As the spring semester comes to an end, UTRGV Athletics tries to keep up its momentum as the tennis and baseball teams hope to finish the season strong with conference matches this month.
The Women’s Tennis Team has a conference record of 3-0 with an overall standing of 10-8, which is better than last season’s 4-16.
Head Coach Sonia Hahn said a lot of improvement is due to the team embracing coaching strategy changes.
“They understand how hard they have to work and they are accepting it, and are willing to put the effort in to win,” Hahn said.
She said the veteran players provide good leadership examples for the team.
“We have one senior, Dominique [Esparza], she has improved tremendously,” the coach said. “She’s worked on her game. She’s added a lot of variety and I think that helps her claim that top spot. … I think she has done a fantastic job preparing the rest of the team.”
The team has two matches this week, against Chicago State University on Friday and New Mexico State University on Saturday in Seattle.
Hahn said she feels good about the upcoming conference matches.
“The girls have a lot of confidence right now, and I think we have a lot of good momentum going into our last two conference matches of the season,” she said.
The team has three new freshman players, Lasya Patnaik from Hyderabad, India; Alicia Thal from Munich, Germany; and Emma Louise Tranberg from Copenhagen, Denmark.
Men’s Tennis
UTRGV Men’s Tennis Team started its conference play with a 6-1 loss last Thursday against New Mexico State University in Kansas City, Missouri.
Its overall record stands at 8-9, which is better than last season’s 5-21.
The Vaqueros also faced Grand Canyon University on Friday at the same location, but as of press time, the scores were unavailable. Visit goutrgv.com for the results.
Head Coach Dann Nelson said the team is seeing improvement because of its new players, but also because of the veteran players’ development.
“The players we have from last year, they are a year older, a year faster, and a year better,” Nelson said. “They’re just playing at a better level than they did last year.”
The new players are Dennis Boisseau from Cognac, France; Zane Kohrs from Dallas; Michael Loyd from Corpus Christi; and Jake Davidson from Portland, Oregon.
Nelson said senior Koby Jansen is a returning player who is doing well and has won 10 matches so far this season.
Asked if the veterans have taken up leadership roles, Nelson replied, “The team governs themselves quite a bit. They tell me what they want to work on and we’ll work [on] the things that they need.”
On Tuesday, UTRGV will compete against Laredo Community College, which is ranked No. 4 in the junior college national rankings, Nelson said. This will be the last home match this spring.
Baseball
The baseball team is playing considerably well, with an overall record of 16-10 and 3-1 in conference play.
Last season, the Vaqueros finished 26-28.
Head Coach Derek Matlock said having a new coach, as well as improving veteran players, resulted in a positive spike in the team’s performance.
“I think anytime a new coach comes in and there is new blood, you’ll see a team kinda spike ’cause it’s something new, but I think we have great players,” said Matlock, who joined UTRGV last June. “We have good arms, and we got different players. [Coleman] Grubbs is important for our lineup, [Jorge] Flores is pitching, he wasn’t pitching last year. We got guys that are playing that weren’t playing last year.”
Last Friday and Saturday, the team faced off against Utah Valley University in Orem but as of press time, the scores were unavailable. Visit goutrgv.com for the results.
UTRGV will go on the road to compete against Houston Baptist University on Tuesday.
