TYLER, Texas (February 21, 2026) – Day two in Tyler, Texas, saw UT Permian Basin women's tennis come up just short in a thriller, 4-3, against Harding University.

Dinethya Dharmaratne and Mattea Bowe won 6-2 in the first match of the day over Mia Hosking and Sofia Sarmiento Ruiz at No. 2 doubles. However, the Falcons fell at both No. 3 and No. 1 doubles by scores of 6-4.

At No. 1 doubles, Fanny Bergstrom and Sophia Rashid put up a fight against the No. 8 nationally-ranked duo of Brooke Coffman and Karli Roux. Roux and Coffman posted a 7-3 record in the Fall season, reaching the finals of the ITA Central Region Championships and winning Flight 1 at the GAC Individual Championships. They also won their opening match at the prestigious ITA Cup.

Down 3-0 as a team in singles, UTPB fought back with back-to-back wins by Bergstrom over Coffman (6-1, 6-0) at No. 3 singles and Bowe over Sarmiento Ruiz (2-6, 6-3, 6-1) at No. 4 singles.

The clinching match for Harding was a 6-3, 6-1 win for Ece Boylu over Alyssa Glasgow at No. 5 singles.

The final singles match saw Paige Sitanggang earn a win in a third-set super tiebreaker, 6-4, 6-7 (4-7), 1-0 (10-7), over Mia Hosking in the No. 6 spot.

A retirement at No. 2 singles ultimately played crucial to the outcome in the end, as of course, did the doubles point.

At No. 1 singles, Dharmaratne took on Roux, the No. 7-ranked singles player in the Central Region, and fell 6-3, 6-0. Roux compiled a 4-1 Fall record, reaching the Round of 16 at the ITA Central Region Championships and taking the Flight 1 title at the GAC Individual Championships. Just one day before on Friday against No. 21 UT Tyler, Roux upset the No. 26 nationally-ranked singles player, Yona Bancarel, 6-4, 6-2 at No. 1 singles.

UTPB Head Women's Tennis Coach Chris Tolson said, "The ladies played great on each court and we were in every match. We are learning and growing every match.  We have a great group of ladies working hard, even though we haven't quite had the results we all want, I am proud of the effort and progress we have made so far this year."
 
Results:
Doubles

• #1 – No. 8 Brooke Coffman/Karli Roux (HU) def. Fanny Bergstrom/Sophia Rashid (UTPB) 6-4
• #2 – Dinethya Dharmaratne/Mattea Bowe (UTPB) def. Mia Hosking/Sofia Sarmiento Ruiz (HU) 6-2
• #3 – Kenna Kelley/Paula Rega (HU) def. Alyssa Glasgow/Paige Sitanggang (UTPB) 6-4
• Order of Finish: 2, 3, 1

Singles

• #1 – Karli Roux (HU) def. Dinethya Dharmaratne (UTPB) 6-3, 6-0
• #2 – Natalia Alvarez (HU) def. Sophia Rashid (UTPB) 6-3, 0-5, retired
• #3 – Fanny Bergstrom (UTPB) def. Brooke Coffman (HU) 6-1, 6-0
• #4 – Mattea Bowe (UTPB) def. Sofia Sarmiento Ruiz (HU) 2-6, 6-3, 6-1
• #5 – Ece Boylu (HU) def. Alyssa Glasgow (UTPB) 6-3, 6-1
• #6 – Paige Sitanggang (UTPB) Mia Hosking (HU) 6-4, 6-7 (4-7), 1-0 (10-7)
• Order of Finish: 2, 1, 3, 4, 5, 6

Team Records:

• UTPB falls to 0-5 while Harding, which was voted as the favorite in the Great American Conference (GAC) Preseason Coaches Poll, improves to 2-2.

Next Up: On the third and final day of its trip to Tyler, Texas, on Sunday, February 22, UPTB will face Southern Arkansas University.