RIO GRANDE VALLEY – The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV) Vaqueros men's tennis team learned on Monday that Luna Buijtenhuijs, Rhea Makesar, Hitakamya Narwal, Valentina Urraco, and Mariia Bakhtina were named to the Southland Conference (SLC) 2026 Women's Tennis All-Academic Team.
 
To be eligible for the All-Academic Team, student-athletes must have a cumulative GPA of 3.25 or better with at least one semester completed at the nominating institution and must have played in at least 50% of the team's games. To be eligible for Student-Athlete of the Year, the minimum GPA is 3.50 along with the other requirements.
 
Buijtenhuijs broke out in her sophomore campaign, earning a team-high 10 wins and a dominant 8-1 record in SLC play. She contributed across the lineup, garnering a 3-1 record at the No. 4 spot, 2-0 record at No. 1, 2-0 at No. 3, and 1-0 at No. 5. With most of her matches coming at court four, Buijtenhuijs was key in UTRGV's win over Texas A&M-Corpus Christi (TAMUCC) and earned conference wins over Northwestern State and Lamar. She ended her season on a four-match win streak which includes two wins at court three, against New Orleans (UNO) and Nicholls, and her latest two wins at the number one spot, picking up wins at Southeastern (SLU) and against the reigning SLC Player of the Year at regular-season champion McNeese.
 
Makesar posted a 4-1 record at the No. 5 singles spot and a 6-3 record overall during SLC play this season. Makesar won her final four matches at the number five spot, picking up wins against UIW, Lamar, New Orleans, and Nicholls. Makesar also picked up a win at court four against Stephen F. Austin (SFA) and ended the season with a win at court three at regular-season champion McNeese. In non-conference play, Makesar earned singles wins against Abilene Christian and Texas State.
 
Narwal played at the middle courts for the Vaqueros. Starting off the year on court two, Narwal earned wins against New Mexico and Northwestern State (NSU). Playing at court three, she picked up a win over Texas State. At the No. 4 singles spot, Narwal earned wins over New Orleans and Nicholls. In doubles, Narwal mostly played with sophomore Mariia Bakhtina, where they posted a 4-1 record at No. 3 doubles in conference play. The duo played a big role in UTRGV's 4-3 win over TAMUCC, earning a 6-0 win at No. 3 doubles. The pair also picked up wins against Northwestern State, SFA, and UIW. In each of their four victories at No. 3 doubles, UTRGV took the doubles point against their opponents.
 
Urraco picked up three wins during the season. Her first win came at Texas A&M-Kingsville on court five. She also notched a straight-sets win against UT Permian Basin and earned her lone conference win against New Orleans on court six. In doubles, Urraco posted a 6-8 overall and 3-3 conference record in doubles, all with Luna Buijtenhuijs. They started with a 6-1 win on court two against Northwestern State before picking up dominant wins over New Orleans and Nicholls. They also defeated Northwestern State 6-1 at No. 2 during the SLC Tournament Quarterfinals. In non-conference play, they picked up wins against TAMUCC and Texas A&M-Kingsville.
 
Bakhtina mostly played on courts five and six, going 2-2 on court six and ended the regular season with a 4-2 record across six matches. She kicked off the stretch with a win on court four against UT Permian Basin before earning a big straight-sets win on court six against TAMUCC to help UTRGV earn the 4-3 overall win. She picked up a straight-sets win against Lamar and finished the regular season with a three-set win on court three against Southeastern. In doubles, Bakhtina posted a 4-1 record at No. 3 doubles in conference play, once again delivering in UTRGV's win over TAMUCC. She picked up wins against Northwestern State, SFA, and UIW. In each of her four victories at No. 3 doubles, UTRGV took the doubles point against their opponents.
 
2026 Women's Tennis Student-Athlete of the Year – Kseniya Ramanouskaya, TAMUCC
 
2026 Southland Conference Women's Tennis All-Academic Team
Luna Buijtenhuijs, UTRGV
Rhea Makesar, UTRGV
Hitakamya Narwal, UTRGV
Valentina Urraco, UTRGV
Mariia Bakhtina, UTRGV
Alexandra Mille, UIW
Amelia Perez Corona, UIW
Amelie Montalvo, UIW
Ine Lamprecht, UIW
Luciana Paez Hernandez, UIW
Arina Gudovskaya, Lamar
Asta Miettinen, Lamar
Luana Paiva, Lamar
Savannah Bijlsma, Lamar
Martina Alcaino, Lamar
Salome Fluri, McNeese
Ana Hollweg, McNeese
Erica Hagi, McNeese
Naomi Hagi, McNeese
Elena Morales, McNeese
Ananya Dhankar, UNO
Kateryna Kalistratova, UNO
Nouray Khaled, UNO
Fleur Sprengers, UNO
Julia Bordignon, Nicholls
Aada Inna, Nicholls
Bianca Losada, Nicholls
Noemie Piquet, Nicholls
Paulina Villegas, Nicholls
Martina Acebedo Bonocore, NSU
Maria Farina, NSU
Sofi Garcia, NSU
Lija Mumlek, NSU
Honoka Umeda, NSU
Felicia Back, SFA
Alkmini Giannakogiorgou, SFA
Avery Kinsey, SFA
Ksenia Mamontova, SFA
Sonja Rooth, SFA
Bente Bierma, SLU
Taisia Bolsova, SLU
Aitana Darder, SLU
Panatchakorn Suanarsa, SLU
Adrianna Tirado, SLU
Adriana Jimenez, TAMUCC
Yana Mykytyn, TAMUCC
Kseniya Ramanouskaya, TAMUCC
 
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