GEORGETOWN – The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV) Vaqueros women's tennis team is back on the road this weekend for a pair of matches in central Texas.  
 
The Vaqueros (0-3) are looking to get in the win column for the first time this season and bounce back from a difficult match at Lamar last time out. They'll play at 2 p.m. Friday at Southwestern (3-0) at the Marvin D. Henderson Sr. Tennis Courts and Saturday at 1 p.m. against Texas State (1-4) at the Bobcat Tennis Complex. 
 
"We played a tough Lamar team and got beat up pretty good, but there were some bright spots. I think we were caught off guard a little bit, we weren't as tough as we needed to be, but it was a good wake-up call. It happened early in the season so we have a lot of time to correct things and I think we'll do a good job this weekend," UTRGV head coach West Nott said.
 
UTRGV won its first matchup against Southwestern 7-2 last season. The match followed NCAA Division III rules, making each doubles match count as one point instead of all three resulting in one decision. Nott expects a good fight from Southwestern but feels the Vaqueros are deep enough to come out on top. 
 
The Vaqueros are 3-26 against Texas State and haven't defeated the Bobcats since 2008, but they had some success during the fall season against Saturday's opponent. Sophomore Marjorie Souza, junior Lea Karren, freshman Yaiza Vazquez and senior Kristyna Mamicova captured singles victories against Texas State student-athletes, and junior Isabelle Bahr teamed with Mamicova for one of UTRGV's doubles wins. 
 
"Southwestern is super tough. They're one of the top teams in Division III. They're returning all their players from last year's match. Texas State is going to be a really gritty match. They've been playing a lot of close matches and they're battle tested," Nott said. "I like to think we're pretty good, so I think we're going to do just fine. 
 
Souza had a good day last time out, picking up UTRGV's lone singles win at No. 3 and partnering with junior Isabelle Bahr to get a good win at No. 2 doubles at Lamar. Nott is still tinkering with the singles lineup and doubles pairings in the early part of the season. The Vaqueros are working on endurance and situational play as they prepare for the weekend. 
 
"Marjorie built some confidence and she and Izzy did a great job in doubles at Lamar," Nott said. "I think after that match, we're ready to go. We're going to be ready to play some long points and get the job done and just be tougher to beat."  

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