RIO GRANDE VALLEY – The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV) Vaqueros women's tennis team will close its regular season this weekend with a pair of Western Athletic Conference (WAC) matches at the Orville Cox Tennis Center. 
 
Friday, UTRGV (10-8, 5-2 WAC) will host the Stephen F. Austin (SFA) Lumberjacks at 11 a.m. The Vaqueros will take on the Sam Houston State (SHSU) Bearkats Sunday at 9 a.m. with a ceremony honoring seniors Kristyna Mamicova and Stefanie Wilske happening before the match. 
 
Heading into the final weekend of the conference season, UTRGV sits in third in the WAC, behind UT Arlington (6-1) and Tarleton (5-2), which defeated UTRGV in the first match of the conference season. SFA and Sam Houston find themselves in the bottom three of the conference, with both hoping to be the one who slips into the WAC tournament and not one of two teams staying home. UTRGV is expecting a battle out of both teams looking to keep their seasons alive. 
 
"We're 5-1 at home and we're looking to finish strong here in the last conference matches," UTRGV head coach West Nott said. "Both of these teams have their backs against the wall and these are critical matches for them to make the conference tournament, so we definitely have our attention up and we're ready to see what we can do. We had a good week of practice and I think things look really good moving forward." 
 
UTRGV is 3-15 all-time against SFA (10-10, 2-4 WAC) and has dropped the last three WAC matches between the programs. But the Vaqueros have a deep lineup and a positive energy they believe will end the skid. The Vaqueros are 9-18 against the Bearkats and captured a tough 4-3 victory when the teams faced off last season.  
 
The Vaqueros have been performing well through the back half of the season and want to bounce back from a tough two-loss weekend they just endured. Four Vaqueros in the startling lineup have winning records in conference play, led by sophomores Barbara Martinez and Marjorie Souza, both 6-1, junior Lea Karren (4-3) and Wilske (4-3). UTRGV has a .524 winning percentage in WAC doubles matches. 
 
They're not letting the success get to their heads. They've continued to work hard and bring a ton of energy to the courts, and they're focused on these two matches before looking ahead to the conference tournament.
 
UTRGV hopes to have a good crowd Friday and Sunday in the final home tennis matches of the season. 
 
"We've been reiterating the things we're really good at. We play with a lot of energy, we're extremely tough, we don't make silly mistakes. We're trying to focus on our weapons, like coming forward, attacking the net, being really peppy and dealing with adversity. They've done a good job," Nott said. "We'll be out here with the music going Friday and Sunday, so bring out your families. Hope to see you here." 

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