WACO – The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley Vaqueros men's tennis team finished its run at the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) Texas Regional Championships on Saturday at Baylor's Hurd Tennis Center.
 
Sophomore Borna Devald battled Rice's Haoyuan Huang in the Singles Main Draw Round of 32. Devald won a competitive first set 7-5, coming back from down 0-3 and 1-4, but dropped the next two sets 3-6, 6-2. 
 
Sophomores Karlo Krolo and Sam Whitehead defeated Incarnate Word's Antoine Martin-Thiriat/Pietro Perego 8-7 in a tight Doubles Consolation Draw match. The Vaqueros held off a valiant comeback effort from UIW and dominated the tiebreaker, winning it 7-1 to seal the victory. Seniors Chris Lawrance and Te Kani Williams lost to UT-Arlington's Daichi Akiyoshi/Ricardo Alban 8-4. 
 
Junior Emilien Burnel picked up a match outside of the tournament against UTSA's Tomas Pinho and lost 7-5, 4-6, 0-1 (5). 
 
UTRGV head coach Nathan Robinson said that overall, the ITA Texas Regional was a "very positive tournament" for the Vaqueros. They showed growth in playing styles, mentality and trust in their training and competed well against tough opponents. 
 
The Vaqueros will be hosting their first-ever UTRGV Tennis College-Am on Nov. 12 at the Orville Cox Tennis Center, giving the local tennis community a chance to play doubles with and against the current men's and women's players. 
 
UTRGV Saturday Results 
Doubles – Consolation Draw 
Karlo Krolo/Sam Whitehead (UTRGV) def. Antoine Martin-Thiriat/Pietro Perego (UIW) 8-7 (7-1) 
Daichi Akiyoshi/Ricardo Alban (UTA) def. Chris Lawrance/Te Kani Williams (UTRGV) 8-4 
 
Singles – Main Draw Round of 32 
Haoyuan Huang (RU) def. Borna Devald (UTRGV) 5-7, 6-3, 6-3

Singles - Consolation 
Tomas Pinho (UTSA) def. Emilien Burnel (UTRGV) 5-7, 6-4, 1-0 (10-5)  

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