RIO GRANDE VALLEY – The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV) Vaqueros men's tennis team will be hosting two home Western Athletic Conference (WAC) matches for the first time since 2015 this week. 
 
Due to inclement weather in the forecast, Thursday's match against New Mexico State has been moved indoors and will be played at Kiskeya Athletics in Pharr at 1 p.m. 
 
UTRGV (5-14, 0-1 WAC) will host the Abilene Christian (ACU) Wildcats at the Orville Cox Tennis Center, weather permitting, at 10 a.m. Saturday. Before the match, the Vaqueros will honor graduate student Te Kani Williams and senior Chris Lawrance. 
 
"Firstly, I want to say the team and I are really appreciative that we are able to use the indoor courts at Kiskeya. It's going to be a very nice opportunity and I hope the guys after me get to keep doing that," Williams said. "I'm pretty buzzed that we finally get to host some conference matches. It's the first time since I've been here. It's going to be a week of a lot of firsts, first time playing conference at home, first time playing indoors in the Valley, so very excited about that." 
 
UTRGV is 0-11 against the NM State Aggies (3-14, 1-1 WAC). The Aggies won the last match between the two programs last season on their home courts, 5-1. ACU is 11-9, 2-0 coming into Saturday's match. The Vaqueros are 2-4 against the Wildcats, which picked up the win last season 7-0. 
 
The Vaqueros are excited to have regular season conference matches in the Valley after seven seasons of playing all WAC opponents on the road. The 2016 and 2019 conference tournaments were held at the Brownsville Tennis Center, but Saturday's match will be special for UTRGV to play with the comfort and confidence of being on home courts. The Vaqueros will be aiming to defend their turf and end a six-match losing skid. 
 
"Coming off a tough weekend, the preparation this week has been focused on getting our minds right, getting our bodies right," Williams said. "We're looking to put everything into this weekend.
 
"Five years I've been a part of this program, a lot of teams, two different coaches. Saturday is going to be a pretty emotional day," he added. "I'm not sure how it's going to go, but I'm focused on the team doing well, trying to get a win and putting ourselves in the best position for the conference tournament." 
 
UTRGV hopes to have a good and loud crowd at the Orville Cox Tennis Center should the weather hold to recognize the graduating student-athletes before their last home match and to cheer the team on in a battle against the reigning conference tournament champion Wildcats. 
 
"They're going to be great matches, lots of energy. I think this team is exciting to watch. We bring a lot of positive things to the Valley, so if you can come out and support us," Williams said. "It's my last day, it's Chris' last day, so we'd definitely love to have some people come out and support us." 

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