DALLAS & SAN ANTONIO – The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV) Vaqueros men's tennis team earned five wins in the first day at the Ralston/Neufeld Coaches Challenge, hosted by SMU, and the UIW Invitational, hosted by Incarnate Word (UIW) on Friday.
 
Ralston/Neufeld Coaches Challenge
 
Sophomore Loic Young Kriegel shined at SMU's Ralston/Neufeld Coaches Challenge earning singles wins over Tulsa's Calum Jestin and Lubbock Christian's (LCU) Andres De Los Rios.
 
Young jumped out to an early 4-0 lead over Jestin before he retired from the match to give Young the opening round win. Against De Los Rios, Young earned a swift 6-3 first set victory before earning a hard-fought 7-6 (7-5) victory in the second to solidify the win.
 
Junior Santiago Serrano battled, but ultimately fell, in a tough three-set match with Tulsa's Connor Doig. After dropping the first set 6-2, Serrano turned the tables with a tough 7-6 (7-5) second set to even the match. Doig would eventually pull away with a 7-5 win in the final set.
 
In doubles, Serrano and junior Ivo Isqueiro went toe-to-toe with Tulsa's Reiya Komagata and Victor Tosetto, eventually falling 7-6 (8-6).
 
UIW Invitational
 
Meanwhile in San Antonio, junior Will Roberts and freshman Luke Bishop advanced to the semifinals in their respective singles draws.
 
Roberts dropped the first set 6-2 in his match against UIW's Mateo Galvez before bouncing back for a 6-4 win in the second. In the deciding tiebreaker, Roberts pulled away with a 10-4 win to advance to the Compass 2 semifinals.
 
In Compass 3, Bishop fought hard, and was ultimately victorious, in his match against Mario Richmagui from UIW. Bishop dropped the first set 6-4 before rallying back to win the second 6-3 and the deciding tiebreaker 10-7.
 
In doubles, the duo of sophomore Tsz Him Chan and freshman Eduardo Menezes defeated the team of Corentin Fusaro and Caleb Olen from Our Lady of the Lake (OLL) to advance to the finals of Flight 2.
 
The Vaqueros will continue their run at the Ralston/Neufeld Coaches Challenge and the UIW Invitational Saturday.

Ralston/Neufeld Coaches Challenge Friday Results
Singles
First Round
Loic Young Kriegel (UTRGV) def. Calum Jestin (Tulsa), 4-0 (ret.)
Connor Doig (Tulsa) def. Santiago Serrano (UTRGV), 6-2, 6-7 (7-5), 7-5
Reiya Komagata (Tulsa) def. Ivo Isqueiro (UTRGV), 7-6 (7-4), 2-4 (ret.)
Victor Tosetto (Tulsa) def. Sam Whitehead (UTRGV), 6-3, 6-3
 
Second Round
Loic Young Kriegel (UTRGV) def. Andres De Los Rios (LCU), 6-3, 7-6 (7-5)
Mattia Ghedin (LCU) def. Santiago Serrano (UTRGV), 6-3, 6-3
Kelly Giese (LCU) def. Sam Whitehead (UTRGV), 6-1, 6-3
 
UIW Invitational Friday Results
Singles
Compass 1
Etienne Marty (TAMUCC) def. Paolo Bonaguro (UTRGV), 6-0, 3-6, 1-0 (10-6)
Josef Zapletal (TAMUCC) def. Tsz Him Chan (UTRGV), 6-1, 1-6, 1-0 (10-6)
 
Compass 2
Will Roberts (UTRGV) def. Mateo Galvez (UIW), 2-6, 6-4, 1-0 (10-4)
Filip Vacula (TAMUCC) def. Eduardo Menezes (UTRGV), 6-4, 6-4
 
Compass 3
Luke Bishop (UTRGV) def. Mario Richmagui (UIW), 4-6, 6-3, 1-0 (10-7)
Maxime Salesses (TAMUCC) def. Francisco Gamez (UTRGV), 6-1, 6-0
 
Doubles
Flight 1
Jacob Gailey/Bastien Prod'homme (OLL) def. Paolo Bonaguro/Will Roberts (UTRGV), 6-4
 
Flight 2
Tsz Him Chan/Eduardo Menezes (UTRGV) def. Corentin Fusaro/Caleb Olen (OLL), 6-3
Filip Vacula/Josef Zapletal (TAMUCC) def. Luke Bishop/Francisco Gamez (UTRGV), 6-3
 
UIW Invitational Saturday Schedule
Singles
Compass 1 West Semifinals
Paolo Bonaguro (UTRGV) vs. Jaroslav Majsajdr (OLL), 12 p.m.
Tsz Him Chan (UTRGV) vs. Augustin Salazar (UIW), 12 p.m.
 
Compass 2 East Semifinals
Will Roberts (UTRGV) vs. Corentin Fusaro (OLL), 9 a.m.
 
Compass 2 West Semifinals
Eduardo Menezes (UTRGV) vs. Alexandre Chauvel Gobin (UIW), 12 p.m.
 
Compass 3 East Semifinals
Luke Bishop (UTRGV) vs. Maxime Salesses (TAMUCC), 10:30 a.m.
 
Compass 3 West Semifinals
Francisco Gamez (UTRGV) vs. Mario Richmagui (UIW), 10:30 a.m.
 
Doubles
Flight 1 West Final
Paolo Bonaguro/Will Roberts (UTRGV) vs. Jarsolav Majsajdr/Matis Nuziere (OLL), 2 p.m.
 
Flight 2 East Final
Tsz Him Chan/Eduardo Menezes (UTRGV) vs. Filip Vacula/Josef Zapletal (TAMUCC), 2 p.m.
 
Flight 2 West Final
Luke Bishop/Francisco Gamez (UTRGV) vs. Samuel Candelas/Augustin Salazar (UIW), 2 p.m.
 
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