RIO GRANDE VALLEY – It has been 308 days since The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley's (UTRGV) men's tennis team played a match on their home courts at the Orville Cox Tennis Center. The wait to play in front of a home crowd ends Wednesday at 1 p.m. when the Vaqueros host the St. Mary's Rattlers in the 2023 home opener. 
 
"The guys are excited to get their first match at home. They are looking forward to the opportunity to play in front of our fans and our newcomers are excited to show who they are on the court," UTRGV men's tennis head coach Nathan Robinson said. "Come out and support us in our home opener. There will be great weather and great competition. We look forward to seeing everyone there. V's up!" 
 
The Vaqueros are 5-1 against St. Mary's and earned a tough 4-3 win over the Rattlers when the two programs last met in Jan. 2022 in San Antonio. UTRGV grinded through a three-match weekend in Oklahoma to open the season and saw great fight against good competition, which the Vaqueros will aim to replicate as they chase a sixth-consecutive victory against the Rattlers. 
 
"St. Mary's is a tough team that will fight to the end. We will need to correct our mistakes in doubles and be ready to compete at a high level for the entire match to come out on top," Robinson said. 
 
UTRGV went 1-2 through the opening weekend, dropping a pair of matches to Oklahoma State before beating Oral Roberts 4-3. Robinson called the weekend "extremely valuable" and saw a lot of good things from the team, and now the Vaqueros want to build on that to have a great day in front of their fans at the Orville Cox Tennis Center. Four Vaqueros will be making their home debuts – freshman McAllen Memorial alum Agustin Salazar, sophomores Borna Devald and Karlo Krolo, and junior Emilien Burnel. 
 
"The two matches against Oklahoma State showed us the level we can compete with and gave us great confidence. OSU is a very talented and extremely well-coached, and for us to perform how we did was very encouraging," Robinson said. "Our match against ORU showed us how gritty we are as a team. We didn't capitalize in doubles, but we rebounded well as a team and found ways to win. Having Emi get a great win against a very good player, seeing Sam Whitehead play a great match, having Chris Lawrance recover after losing the first set, and for Borna to get the clinching point in his third collegiate match was very promising as we move forward." 

Support UTRGV Men's Tennis | Become a Fan on Facebook | Follow us on Twitter | Follow us on Instagram | Follow us on YouTube