HOUSTON – The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV) Vaqueros women's tennis team is back on the road this weekend for matches at Houston and Prairie View A&M. 
 
The Vaqueros (2-1) will face the Houston Cougars (1-1) Friday at 1 p.m. at the Barbara Wallace Winston Tennis Facility. UTRGV is 0-14 all-time against Houston and dropped last year's meeting, 6-1, in Waco. Graduate student Isabelle Bahr earned a solid win at No. 2 singles to get UTRGV on the board. 
 
UTRGV is 18-2 all-time against the Prairie View A&M (PVAMU) Panthers in a series dating back to 1986. The Vaqueros will be chasing their third consecutive win over PVAMU (0-9) after defeating the Panthers 5-2 when these teams faced off in Edinburg last year. UTRGV swept doubles and saw sophomore Valentina Urraco earn her first collegiate win on the fifth singles court in that matchup. 
 
"We're feeling great. It was good to get some wins under our belts last weekend, so I think all of us are feeling more fit and just excited to go into this weekend," Bahr said. "Houston is going to be tough. They're a good team. We have some confidence from our last two matches so we're looking to take that to a big-time team and really push ourselves. Prairie View is not a team to dismiss. They're a good team also, so we want to continue building confidence and learning." 
 
UTRGV created some momentum with a solid 2-0 weekend, earning a comeback win at St. Mary's before sweeping Our Lady of the Lake. Head coach West Nott was pleased with the way his team fought and the aura they brought to the courts in both matches. The Vaqueros want to continue that trend as the season rolls on. 
 
"It was good to get tested out there. St. Mary's was a really gritty, tough team and we found a way to fight back under the most tricky circumstances," Nott said. "Our experience came through and our new players brought the intensity and the energy. They were all mentally tough so I was really proud of the team effort." 
 
The Vaqueros had good practices focused on doubles play and tough drilling to get ready for their big matchup with the Cougars. They're amped up for the opportunity and confident in the direction the team is heading. 
 
"Houston is now a Big XII team so we're really excited to play a Power Five team and see how we can do against them. We think we have a decent shot to get our hooks into the match," Nott said. "We've played Prairie View a couple times the last few years and we've had success. We're hoping to just keep doing what we've been doing against them, play solid doubles and take care of business in singles." 

Support UTRGV Women's Tennis | Become a Fan on Facebook | Follow us on Twitter | Follow us on Instagram | Follow us on YouTube