RIO GRANDE VALLEY – The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV) Department of Intercollegiate Athletics announced on Wednesday the 2024 fall schedule for the Vaqueros women's tennis team, which includes five tournaments and a chance to qualify for the NCAA Championships. 
 
The Vaqueros get the fall season started at Texas A&M-Kingsville's Javelina Jam from Sept. 27-28. 
 
UTRGV's top players will compete at a pair of championship-qualifying events in October. Select student-athletes will attend the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) Texas Regional in Fort Worth from Oct. 10-14. 
 
This year marks the beginning of a two-year pilot program approved by the NCAA Div. I Competition Oversight Committee to hold the women's and men's individual tennis championships in the fall seasons, moving the tournaments from the spring when the team championships are held. The program intends to "create a clearly defined and accessible pathway for student-athletes to earn entry into the fall 2024 and fall 2025 NCAA Individual Championships." 
 
In response to this pilot program, automatic qualifier-eligible Div. I conferences may hold a conference tournament in the fall to determine one singles player and one doubles team from each gender to advance to the 2024 ITA Conference Masters Championship. Four singles players and three doubles teams will qualify from the masters tournament to the NCAA Singles and Doubles Championships, respectively. Select Vaqueros will compete in the Southland Conference (SLC) Fall Championship Oct. 25-27 in Hammond, Louisiana. 
 
Other women's tennis student-athletes will compete at the Bearkat Invite hosted by Sam Houston State from Oct. 25-27. UTRGV wraps up the fall season Nov. 7-10 at the Rice Invitational in Houston. 
 
"We're really pleased with this fall schedule," women's tennis head coach West Nott said. "The Javelina Jam is a great event where we can build confidence and get our feet wet. We have five new players and this will be a great way to see how they perform against level-based competition. ITA Regionals brings together the best players in Texas and gives us an opportunity to battle elite programs. The SLC individual qualifier is a tremendous opportunity for the players to have a clear pathway to qualify for the top 64 singles and doubles teams in the NCAA and a real motivating factor for the players who earn this right. The Bearkat Invite is the perfect fall event where we will compete against teams like Sam Houston State, UTSA and Lamar and to see how we stack up. The last tournament at Rice will be the ultimate challenge to play against high-level competition from strong mid-major and Power 4 programs. 
 
"We want to see if we can peak at the end of the fall and finish the season on a high note," Nott added. "The experience we gain through this fall schedule will help us learn what we need to work on to compete against elite competition and have a good spring season." 

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