JACKSON & VICKSBURG, Miss. – The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV) Vaqueros men's tennis program is headed to Mississippi for a two-match trip, which will include road contests at Jackson State (JSU) and Alcorn State (ASU), this weekend.
 
Last Time Out
 
The Vaqueros dropped two matches in their Idaho road trip, but competed hard in a 4-3 loss to the Idaho (UI) Vandals and earned a point against UC San Diego (UCSD).
 
The Vaqueros earned wins on courts three, five, and six against Idaho, highlighted by a three-set showdown by junior Santiago Serrano. Serrano defeated Mikolaj Lis 7-5, 3-6, 6-4.
 
On court six, junior Tsz Him "Michael" Chan earned a swift straight-sets victory over Xavier Roca, 6-0, 6-3 while sophomore Loic Young Kriegel picked up a quick 6-2 win in the first set before his opponent retired the match.
 
Against UCSD, the Vaqueros dropped the doubles point; however, junior Paolo Bonaguro and Chan teamed up for a 6-3 win on court three, defeating the Tritons' duo of Prathinav Chunduru and Michael Fourticq.
 
In singles play, graduate student Sam Whitehead earned the Vaqueros lone point of the match, defeating Oliver Worth 6-3, 7-6 (7:3) on court one.
 
Jackson State – Feb. 27, 2 p.m. – JSU Tennis Center – Jackson, Miss.
 
UTRGV will open the road swing with a match against the Jackson State Tigers Friday at 2 p.m. The Vaqueros won their only meeting with the Tigers, a 6-0 neutral-site victory in New Orleans, in 2012.
 
JSU, a member of the Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC), is 1-7 on the year with a 6-1 win over Co-Lin. JSU has become very familiar with the Southland Conference (SLC) as they were dealt losses against New Orleans (UNO), 4-1, and Incarnate Word (UIW), 4-0.
 
The duo of Gokalp Ayar and Fabrizio Fallas have combined for a spotless 4-0 record at No. 3 doubles. Meanwhile, in singles play, the Tigers have seen the most success at court five, earning an overall 2-3 record. Primarily playing on court five is Chen Hung-Yu who is 2-2 on the season in that spot.
 
Meanwhile, UTRGV has achieved winning records at No. 3 doubles, 6-5, and No. 6 singles this season, 7-3.
 
Alcorn State – Feb. 28, 10 a.m. – Alcorn State Tennis Complex – Vicksburg, Miss.
 
UTRGV will wrap up the week with a road match against the Alcorn State Braves on Saturday at 10 a.m. UTRGV is a perfect 8-0 against the Braves with their latest win coming in 2020, 5-0, at Alcorn State.
 
ASU, a member of the SWAC, is 3-8 on the year with wins over Copiah-Lincoln Community College, Southwest Mississippi Community College, and Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College.
 
ASU has also become familiar with the Southland Conference as six of their eight losses have come against Lamar, Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, UNO, and UIW.
 
The Braves have a team-high three wins on three different courts in singles play which include courts three, four, and five.
 
Meanwhile, in doubles, the duo of Matthew Holl and Vincent Llobell Buigues have a 4-1 record on court two.
 
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