RIO GRANDE VALLEY – The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV) Vaqueros men's tennis team dropped a heartbreaking 4-2 match to the Texas A&M-Corpus Christi (TAMUCC) Islanders in the South Texas Showdown presented by Rally Community Credit Union on Sunday at the Orville Cox Tennis Center. 
 
UTRGV (5-9) earned the 1-0 advantage after an exciting doubles session. The No. 2 duo of junior Emilien Burnel and sophomore Borna Devald cruised to a 6-2 win. The senior duo of Chris Lawrance and Te Kani Williams secured the doubles point with a gritty 6-4 win at No. 3. 
 
The Vaqueros kept the momentum rolling into singles and won the first set on three courts – one, three and four. After dropping the first sets on the other three courts, the Vaqueros came back to win the second in all three flights, showing great determination.
 
Burnel extended UTRGV's lead to 2-0 with a massive 7-5, 6-3 win in the No. 1 flight. Burnel showed his athleticism to cover the court well and made exciting plays that sent the raucous crowd into a frenzy. 
 
TAMUCC clinched the match victory with three-set wins in the fourth, second, sixth and third courts by Matthieu Peres, Pascal Lorieul, Tomas Quesada Perez and Nathan Schwartz. 
 
Freshman McAllen Memorial alum Agustin Salazar's No. 5 match went unfinished. Salazar dropped the first set of his bout 0-6, then came back to capture a gritty 7-6 win after a tough tiebreaker in the second. 
 
UTRGV's next outing will be in the Golden State Invitational at UC Davis on Friday and Saturday. 
 
Complete Results
Singles (1, 4, 2, 6, 3) 
1. Emilien Burnel (UTRGV) def. Avery Zavala (TAMUCC) 7-5, 6-3 
2. Pascal Lorieul (TAMUCC) def. Borna Devald (UTRGV) 6-3, 4-6, 6-3 
3. Nathan Schwartz (TAMUCC) def. Karlo Krolo (UTRGV) 4-6, 6-4, 6-2 
4. Matthieu Peres (TAMUCC) def. Sam Whitehead (UTRGV) 3-6, 6-2, 6-0 
5. Agustin Salazar (UTRGV) vs. Ulysse Bertrand (TAMUCC) 0-6, 7-6, inc. 
6. Tomas Quesada Perez (TAMUCC) def. Chris Lawrance (UTRGV) 6-2, 3-6, 6-2 
 
Doubles (2, 3) 
1. Karlo Krolo/Sam Whitehead (UTRGV) vs. Avery Zavala/Pascal Lorieul (TAMUCC) 6-5, inc. 
2. Emilien Burnel/Borna Devald (UTRGV) def. Nathan Schwartz/Tomas Quesada Perez (TAMUCC) 6-2 
3. Chris Lawrance/Te Kani Williams (UTRGV) def. Ulysse Bertrand/Lucas Schurdevin (TAMUCC) 6-4 

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