CORPUS CHRISTI – Just over three weeks ago, The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV) Vaqueros men's tennis team earned one of its biggest victories in head coach Nathan Robinson's tenure, defeating rival Texas A&M-Corpus Christi for the first time in 14 years. 
 
UTRGV's (3-9) thrilling 4-3 victory on Jan. 28 ended a 21-match losing skid to the Islanders (7-2). Sophomore McAllen Memorial alum Agustin Salazar clinched the victory, which saw the Vaqueros dominate on the second, third and fourth singles courts while picking up the doubles point. 
 
The Vaqueros and Islanders will meet for the 69^th time Thursday at 2:30 p.m. at the Thomas J. Henry Tennis Center to conclude the South Texas Showdown, presented by Rally Credit Union. UTRGV is 14-53-1 all-time against Corpus Christi. The Vaqueros are going in confident that the right energy and approach can help them replicate the success from last time. 
 
"We're feeling good. We have been training very hard these past days. We think we're ready to have a good match tomorrow and win again," freshman Santiago Serrano said. "The victory was very special. We were very happy after the match because we played really good and we want to repeat that. We want to get the doubles point because last time it was very helpful going up 1-0 and we want to be very loud and bring a very positive attitude to the court." 
 
Playing shorthanded since the win over Corpus, the Vaqueros have lost their last five matches. They've endured a tough schedule against prime opponents and have enjoyed some bright spots along the way. 
 
Senior captain Emilien Burnel leads the group with a 4-6 record in the No. 1 spot, and Salazar also holds four wins, all in the No. 2 slot. Serrano has been electric in the middle of the lineup and was on fire in the No. 4 match against AMCC, quickly capturing a lobsided 6-1, 6-0 win. 
 
This matchup always brings out a special type of intensity in both squads. After finally stealing away the bragging rights in January, the Vaqueros have no intentions to give them back, and they'll be ready for a heavyweight bout Thursday. 
 
"Rivalry matches are always so much fun. The focus is dialed up, the intensity is dialed up. Everything about it is a lot of fun. The guys enjoy the atmosphere and the matches are always super, super competitive," Robinson said. "We're trying to come back with that same mentality from last time that we belong, that we're supposed to be in this match and that, at the end of the day, if we do things like we're supposed to, we're going to come out on top." 

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