RIO GRANDE VALLEY – The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV) Vaqueros men's tennis team fell 3-4 to the Texas A&M-Corpus Christi (TAMUCC) Islanders on Wednesday at the Orville I. Cox Tennis Courts in the South Texas Showdown presented by Navy Army Community Credit Union.  
 
UTRGV (1-5) went up 1-0 by winning the first two doubles matches. Junior Chris Lawrance and freshman Sam Whitehead cruised to a 6-0 win in the No. 3 spot to give the Vaqueros the edge. The No. 1 duo of juniors Misha Kvantaliani and George Hutchings secured the point with a 6-3 win. 
 
TAMUCC (5-1) opened up a 2-1 lead by picking up points at the No. 5 and No. 6 singles spots in straight sets. 
 
Hutchings and freshman Sam Whitehead battled back from opening set losses to force third sets on the third and fourth courts. The Vaqueros showed a lot of fight, but the Islanders picked up both points to claim the victory 4-1. 
 
Kvantaliani and senior Carlo Izurieta picked up wins in the No. 1 and No. 2 spots, respectively, after the match was clinched. Kvantaliani fought off TAMUCC No. 1 Matthieu Peres in three sets, showing his composure in a competitive match and delivering smart shots to make it 4-2. 
 
Izurieta's straight set victory was a grueling affair and the last match to end under the warm Texas sun. He and Ryuya Ata went toe-to-toe to force a tiebreaker in the second set, and the energetic Izurieta sealed his victory with a 7-4 tiebreaker win. 
 
UTRGV returns to action Friday to face Idaho State in Waco. The time of the match is still to be determined. 
 
Complete Results
Singles (5, 6, 3, 4, 1, 2) 
1. Misha Kvantaliani (UTRGV) def. Matthieu Peres (TAMUCC) 6-4, 4-6, 6-1
2. Carlo Izurieta (UTRGV) def. Ryuya Ata (TAMUCC) 6-3, 7-6 (7-4)
3. Nathan Schwartz (TAMUCC) def. George Hutchings (UTRGV) 6-4, 2-6, 6-2 
4. Pascal Lorieul (TAMUCC) def. Sam Whitehead (UTRGV) 6-2, 3-6, 6-3
5. Kyohei Yamanaka (TAMUCC) def. Chris Lawrance (UTRGV) 6-3, 6-1
6. Guillermo Castaneda (TAMUCC) def. Alberto Mello (UTRGV) 7-5, 6-1 
 
Doubles (3,1)
1. Misha Kvantaliani/George Hutchings (UTRGV) def. Nathan Schwartz/Pascal Lorieul 6-3
2. Carlo Izurieta/Alberto Mello (UTRGV) vs. Ryuya Ata/Matthieu Peres unfinished 3-3
3. Chris Lawrance/Sam Whitehead (UTRGV) def. Kyohei Yamanaka/Borja Delgado 6-0 
 
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