ARLINGTON, Texas – In a match played at the UTA Tennis Center, the Texas State women's tennis team won their first match against a Sun Belt Conference team and first match on a neutral court this season when the Bobcats defeated Arkansas State, 4-1, on Thursday afternoon.
 
Texas State began the day winning a pair of doubles matches to capture the team point and take an early 1-0 lead. Seniors Monica Pieratt and Shannon Beckett won an 8-3 decision against Jess Heeps-Eriksen and Victoria Pisani on the No. 3 court. That victory improved their record to 8-3 overall as a doubles team this season.
 
Then, sophomores Pippa Carr and Ana Laura Gutierrez defeated Julie Gauguery and Sofia Krsamovic by a score of 8-2 in the No. 2 match.
 
The top doubles match between sophomore Eva Dench and junior Katy Collins versus Tamera Slijepcevic and Sabina Jeresic was halted with the score tied at 7-7 after the doubles point was decided.
 
Texas State also captured three of the four decisions in singles play to clinch the victory as the Bobcats won each of their three singles matches in straight sets. 
 
Carr defeated Pisani by a score of 6-4, 6-2 on the No. 3 court.

Eva Dench clinched the victory when she won a 6-4, 6-1 decision against Jeresic in the No. 4 singles match. Shannon Beckett posted her fourth straight victory in singles matches with a 6-3, 6-2 triumph over Heeps-Eriksen in a No. 5 match.
 
Arkansas State's lone point came on the No. 1 court where Slijepcevic defeated Pieratt by a score of 6-1, 6-1.
 
The other two matches were halted after Texas State captured four points to improve their overall record to 5-5 this season. The Bobcats are now 1-2 against Sun Belt Conference teams this season. Texas State will play two more matches against SBC teams in Arlington on Friday and Saturday. The Bobcats play UL Lafayette on Friday morning and UL Monroe on Saturday afternoon.
 
Texas State returns to the Bobcats Tennis Complex for their final two home matches of the season on April 9 and 11. The Bobcats host I-35 rival UTSA on April 9 and close out the regular season against Midwestern State on April 11.