Box Score

ABILENE, Texas – McMurry University women's tennis picked up its first Heartland Conference win of the year with a 5-4 victory over the University of Texas of the Permian Basin at the Seidel-Swagerty Tennis Center on Senior Day. The win was McM's fifth in its last seven outings.
 
The victory improved the War Hawks to 6-12 overall and 1-4 in the Heartland. The Falcons fell to 10-8 on the year and are now 1-4 in league play.

McM was able to take a giant step towards the much-needed match win by sweeping all three doubles competitions to open the day. At No. 1 doubles, the McMurry duo of Lauren Renner and Shayne Cook defeated UTPB's Lisa Roslanova and Olivia Baltazar, 8-5. At No 2 doubles it was Jessica Bentley and Bree Brosig topping the Falcon tandem of Rebecca Stafford and Alexandra Maytubby, also by an 8-5 score.
 
No. 3 doubles belonged to the War Hawks' pair of freshmen, Madison Hathorn and Chloe Patterson. The Hathorn-Patterson connection won for a team-leading seventh time this season by defeating Shelby Greene and Sarah Palacio, 8-3.
 
McMurry need just two wins out of the six singles matches to clinch the team score and that's just what it managed. At No. 3 singles, Cook had an easy time dispatching of Greene in straight sets, 6-0, 6-2 for the fourth team point of the day.
 
However, with UTPB taking straight-set wins at the Nos. 1 and 6 matches, the team score tightened to 4-2.  But senior Salitza Abrantes – playing at No. 3 singles and appearing in just her second singles match of the year – came through big time on the day she and the team's three other seniors were being honored.  Abrantes beat UTPB's Baltazar in the first set, 6-3, but lost the second by a 6-4 score.  In the deciding third set, Abrantes left little doubt, with a crushing 6-1 victory that but the match in McMurry's win column.
 
Along with Abrantes, Renner, Sheri Copenhaver and Autumn Patterson were the other War Hawk seniors recognized in pre-match ceremonies.
 
McM will have little time to savor the win, as the team plays Heartland Conference leader St. Mary's University on Friday morning (11 a.m.) in Mason, Texas.