RIO GRANDE VALLEY – The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV) Vaqueros men's tennis team erased an early deficit to defeat the New Mexico State (NMSU) Aggies, 5-2, to open the Rio Grande Valley Invitational Saturday at the Orville Cox Tennis Center.
The Vaqueros (6-11) will be back on the court at 3 p.m. to face Morgan State.
UTRGV's top doubles duo of senior captain
Emilien Burnel and freshman
Ivo Isqueiro cruised to a 6-2 win in the top flight with energetic play. The Vaqueros battled on the next two doubles courts, erasing an early 0-2 deficit on Court Two to make things tight, but NMSU (4-8) won at two and three to secure the 1-0 advantage.
The Vaqueros came out strong to start singles action, winning the first sets on four of six courts. Burnel and freshman
Will Roberts put UTRGV on top, 2-1, with solid play on the bookend courts.
Burnel didn't give his opponent an inch to open the No. 1 match, cruising to a 6-0 win. He closed the second set on a roll to secure his win, 6-2, and get the Vaqueros on the board. Roberts gained momentum and bamboozled his opponent as the match went on at No. 6, taking a back-and-forth first set 6-4 before dominating the second for a 6-0 win. His third singles win in a row gave UTRGV the advantage and fired up the rest of the courts. The Aggies evened the match at 2-2 with a win in the second flight.
Freshman
Santiago Serrano played tough on Court Four to give the edge back to UTRGV. He earned a 6-4 win in the first set, then battled to come through with a clutch 7-5 win in the second to make it 3-2.
Isqueiro showed his tenacity to capture a come-from-behind win to secure UTRGV's victory. He dropped the first set of his No. 3 match 1-6 but didn't let himself get down. Isqueiro rolled in the second to the tune of a 6-1 win of his own. With the tension building as two tight matches played on, Isqueiro used his massive serve to take control late in the third and clinched his and UTRGV's victory with a 6-3 frame.
Freshman
Paolo Bonaguro capped the great start to the day with his first home win, taking the No. 5 match 6-4, 7-6 (7:4). He fell behind 2-5 in the second set but showed great mental toughness and used his powerful stroke to go on a run late and secure the win.
UTRGV Results
Doubles (1, 2, 3)
1.
Emilien Burnel/
Ivo Isqueiro (UTRGV) def. Tobias Wallin/Gustavo Campos (NMSU) 6-2
2. Roko Stipetic/Luca Fe D'Ostiani (NMSU) def.
Paolo Bonaguro/
Will Roberts (UTRGV) 6-4
3. Itay Feigin/Ricardo Mercardo (NMSU) def.
Agustin Salazar/
Santiago Serrano (UTRGV) 6-3
Singles (1, 6, 2, 4, 3, 5)
1.
Emilien Burnel (UTRGV) def. Tobias Wallin (NMSU) 6-0, 6-2
2. Itay Feigin (NMSU) def.
Agustin Salazar (UTRGV) 6-3, 6-1
3.
Ivo Isqueiro (UTRGV) def. Gustavo Campos (NMSU) 1-6, 6-1, 6-3
4.
Santiago Serrano (UTRGV) def. Roko Stipetic (NMSU) 6-4, 7-5
5.
Paolo Bonaguro (UTRGV) def. Luca Fe D'Ostiani (NMSU) 6-4, 7-6 (7:4)
6.
Will Roberts (UTRGV) def. Henrik Lynum (NMSU) 6-4, 6-0
Support UTRGV Men's Tennis |
Become a Fan on Facebook |
Follow us on Twitter |
Follow us on Instagram |
Follow us on YouTube
