RIO GRANDE VALLEY – It would have been easy to give up on the season when the UTRGV men's tennis team found itself at 2-13 eight weeks into the spring. 
 
The Vaqueros lost their first six matches of the year and didn't put a point on the board through their first five matches. After picking up a pair of wins over Lubbock Christian and Prairie View A&M, they lost their next seven, including the first three of a four-match swing in California. 
 
On March 10, after a long week on the road, UTRGV picked up a hard-earned, 5-2 win at UC Riverside. Fighting through fatigue and maybe some frustration, the Vaqueros came out strong in doubles and finished the job in singles behind the bottom of the lineup as flights 3-6 captured wins to power the team to victory. 
 
"We had an ugly start to the season, but our guys never blinked," head coach Nathan Robinson said. "They knew they were prepared and had the level to win, they just weren't closing the door. Once we got over the hump, mainly with the win over UC Riverside when we were tired and did not play well but still competed with so much ferocity that we found a way to win, we were off to the races." 
 
For the next month, the Vaqueros were an absolute force. They won eight consecutive matches, recording the program's longest winning streak since 1987. During that stretch, they started their Southland Conference (SLC) campaign 4-0. At New Orleans, three of UTRGV's four singles wins were in three sets. At Nicholls, they overcame a significant weather delay to sweep the match. The Vaqueros erased a late 3-2 deficit to beat Lamar as Ivo Isqueiro came roaring back in a three-setter and Will Roberts clinched in the fifth flight. They earned their first victory over Incarnate Word since 2020 and secured the program's first 10-win season since 2018. 
 
"We went from wanting to accomplish something to believing we deserved to be competing for something," Robinson said. "That is a huge step forward in the maturation process. This group was young, but they had the belief of a much older team, they just needed to gain experience. We saw that come through with that run of eight wins in a row. You could feel the change in mentality." 
 
Those conference matches highlighted the gritty determination of a team that never lost its confidence during those two difficult months to open the season. Early in the season, the Vaqueros were battling in every loss. They were taking ranked teams to the brink, even if the scoreboard didn't show how tight the matches were. 
 
Take redshirt junior Sam Whitehead, for example. After missing the majority of last season due to a hand injury, Whitehead returned with something to prove. He spent his first two seasons moving between flights 3-5, but as the unquestioned leader this season, he took hold of the No. 1 singles spot. Whitehead pushed Pierre-Yves Bailly, then the reigning Big 12 singles champion, to a third-set tiebreaker as UTRGV opened the season at #1 Texas. He dropped a grueling three-setter to #94 Jerry Barton of #52 SMU. Half of his first 12 matches at No. 1 went the distance as he showed resilience match after match. 
 
Whitehead's determination paid off during the conference season. He went 4-1 at No. 1 and was voted as the SLC Men's Tennis Player of the Year – bringing such an honor to UTRGV for the first time since 2015. He was the only conference player to defeat Texas A&M-Corpus Christi's Nathan Favier this season, and he did it twice, taking down the SLC fall singles champion in a non-conference match in February and again in SLC play in April. Whitehead made the All-Conference First Team at No. 1 singles and was recognized as the UTRGV Male Student-Athlete of the Year and Comeback Athlete of the Year. 
 
"Sam has been a tireless worker and leader for us during his four years, so to see him take a huge step forward was special," Robinson said. "He had a season of great moments, all coming off an injury that had him shut down from hitting for over five months the year before. A lot of people don't fully understand all that takes place to make that kind of jump, mentally and physically. I'm so proud of what he was able to accomplish and I'm excited to see where he can lead us in his final year." 
 
Whitehead's dominance in singles and the dynamic play of Isqueiro and Eduardo Menezes in doubles anchored UTRGV's best conference season since 2015. Isqueiro and Menezes made the All-Conference Second Team at No. 3 doubles after going 4-1 in SLC action and 11-3 overall. Isqueiro also made the All-Conference First Team at No. 2 singles as the sophomore went 3-1 in conference play and brought the energy for UTRGV. 
 
Isqueiro and Menezes had duos from #16 Illinois and #17 Baylor knotted at 6-6 in matches that went unfinished during the non-conference season. They defeated #52 SMU's Jerry Barton/Ofek Shimanov and won seven consecutive matches to aid UTRGV's historic winning streak. 
 
"Ivo and Eduardo, that was a team that was just a blast to watch – athletic, explosive, talented, and they play with so much intensity," Robinson praised. "Their standout match was definitely the dominant win over SMU. That was the moment we all really started thinking about how high their ceiling could be." 
 
The tremendous turnaround earned UTRGV a chance to compete for its first conference championship since 1987. The Vaqueros traveled to rival Corpus and fought hard but fell, 4-3, in the regular season title match. Due to two affiliates being placed at #2 and #3 for conference tournament seeding, UTRGV was the fourth seed for the postseason. It dropped a heartbreaker to #5 New Orleans – a team of destiny that went on to defeat the regular season champion and reigning tournament champion to clinch the SLC title. 
 
Throughout the fall and spring, the student-athletes made their goals known by consistently posting the ring emoji on social media posts. The Vaqueros wanted to win a conference championship. They fell short of that goal, but they came closer than they have in years, and they had several significant achievements along the way. It was a special season and left the Vaqueros hungrier, more confident and more determined than ever. 
 
"It was quite a season of growth and learning. We gained a ton of belief in what we can accomplish as a team. We fell short of a few goals, but we did things that haven't been done in a long time here, and we're proud of that," Robinson said. "This season put us in such a great position to move our program to the next level. We have a group built on camaraderie and grit. They love competing for each other and for UTRGV. I couldn't be prouder of what we have accomplished and we should all be very excited about what is to come." 

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