HUNTSVILLE — The Sam Houston tennis team picked up a pair of dual match victories over future WAC opponent Tarleton State at the McAdams Tennis Center on Saturday.
 
The Bearkats cruised to a 5-0 victory in the opener and got a clutch performance by freshman Sahithi Vutukuru in the second to sweep the day with a 4-3 win in the finale. Sam Houston is now 4-0 on the season, while the Texans drop to 0-3.
 
With the second match tied at 3, it all came down to No. 6 singles. After serving for the match in the second set and losing in a tie-breaker to force a third, Vutukuru came back and won the third to seal the victory for the Bearkats with a 6-4, 5-7, 6-2 win over Rose Watanabe.
 
Junior Sahaja Yamalapalli continued her dominating start to the season with two wins over Mihaela Codreanu at No. 1 singles. Yamalapalli took both matches 6-1, 6-1 to move to 4-0 on the season.
 
Sophomore Isidora Zivkovic went 2-0 at No. 2 singles Saturday. She defeated Jemi Aguilar 6-1, 6-4 in the first match and 7-5, 6-2 in the second.
 
Junior Karla De La Luz Montalvo split her No. 3 singles matches against Martha Makantasi. De La Luz Montalvo won her first match 7-5, 6-1 and fell in the second 7-5, 6-2.
 
Senior Constandena Nicolaou also won both of her No. 4 matches Saturday against Elsa Boisson. She opened the day with a 6-3, 6-2 win and closed the evening with a 6-3, 6-1 victory.
 
In doubles action, the Kats took the point in the opening match. Yamalapalli and Zivkovic defeated Codreanu and Aguliar 6-1 at No. 1 singles, while Nicolau and freshman Andrijana Brkic took the No. 1 spot over Makantasi and Boisson 6-1.
 
Tarleton won the doubles point in the second match, but De La Luz Montalvo and sophomore Petra Kaszas teamed up to win at No. 3 doubles 7-6 (1).
 
The Bearkats hit the road for a match against TCU on Friday at 1 p.m. Sam Houston will also face Arkansas State in Fort Worth on Jan. 30 at 11 a.m., then make the short trip over to Denton to play North Texas Jan. 31 at 11 a.m.