CORPUS CHRISTI, TX ? Holly Phillips and Monika Drabkova of Texas-San Antonio both came back after losing the first set to win the number two and three singles in three, respectively, and give the Roadrunners a 4-3 victory over Sam Houston State in the first round of the Southland Conference women's tennis tournament.

The event being held at the H.E. Butt Tennis Center will determine the Southland's representative in the 2009 NCAA women's national tournament. UTSA was the No. 4 seed in the tournament while SHSU was seeded No. 6

Sam Houston started strong, taking the doubles point with wins by Irina Sotnikova and Peta Taylor at number one and Paty Manzur and Giorgia Pozzan at number two.

Sotnikova at number one and Eleonora Kuruc at number six were the only singles winners for the Bearkats.

Tennis Match Results
Apr 25, 2009 at Corpus Christi, TX

Texas-San Antonio 4, Sam Houston State 3

Doubles competition:

1. Irina Sotnikova/Peta Taylor (SHSU) def. Karen Scida/Micaela Silva (UTSA) 8-2

2. Paty Manzur/Giorgia Pozzan (SHSU) def. Caroline Dedering/Monika Drabkova (UTSA) 8-5

3. Eleonora Kuruc/Stasa Vujosevic (SHSU) vs. Holly Phillips/Nathalie Wallin (UTSA) no result

Singles competition:

1. Irina Sotnikova (SHSU) def. Karen Scida (UTSA) 4-6, 6-0, 6-3

2. Nathalie Wallin (UTSA) def. Giorgia Pozzan (SHSU) 1-6, 6-3, 6-2

3. Holly Phillips (UTSA) def. Peta Taylor (SHSU) 3-6, 6-3, 6-1

4. Monika Drabkova (UTSA) def. Paty Manzur (SHSU) 6-2, 6-0

5. Eleonora Kuruc (SHSU) def. Caroline Dedering (UTSA) 6-2, 6-2

6. Micaela Silva (UTSA) def. Stasa Vujosevic (SHSU) 6-3, 6-4