RIO GRANDE VALLEY – The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV) Vaqueros women’s tennis team is opening the spring season with a bang, taking on Texas A&M-Corpus Christi in the South Texas Showdown, presented by Rally Credit Union, in the home opener. 
 
The Vaqueros will be in action at 11 a.m. Sunday at the Orville Cox Tennis Center. Admission is free and the first 100 fans will receive free #BeatCorpus t-shirts. 
 
UTRGV will be looking for its first win in the South Texas Showdown since 2018. The Vaqueros are 3-38 all-time against the perennial Southland Conference powerhouse Islanders. Though the two teams’ lineups will feature very different levels of experience on Sunday, UTRGV head women’s tennis coach West Nott is excited to see his squad step up to the challenge with a marquee matchup to open the 2024 campaign. 
 
“We’re feeling really good right now. We’ve got half of our lineup returning and half is new, so we’re excited to watch them play. Our existing players have been really consistent performers for us so we’re really expecting a lot out of them,” Nott said. “It’s going to be fun to see how we do against a very experienced Corpus team. Five out of the six players in that lineup are seniors and they’ve been tough the last few years winning their conference. Excited to see how we stack up against them and it’ll be a good barometer as to where we’re at getting our season going.” 
 
UTRGV has been working on speed, power and playing smart as it prepares for the new season. Due to the turnover on the roster, the Vaqueros will be deploying some new doubles teams in the season opener. Nott and Co. are eager to see where everyone is at the start and how the team’s energy and mentality blends together. 
 
“We have to play quick. We have to start fast in doubles, be tough, limit mistakes, be level-headed out there and play with a lot of energy. If we can do those things, good things will happen,” Nott said. 

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