LAS CRUCES, NM – Before heading out for the first Western Athletic Conference (WAC) cluster of the season, The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV) Vaqueros men's tennis head coach Nathan Robinson called freshman Sam Whitehead "Mr. Clutch." 
 
For the second time this week, Whitehead lived up to that nickname, earning a come-from-behind 2-6, 6-4, 6-3 victory in his No. 6 singles match to secure a 4-3 victory for UTRGV (4-11, 1-1 WAC) over the Chicago State Cougars (8-11, 0-2 WAC) on Saturday at the New Mexico State Tennis Center. 
 
Chicago State took the 1-0 lead by winning on doubles courts two and three. UTRGV's No. 1 duo junior Misha Kvantaliani and senior Carlo Izurieta held a 5-2 lead in their match, but it went unfinished once the doubles point was claimed. 
 
The Cougars picked up their second point with a win at No. 3 singles. Kvantaliani and senior Alberto Mello won their No. 1 and No. 4 matches, respectively, to tie the overall score at 2-2. 
 
Kvantaliani won the first set of his match 6-4, then erased a 1-4 deficit in the second to defeat Chicago State's Pedro Alvarez 7-5. Mello cruised to a 6-1, 6-2 victory in the fourth flight. 
 
Izurieta improved to 2-0 in WAC singles play at the No. 2 spot with a 6-3, 7-5 victory, putting UTRGV in the lead for the first time at 3-2. 
 
Chicago State tied things again at 3-3 with a win at No. 5, turning all eyes to the No. 6 court, where Whitehead and Jakub Zamorski were tied 1-1 in the third set. 
 
Whitehead opened up a 4-1 lead in the frame and held on to capture the 6-3 victory for himself and the Vaqueros. 
 
UTRGV will be back in action March 25-26 in Beaumont for a pair of WAC matches against Lamar and Abilene Christian. 
 
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