RIO GRANDE VALLEY – The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV) women's tennis team opens Western Athletic Conference (WAC) play this weekend with a pair of road matches, and the Vaqueros are eager to begin their campaign for a conference tournament bid.
UTRGV (5-5) visits Tarleton (8-4) on Friday at 3 p.m. at the Potishman-Lard Tennis Courts. On Sunday, the Vaqueros will visit Abilene Christian (6-8) at 11 a.m. at the John T.L. Jones Tennis Building.
Tarleton was the undefeated regular season WAC champion in 2022. The Texans duo of
Elif Albayrak/Martha Makantasi is ranked 74
th among NCAA Division I doubles teams. UTRGV is 0-4 against Tarleton but has competed well against the Texans.
The Vaqueros are 3-9 all-time against Abilene Christian but did defeat the Wildcats 4-3 in last season's conference-opening cluster at Sam Houston. It was a big win and great first weekend of WAC play for UTRGV, and the Vaqueros are hoping to duplicate that success to start this conference season.
Abilene Christian reached the semifinals of the 2022 conference tournament, becoming the first eight-seed to defeat a one-seed (Grand Canyon) in WAC Tournament history. The Wildcats will open their conference campaign Friday against UT Arlington. UTRGV expects a tight match, but that could be a good thing – all three Vaqueros wins in the head-to-head series have been decided by one point.
Juniors
Isabelle Bahr and
Lea Karren and sophomores
Marjorie Souza and
Barbara Martinez have been sparking UTRGV's success this spring. Bahr leads the team with a 5-5 singles record, while Souza has four wins and Karren and Martinez have three each. In doubles, Karren/Martinez boast a 6-0 record and Bahr/Souza are 6-1.
Karren and Martinez are also at the heart of the overwhelming energy the Vaqueros bring to the courts every match, which they'll lean on as they open conference.
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