LUBBOCK – The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV) Vaqueros men's tennis team showed its fight against a Power 4 opponent Friday but dropped a non-conference match, 7-0, to the Texas Tech (TTU) Red Raiders at the McLeod Tennis Center.
TTU (3-2) took the 1-0 lead with a 6-1 win in the first doubles flight and a 6-2 win in the second flight. UTRGV's No. 3 duo of sophomore
Ivo Isqueiro and freshman
Eduardo Menezes were battling in their match, which was knotted at 3-3 when it went unfinished as the doubles point was clinched.
The Red Raiders extended the lead to 3-0 with a pair of straight-set wins on the sixth and first singles courts. Despite the deficit, the Vaqueros showed good fight across the middle courts and pushed three matches to third sets.
Isqueiro played tough in the No. 2 match, pushing the second set to a tiebreaker that went the distance. Tech's
Niksa Arsic held on for the 6-4, 7-6 (10:8) win to secure the team victory.
In the fifth flight, sophomore
Paolo Bonaguro captured a 6-4 first set victory before
Felipe Pagnacco came back to win the second, 6-0. Pagnacco opened up a 5-0 lead in the third before Bonaguro went on a run, but the Red Raider held on to take the win, 6-2.
Sophomore
Will Roberts and freshman
Loic Young Kriegel looked sharp on the third and fourth courts, respectively. Young gave
Thiago Guglieri all he could handle from the first set to the final point in a tight fourth flight. Guglieri narrowly took the first set, 7-6 (7:5), before Young came back to dominate the second for a 6-2 win. The third saw the two go blow-for-blow until Guglieri sealed the win with a 6-3 set.
Roberts played gritty tennis in the fourth flight. After dropping the first set, 6-4, to
Ludovico Vaccari, Roberts came back to take the second, 6-2. The third set went back-and-forth as both dropped well-executed shots and showed their athleticism through the grueling battle. Fittingly, the frame went to a tiebreaker, and Vaccari held on to claim the win with a 7-6 (7:5) set.
The Vaqueros (0-5) will wrap up their busy weekend with a Saturday doubleheader back at the McLeod Tennis Center. UTRGV is scheduled to play New Mexico State at 10 a.m. followed by Lubbock Christian at 4 p.m.
Results
Doubles (1, 2)
1. Sebastian Abboud/Piotr Pawlak (TTU) def.
Santiago Serrano/
Loic Young Kriegel (UTRGV) 6-1
2. Tyler Stewart/Ludovico Vaccari (TTU) def.
Sam Whitehead/
Paolo Bonaguro (UTRGV) 6-2
3.
Ivo Isqueiro/
Eduardo Menezes (UTRGV) vs. Thiago Guglieri/Felipe Pagnacco (TTU) 3-3, unfinished
Singles (6, 1, 5, 2, 4, 3)
1. Piotr Pawlak (TTU) def.
Sam Whitehead (UTRGV) 6-1, 6-4
2. Niksa Arsic (TTU) def.
Ivo Isqueiro (UTRGV) 6-4, 7-6 (10:8)
3. Ludovico Vaccari (TTU) def.
Will Roberts (UTRGV) 6-4, 2-6, 7-6 (7:5)
4. Thiago Guglieri (TTU) def.
Loic Young Kriegel (UTRGV) 7-6 (7:5), 2-6, 6-3
5. Felipe Pagnacco (TTU) def.
Paolo Bonaguro (UTRGV) 4-6, 6-0, 6-2
6. Sebastian Abboud (TTU) def.
Santiago Serrano (UTRGV) 6-4, 6-0
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