RIO GRANDE VALLEY – The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV) Vaqueros men's tennis team earned its first Western Athletic Conference (WAC) win Thursday, 5-2 over the New Mexico State Aggies at Kiskeya Athletics. 
 
Playing in the first home indoor match in program history, UTRGV (6-14, 1-1 WAC) secured a massive doubles point with a couple of new combinations at two and three. Senior Chris Lawrance and sophomore Sam Whitehead rolled to a 6-2 win in the third flight, then NM State (3-15, 1-2 WAC) evened up the session with a 6-4 win on the first court. 
 
Senior Te Kani Williams and sophomore Karlo Krolo gutted out a 7-6 (10:8) win in the second flight to secure the 1-0 lead. The duo used big serves and powerful strokes to battle through the back-and-forth affair and come out on top. 
 
The match tied at 1-1 as NM State picked up a win via retirement on the second court. But junior Emilien Burnel quickly gave the advantage back to UTRGV, dominating his No. 1 match for a 6-2, 6-2 win. Krolo captured a 6-4, 6-3 win in the No.3 flight. After cruising in the first set, he fell behind 0-2 in the second, then bounced back and finished strong to make it 3-1 Vaqueros. 
 
Whitehead's 6-3, 6-2 win clinched the victory for UTRGV as he controlled the No. 5 match. 
 
Freshman McAllen Memorial alum Agustin Salazar improved to 2-0 in conference singles with a come-from-behind win at No. 4. He started slow and dropped the first set 2-6, then dominated the final two sets, winning 6-1, 6-2. In the No. 6 match, Lawrance battled well but fell 7-6 (7:4), 6-3 to Luca Fe D'Ostiani. 
 
The Vaqueros will be back at Kiskeya Athletics Saturday at 11 a.m. to play Abilene Christian. It'll be the senior day match honoring graduating Vaqueros Williams and Lawrance.  
 
Complete Results
Singles (2, 1, 3, 5, 4, 6) 
1. Emilien Burnel (UTRGV) def. Corey Clarke (NM) 6-2, 6-2 
2. Jordy Visser (NM) def. Borna Devald (UTRGV) ret. 
3. Karlo Krolo (UTRGV) def. Roko Stipetic (NM) 6-4, 6-3 
4. Agustin Salazar (UTRGV) def. Itay Feigin (NM) 2-6, 6-1, 6-2 
5. Sam Whitehead (UTRGV) def. Yehor Opanasenko (NM) 6-3, 6-2 
6. Luca Fe D'Ostiani (NM) def. Chris Lawrance (UTRGV) 7-6 (7:4), 6-3 
 
Doubles (3, 1, 2) 
1. Yehor Opanasenko/Jordy Visser (NM) def. Emilien Burnel/Borna Devald (UTRGV) 6-4 
2. Karlo Krolo/Te Kani Williams (UTRGV) def. Corey Clarke/Roko Stipetic (NM) 7-6 (10:8) 
3. Chris Lawrance/Sam Whitehead (UTRGV) def. Luca Fe D'Ostiani/Itay Feigin (NM) 6-2 

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