RIO GRANDE VALLEY – The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley's (UTRGV) #5 men's tennis team dominated its quarterfinals match Thursday during the Western Athletic Conference (WAC) Tennis Tournament at the HEB Tennis Center at Pendleton Park in Harlingen, defeating #4 Seattle U, 4-0, to advance to the semifinals.
The Vaqueros will face #1 UT Arlington Friday at 9 a.m. for a spot in the WAC Championships.
UTRGV (9-16) set the tone in the doubles session, playing tough and energetic tennis to open up a 1-0 lead. After Seattle U took the No. 3 match, UTRGV's freshmen duo of
Paolo Bonaguro and
Santiago Serrano evened things up with a solid 6-3 win on the second court.
The No. 1 duo of senior captain
Emilien Burnel and freshman
Ivo Isqueiro secured the lead with a 6-4 win on the main court.
The Vaqueros looked strong to start singles play, taking the first set on four courts. Sophomore McAllen Memorial alum
Agustin Salazar extended UTRGV's advantage to 2-0 with a quick 6-2, 6-4 win at No. 4. He used a big serve and strong strokes from the baseline to control his bout.
Burnel picked up a hard-earned 6-3, 6-4 win in the No. 1 match, battling through an exciting contest. His athleticism and incredible IQ was on full display throughout the match.
Freshman
Will Roberts clinched the victory on Court Five. He outdueled
Dario Ristovski in a long and tight first set, taking the frame 7-5, then used that momentum to control the second set as he rolled to a 6-2 win, sending his team into celebration mode.
The Vaqueros looked good on the other three singles courts, too. Serrano showed tremendous fight to come back from dropping the first set of the No. 3 match, 1-6, and falling behind 1-4 in the second to win the second frame 7-6 (7:2). He was up 1-0 in the third when the match went unfinished. Isqueiro was leading the second set of the No. 2 match, 5-3, after dropping an incredibly competitive first set, 6-7 (3:7). Bonaguro won the first set on Court Six, 6-4, and was locked at 4-4 in the second.
UTRGV Results
Doubles (3, 2, 1)
1.
Emilien Burnel/
Ivo Isqueiro (UTRGV) def. Veselin Kiselkov/Jun Sasagawa (SU) 6-4
2.
Paolo Bonaguro/
Santiago Serrano (UTRGV) def. Michael Frank/Julian Worn (SU) 6-3
3. Yu-Han Hsieh/Filip Stipic (SU) def.
Will Roberts/
Agustin Salazar (UTRGV) 6-2
Singles (4, 1, 5)
1.
Emilien Burnel (UTRGV) def. Jun Sasagawa (SU) 6-3, 6-4
2.
Ivo Isqueiro (UTRGV) vs. Filip Stipic (SU) 6-7 (3:7), 5-3, unf.
3.
Santiago Serrano (UTRGV) def. Julian Worn (SU) 1-6, 7-6 (7:2), 1-0, unf.
4.
Agustin Salazar (UTRGV) def. Michael Frank (SU) 6-2, 6-4
5.
Will Roberts (UTRGV) def. Dario Ristovski (SU) 7-5, 6-2
6.
Paolo Bonaguro (UTRGV) vs. Veselin Kiselkov (SU) 6-4, 4-4, unf.
Support UTRGV Men's Tennis |
Become a Fan on Facebook |
Follow us on Twitter |
Follow us on Instagram |
Follow us on YouTube
