EDINBURG, Texas – The next seven days will be extremely taxing for the Lamar University women's tennis team facing four matches during that stretch, including three in three days, but the Cardinals got things out to positive start Friday with a 6-1 victory at UT Rio Grande Valley. The victory improves Big Red to 2-0 on the season.
 
The Cardinals took the opening lead of the match with fairly quick victories on doubles courts two and three to earn the point. Although the point was already awarded, the Cardinals duo of Bianca Vitale and Natalia Garcia Molina were locked in a tough battle on court No. 1 with the Vaqueros' Isabelle Bahr and Valeria Montero. The match was forced to a tiebreak, and although Vitale and Garcia Molina could've had a let down with the point in hand, they continued to fight and pulled out a 7-6 (7-5) victory.
 
Sophomore Ana Jolic pushed the Cardinals' lead to 2-0 with her straight-sets victory at the No. 5 position. Jolic defeated UTRGV's Alica Thal, 6-0, 6-1. Freshman Elena Rodriguez had Big Red on the doorstep of another victory with her 6-0, 6-2 decision on court No. 3. With Rodriguez's victory, the Cardinals needed just one more win for the overall match. LU wouldn't have to wait long for the victory as another rookie – Michelle Markovic – defeated Anna Mura, 6-2, 6-3, in the deciding match.
 
The Cardinals added another point before UTRGV was able to dent the scoreboard. The Red and White closed out the day by taking the victory on court four to close out the scoring.
 
The Cardinals will be back in action Saturday when they step back on the court to face another future WAC opponent in Tarleton State. The match against the TexAnns will begin at 11 a.m. in Edinburg.