ARLINGTON – The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV) Vaqueros men's tennis team came up short in the semifinals of the Western Athletic Conference (WAC) Tournament Friday at the Arlington Tennis Center, falling 5-0 to the #1 UT Arlington (UTA) Mavericks. 
 
UT Arlington (15-7) claimed the doubles point despite an incredible fight from UTRGV. The Vaqueros' No. 1 duo of junior Emilien Burnel and sophomore Borna Devald won their second doubles match of the conference tournament, outlasting the Mavericks 7-5 with their attacking style. 
 
The Mavericks evened the doubles session with a 6-4 win by Santiago Giamichelle/Dante Teramo at No. 2. On the third court, UTRGV's duo of senior Chris Lawrance and sophomore Sam Whitehead found themselves locked in an exciting duel with Joan Torres Espinosa/Lachlan Robertson. The Vaqueros pushed the match to a seven-point tiebreaker knotted at 6-all, but the Mavericks held on for the 7-6 (7:4) win to secure the 1-0 lead. 
 
Freshman McAllen Memorial alum Agustin Salazar won the first set of his No. 4 match 6-4, but the Mavericks took the first sets on the other five courts. UTA clinched the victory with straight-set wins on the first, second and third courts by Anton Shepp, Giamichelle and Solano Caffarena. 
 
The Vaqueros were resilient until the very end. Whitehead responded well after dropping the first set of his No. 5 match to take control of the second and was leading 5-4 before the bout went unfinished. Lawrance showed great grit on the sixth court, preventing his opponent from clinching the victory for UTA by battling to win two games after falling behind 2-5. But the No. 6 match was technically considered completed since the match point was in progress when the victory was clinched on the third court, so Espinosa won 6-4, 6-4 in a simultaneous clinch. 
 
UTRGV finishes the season 7-19. 
 
Complete Results
Singles (1, 2, 3, 6) 
1. Anton Shepp (UTA) def. Emilien Burnel (UTRGV) 6-3, 6-2 
2. Santiago Giamichelle (UTA) def. Borna Devald (UTRGV) 6-2, 6-4 
3. Solano Caffarena (UTA) def. Karlo Krolo (UTRGV) 6-4, 6-4 
4. Agustin Salazar (UTRGV) vs. Lachlan Robertson (UTA) 6-4, 2-6, 0-3, unf. 
5. Sam Whitehead (UTRGV) vs. Dante Teramo (UTA) 3-6, 5-4, unf. 
6. Joan Torres Espinosa (UTA) def. Chris Lawrance (UTRGV) 6-4, 6-4 
 
Doubles (1, 2, 3) 
1. Emilien Burnel/Borna Devald (UTRGV) def. Anton Shepp/Solano Caffarena (UTA) 7-5 
2. Santiago Giamichelle/Dante Teramo (UTA) def. Karlo Krolo/Te Kani Williams (UTRGV) 6-4
3. Joan Torres Espinosa/Lachlan Robertson (UTA) def. Chris Lawrance/Sam Whitehead (UTRGV) 7-6 (7:4) 

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