RIO GRANDE VALLEY – The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV) Vaqueros men's tennis program is ready to open the spring as they welcome the Arkansas Razorbacks and Rice Owls to the H-E-B Tennis Center in Harlingen this weekend.
 
Prior to the Vaqueros season opener, the Razorbacks and Owls will kick off the day with a neutral site match at 11 a.m.
 
Then, the UTRGV men's and women's tennis programs will host a free junior clinic, which is available for children enrolled in grades 5-10, and will run from 3:30-4:30 p.m. Registration for the clinic is still open and fans can register at www.GoUTRGV.com/TennisClinic.
 
The Vaqueros will then kick off the spring season with a duel against the Arkansas Razorbacks at 5 p.m. Saturday. UTRGV is 4-5 all-time against Arkansas with their last win coming in 1978, a 7-2 victory in San Antonio. In their last matchup, UTRGV fell 6-1 in a pair of doubleheaders at No. 64 Arkansas in 2014.
 
"It's a really awesome opportunity, not just for our team, but for the Valley to be able to host an SEC school like Arkansas and the American Champions in Rice, and it's a great way to kick off our year," head men's tennis coach Nathan Robinson said. "We're very thankful for Jay [Udwadia] at Arkansas and Efe [Ustentag] at Rice for agreeing to come down for these matches."
 
The last time the Vaqueros hosted a team from the Southeastern Conference was during the 1979 season when UTRGV swept Vanderbilt 9-0. In that same season, UTRGV lost 5-4 at home to Alabama.
 
UTRGV last hosted a power conference team in 2007 when the Nebraska Cornhuskers visited Orville Cox Tennis Center.
 
UTRGV will then continue its run at H-E-B Tennis Center when they battle the reigning American Conference Tournament Champions, Rice at 11 a.m. on Sunday. The Owls ended last season ranked No. 47 and earned an automatic bid to the NCAA Men's Tennis Tournament.
 
UTRGV is 18-30 all-time against the Owls with their last win coming in 2018 when the Vaqueros battled to a 4-3 finish in Houston. UTRGV last hosted Rice in 1979 in an 8-1 victory.
 
All events at the H-E-B Tennis Center this weekend are free and open to the public. The matches will be broadcast live on ESPN+. Fans at home can also follow along through live scoring via StatBroadcast.
 
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