BEAUMONT, Texas – The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV) Vaqueros men's tennis program is looking to build off their 1-0 start in Southland Conference (SLC) play with road matches against the Lamar (LU) Cardinals and Incarnate Word (UIW) Cardinals this weekend.
 
Last Time Out
 
This is the program's first win over TAMUCC since 2023, a 4-3 win in Edinburg, and the first time in program history that both the men's and women's tennis programs defeated the Islanders on the same day.
 
In addition, the win officially clinched the department's second-ever South Texas Showdown, presented by Rally Credit Union, the department's annual rivalry series with TAMUCC that spans across 14 sports.
 
UTRGV picked up the first point of the afternoon, grinding out an intense doubles session with wins on courts one and two. On court one, the duo of graduate student Sam Whitehead and sophomore Loic Young Kriegel found themselves in a 3-0 hole early before coming back to tie the match at 4-4. Whitehead and Young broke to go up 5-4 and served out the match, winning 6-4.
 
On court two, juniors Ivo Isqueiro and Santiago Serrano found themselves in a grueling duel that went to a seventh game. Isqueiro and Serrano trailed 5-4 before rattling off three consecutive games to secure the 7-5 win and the doubles point for UTRGV.
 
In singles action, Whitehead evened up the team score with a dominant 6-2, 6-4 performance on court one. While leading 4-3, Whitehead broke through to take a 5-3 advantage. However, Niox bounced back with a break of his own, to make it 5-4. It was Whitehead who had the last laugh, breaking to win the set and the match to even the team score at 2-2.
 
On court two, Isqueiro completed his comeback, a hard-fought 1-6, 6-4, 6-2 affair. In the final set, Isqueiro broke Omar Suarez three times to take the third set comfortably. The first came at 0-0, then 2-1, then again at 4-2. Isqueiro answered the call every time to knot the match at 3-3.
 
Meanwhile, on court six Tsz Him Chan was in a 1-1 tie in his third set with Mikel Garmendia. Chan, fueled by the roar of the Vaqueros one court over, cruised. It started in that game as Chan won a tough deuce point to go up 2-1. Then a quick break made it 3-1. Chan dominated the rest of the way winning 6-1 and clinching the historic victory for UTRGV.
 
Lamar – March 28, 10 a.m. – Thompson Family Tennis Center – Beaumont, Texas
 
The Vaqueros will embark on their first conference road trip, opening against Lamar on Saturday at 10 a.m. UTRGV has won 4-3 in two consecutive matches against LU and is 12-14 in the all-time series.
 
In their last matchup, a 4-3 win for the Vaqueros in Edinburg last season, UTRGV won the doubles point and earned wins from Isqueiro, Serrano, and junior Will Roberts to clinch the match.
 
LU is 11-10 overall and has a 2-0 record in SLC play this season. The Cardinals are coming off a big road trip, picking up a 5-2 win against New Orleans and a 6-1 win against Nicholls.
 
The Cardinals have four student-athletes entering the weekend with 2-0 records in the SLC play which include courts two, three, five, and six.
 
Meanwhile, the Vaqueros enter the weekend with winning records on courts one, two, and six in conference play.
 
Incarnate Word – March 30, 11 a.m. – Mabry Tennis Center – San Antonio, Texas
 
UTRGV will complete its second weekend of conference play Monday against UIW at 11 a.m. at the Mabry Tennis Center in San Antonio. UTRGV is 5-9 all-time against UIW including a 6-1 win in their most recent matchup last season.
 
After taking the doubles point with wins on courts one and three, the Vaqueros picked up wins on courts one, two, three, five, and six to secure the win.
 
UIW enters the weekend with a 10-2 overall record and a 2-0 record in conference play. This past weekend, UIW earned a 6-1 win over Nicholls and a 5-2 win against New Orleans.

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