU) def. Kristal Dule (WRGV) 3-6, 6-1, 6-1
6.
Libby Blair (ACU) def. Valentina Urraco (WRGV) 6-1, 6-0
Doubles competition
1. Isabelle Bahr/Marjorie Souza (WRGV) def.
Maria Cascos/
Masha Vrsalovic (ACU) 6-3
2.
Maryjoe Crisologo/
Libby Blair (ACU) def. Lea Karren/Yaiza Vazquez (WRGV) 6-1
3.
Olivia Sears/
Andrea Guerrero (ACU) def. Kristal Dule/Valentina Urraco (WRGV) 7-5
