UTSA beat University of Texas at Arlington 4-0 on Friday at the UTSA Tennis Center.
In the 30 years that the two teams have played each other, the Roadrunners (18-4) have beaten the Mavericks (6-8) seven times and carry a losing record of 7-26. Today, the ‘Runners snapped Texas-Arlington’s 15-game win streak to close their last regular-season match the same way it began, with a 4-0 sweep.
Following a break for freshman Maria Lucia Araoz-Gosn to meet with her trainer, freshman Natalia Castaneda Guerrero was a point away from winning. She positioned her returns to land near the baseline, pushing Araoz-Gosn further behind the court.
“I’ve played against her before, and I lost. It was three years ago, but I played so bad at that game,” Castaneda Guerrero said of a previous match against Araoz-Gosn. “I have the skills to beat her, but I know this girl. She likes to [waste] time. So I was like, ‘Stay focused, and just keep playing your game.’”
Araoz-Gosn positioned herself too far to return the Mexico native’s serve. She hit it right to the top of the net, and it landed in her service box. With a 4-point lead on her side, Castaneda Guerrero clinched the match point for the second time this season.
“It’s a good feeling. I like to clinch,” Castaneda Guerrero said of her victory. “I was telling myself to ‘hurry up’ because I wanted to win because sometimes you don’t finish, so you don’t get the win. I was like, ‘Finish and get the point for your team.’”
UTSA dominated across all three courts during doubles, each team claiming an early 3-1 lead over the Mavericks. Freshman Aoka Nagasawa and Castaneda Guerrero closed out court three with a 6-1 win over seniors Ioana Dumitrescu and Nika Novikova. Leading by four points on court one, sophomore Ekua Youri and junior Letizia Corsini won their second doubles match together — their first in four games — to win 6-2 and pick up the first point of the match.
Dominance reverberated through the singles matches. The Roadrunners picked up the first game point on every court except court one and two.
Corsini was the fourth ‘Runner to close out her initial set, but due to her second-set sweep, the first-court competitor won 6-6, 6-0 to finish first — earning UTSA’s second match point.
Sophomore Vittoria Baccino was the first player to win a set, giving the team an edge over the Mavericks. Baccino trailed by five points in her second set, but she leveled out the score at 5-5. She overwhelmed senior Mialy Ranaivo with wide baseline shots to win 6-1, 7-5. This was Baccino’s first collegiate win against Texas-Arlington.
Baccino, followed by Sanchez, Castaneda Guerrero then Corsini claimed first-set wins. The sweep left Youri, Sanchez and Arina Babenko’s matches unfinished.
“I think we did so good this season,” Castaneda Guerrero said. “We had more wins. I think we had 18, and that’s pretty good. We are strong for the conference.”
UTSA will head to Memphis to compete in the American Athletic Conference Championship. Round one begins April 17 at the Leftwich Tennis Center.
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