CORPUS CHRISTI – The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV) Vaqueros men's tennis team is kicking off the fall season this weekend at the Jake Frederick Memorial Islander Open hosted by Texas A&M-Corpus Christi.
 
The tournament will start at 9 a.m. on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday at the Thomas J. Henry Tennis Center. The Vaqueros will compete alongside the hosting Islanders, Abilene Christian, Incarnate Word, Lamar, Rice, UT Arlington, and UTSA.
 
"Our guys came back in a very good way, mentally and physically," head coach Nathan Robinson said. "We were able to quickly set our goals and get everyone ready to compete. We're excited to get to the first tournament of the year and put the work in."
 
The doubles will kick off first at 9 a.m. on Friday. UTRGV will have five teams in the tournament with one returning duo from last year with sophomores Paolo Bonaguro and Will Roberts in the blue draw. Sophomore Ivo Isqueiro and freshman Loic Young will compete in the red draw alongside freshman Isaac Smyth and junior Sam Whitehead. Freshman Eduardo Menezes and sophomore Santiago Serrano will join juniors Showtime Leh and Agustin Salazar.
 
In singles action, UTRGV will have all 11 student-athletes competing in the open. Salazar will be in the blue draw, Isqueiro and Whitehead will compete in the red draw, Serrano will be in the green draw, Bonaguro and Roberts will go head-to-head in the purple draw, Menezes and Young will be in the orange draw, Smyth and freshman Fran Gamez will compete in the yellow draw, and Leh will go for gold in the gold draw.
 
With over 70 percent of the team experiencing their first fall season at UTRGV, the Vaqueros will use this tournament to learn more about what this team is made of on the court.
 
"Eight of our 11 guys are in their first fall season, so we're excited to get them into tournament situations and compete," Robinson said. "Obviously, you see them practice and we're in a good spot. But, until the lights are on and they start competing, that's when we will really know where they are."
 
UTRGV Friday Schedule
 
Doubles
Blue
Paolo Bonaguro/Will Roberts (UTRGV) vs. Matheus Lima/Daniel Morozov (ACU), 9 a.m.
 
Red
Ivo Isqueiro/Loic Young (UTRGV) vs. Andres Medus/Pedro Sasso (UTA), 9 a.m.
Isaac Smyth/Sam Whitehead (UTRGV) vs. Yazid Lahjomri/Ian Uraga (UTA), 9 a.m.
 
Green
Eduardo Menezes/Santiago Serrano (UTRGV) vs. Matthieu Coignet/Nicolas Niox Chateau (AMCC), 9:30 a.m.
Showtime Leh/Augustin Salazar (UTRGV) vs. Martin Delnido/Tomas Tischner (ACU), 9:30 a.m.
 
Singles
Blue
Augustin Salazar (UTRGV) vs. Nathan Favier (AMCC), 10 a.m.
 
Red
Ivo Isqueiro (UTRGV) vs. Alejandro Hernandez (UIW), 10 a.m.
Sam Whitehead (UTRGV) vs. Merse Deli (ACU), 11 a.m.
 
Green
Santiago Serrano (UTRGV) vs. Yazid Lahjomri (UTA), 11 a.m.
 
Purple
Paolo Bonaguro (UTRGV) vs. Josef Zapletal (AMCC), 12 p.m.
Will Roberts (UTRGV) vs. Pedro Sasso (UTA), 12 p.m.
 
Orange
Eduardo Menezes (UTRGV) vs. Joshua Mandelbaum (Rice), 12 p.m.
Loic Young (UTRGV) vs. Matthieu Coignet (AMCC), 12 p.m.
 
Yellow
Fran Gamez (UTRGV) vs. Gabriel Porras (Rice), 12 p.m.
Isaac Smyth (UTRGV) vs. Nicolas Trebuchet (AMCC), 12 p.m.
 
Gold
Showtime Leh (UTRGV) vs. Ford Elizondo (ACU), 1 p.m.