Harrogate, TN – The University of Pikeville women's tennis team defeated the Cavaliers of UVA Wise 4-3 in their season opener Sunday afternoon held at Lincoln Memorial University. UPIKE won the doubles point before holding off the Cavaliers in singles play to come away with the victory.

Andrea Hurtado, Luisa Diaz, and Riley Mullins all won both their matches for the Bears. As mentioned, UPIKE won the doubles point after a pair of wins in the No. 2 and No. 3 slots. Both these matches went to tiebreakers, where the Bears were able to outlast the Cavaliers on both occasions. At No. 3, Mullins and Camila Agudelo had to scratch their way to an 8-6 victory in the tiebreaker before Hurtado and Diaz had a more comfortable 7-2 win in theirs at No. 2 to clinch the point.

In singles play, wins at No. 1 and No. 2 for UVA Wise coupled with a UPIKE win at No. 3 tied the match up at 2-2 with three matches remaining. Mullins came up big for the Bears at No. 6, shutting down her opponent 6-3, 6-3 to put UPIKE one point away from victory. The win was sealed after Diaz put away her opponent in straight sets (6-1, 6-4) at No. 4.

What's Up Next
After the big season-opening victory, the Bears will have a few weeks off to prepare for their next match at home against Brescia University on the newly renovated courts at Bob Amos Park on March 3rd. The match will take place at 3:00 p.m. and serve as Senior Day for UPIKE.