BEAUMONT – The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV) Vaqueros men's tennis team is entering the Western Athletic Conference (WAC) Tournament as the No. 5 seed and ready to make a push to reach the championship of the six-team competition. 
 
The Vaqueros (6-16, 2-4 WAC) open their tournament run on Friday at 9 a.m. against the No. 4 Grand Canyon (GCU) Antelopes (5-14, 3-3 WAC) at the Beaumont Municipal Tennis Center. The two teams met just two weeks ago with the Lopes walking away with a 4-3 victory in an extremely close match. 
 
UTRGV's No. 1 and No. 2 singles players, junior Misha Kvantaliani and senior Carlo Izurieta, both captured victories and the Vaqueros took the doubles point with wins in the first and third flights. But the bottom of GCU's singles lineup came through for the victory and claimed a particularly tough win at No. 4. 
 
Heading into this go-round, the Vaqueros have some momentum after a 1-1 outing in their final WAC cluster, a strong showing against nationally ranked Texas A&M and a season finale victory over Prairie View A&M. 
 
"We're definitely in a good headspace and feel really good about what we can accomplish this weekend," UTRGV head coach Nathan Robinson said. "We're expecting another battle with GCU. We played really good in doubles and at the top of our lineup, and they played really well at the bottom of their lineup. We're hoping we can flip one or two of those matches there in the bottom half. The guys are excited for the opportunity to a little revenge."
 
Continuing to stay dedicated to their best playing styles and making the right decisions in matches are some of the key things the Vaqueros are focusing on to make a run deep into the tournament.   
 
"You either want to win or get beat, you don't want to lose," Robinson said. "Make sure you're doing the things correctly on your end of the court and live within your style, your game plan. I think we'll see those two things. We've seen the growth in it and I think Friday's the day we see it all come together." 
 
A win Friday against GCU will put the Vaqueros in the semifinals to face No. 1 Lamar, which received a first-round bye, at 9 a.m. Saturday. The championship match is scheduled for 9 a.m. Sunday. All matches will be played at the Beaumont Municipal Tennis Center. 
 
"The whole team's feeling really energetic. We think we have a really good chance this week so we're looking forward to it," junior Chris Lawrance said. "The energy needs to be high all the time and we need to support everyone, even when you're not playing. Just be around the boys and try your best every single point. Maintaining a good energy level through the whole match is really important." 

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