WACO, Texas – The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV) men's tennis team battled hard against the 11
th-ranked team in the country, the Baylor (BU) Bears, but ultimately fell 4-0 Sunday at Hawkins Indoor Tennis Center.
The Vaqueros showed fight and tons of heart in singles play as they matched up with their highest-ranked opponent of the season.
UTRGV's only set of the match came at the number six court where sophomore
Tsz Him Chan took the first set against
Drew Hedgecoe, 6-3. In that set, Chan and Hedgecoe traded games and stayed on-serve with Chan leading 4-3. With deuce point and Hedgecoe serving in that eighth game, Hedgecoe hit a kick serve out wide, but the lefty Chan hit a crushing forehand down the line to take a 5-3 lead. Chan served out the set at deuce point at 5-3. The second set played out like the first with the set abandoned at 3-3.
On court two, junior
Ivo Isqueiro dropped a quick first set to
Alexandru Chirita, falling 6-1. However, in the second set, Isqueiro flipped the switch. Isqueiro kept Chirita off-balance with some timely defensive groundstrokes, powerful serves, and crushing approach shots. Isqueiro led 1-0 before winning nine straight points to take a 3-0 lead. Chirita bounced back and looked to close the gap with his serve, but Isqueiro had another idea as he broke Chirita's serve to take a 5-3 lead. The two showed great returns throughout the set as it was abandoned with Isqueiro leading 5-4 with double set point.
Junior
Will Roberts battled hard on court five after going down early in the first set. Roberts was broken to open the first set and, both he and his opponent,
Arman Zamani, did not drop a service game for the rest of the match. Zamani took the first 6-4 and the second set was abandoned at 4-4 in the second set.
Graduate student
Sam Whitehead pushed his opponent,
Devin Badenhorst, the seventh-ranked singles player in the country. Whitehead showcased an exceptional array of volleys and clutch in the first set. With the set knotted at 1-1 and 2-2, Whitehead won at deuce to stay in the match. Eventually broken at 3-3, Whitehead dropped the first set 6-4. Badenhorst carried the momentum into the second set, winning 6-2 to clinch the match for the Bears.
On court three, junior
Santiago Serrano dropped a quick first set, 6-0, to
Luc Koenig. However, in the second, Serrano battled back. Down 2-0, Serrano won his first game of the match to make it 2-1. Serrano and Koenig traded service games until 4-2 in the set. At deuce point, Serrano hit a devastating ace; then at deuce point in the next game, Serrano hit a cross-court backhand to Koenig at the net before ripping a down-the-line passing shot to knot the set at 4-4. The pair went to a tiebreaker with Koenig eventually winning the set 7-6 (7:3) to take the match.
The Bears swept the doubles session to take the first point of the match and earned a win at court four in singles.
The Vaqueros are turning their attention to the Southland Conference (SLC) Men's Tennis Tournament which will run from April 20-21 in Beaumont, Texas. UTRGV went 3-2 in SLC play and will have to wait to find out their seed and first round opponent.
Results
Doubles (2, 1)
1. Alexandru Chirita/Zsombor Velcz (BU) def.
Sam Whitehead/
Loic Young Kriegel (UTRGV), 6-2
2. Devin Badenhorst/Luc Koenig (BU) def.
Ivo Isqueiro/
Santiago Serrano (UTRGV), 6-1
3.
Blake Anderson/Arman Zamani (BU) vs. Paolo Bonaguro/Tsz Him Chan (UTRGV), 5-1
Singles (4, 3, 1)
1. #7
Devin Badenhorst (BU) def. Sam Whitehead (UTRGV), 6-4, 6-2
2. Alexandru Chirita (BU) vs.
Ivo Isqueiro (UTRGV), 6-1, 4-5
3. Luc Koenig (BU) def.
Santiago Serrano (UTRGV), 6-0, 7-6 (7:3)
4. Calvin Baierl (BU) def.
Loic Young Kriegel (UTRGV), 6-2, 6-1
5. Arman Zamani (BU) vs.
Will Roberts (UTRGV), 6-4, 4-4
6. Tsz Him Chan (UTRGV) vs. Drew Hedgecoe (BU), 6-3, 3-3
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