Baseball (9-6, 2-2)
- Friday night 6-2 victory vs. Grand Canyon University in Phoenix
The Vaqueros extend their winning streak to six games with a stellar on-the-mound performance from senior starting pitcher Kevin Steven throwing 6.2 innings, allowing three hits, no runs and striking out eight.
In the top of the fourth inning, graduate shortstop Christian Sepulveda cracked the game wide open on a three-RBI double down the left field line to give the Vaqueros a 3-0 lead.
The other three runs would come in the sixth inning when sophomore second baseman Diego Ramirez doubled on a fielding error that scored a run and junior third baseman Deandre’ Shelton drove in two on a single to left center.
- Saturday evening seven inning 4-8 defeat vs. Grand Canyon University in Phoenix
The Vaqueros fell in a back-and-forth battle after the Antelopes scored six runs in the bottom of the sixth, breaking the 4-4 tie.
Graduate catcher Conrado Diaz in the third gave the Vaqueros a one-run lead after a three-run moonshot to left center.
The Vaqueros added the fourth run in the top of the sixth inning when junior third baseman Deandre’ Shelton drove in a run on a fielder’s choice with the bases loaded.
- Saturday night 9-4 victory vs. Grand Canyon University in Phoenix
In the second game of the doubleheader, the Vaqueros used a seven run fourth inning to break the 2-2 deadlock.
Graduate first baseman Conrado Diaz bombed his second home run of the series with a two-RBI shot in the fourth inning.
In his first start of the series, freshman outfielder Spencer Serven recorded three hits and one run.
Graduate starting pitcher Max Balderrama Jr. picked up his second win of the season with a seven-inning, four strikeout performance only allowing five hits and two earned runs.
- Sunday afternoon 2-5 defeat vs. Grand Canyon University in Phoenix
The Vaqueros split their season series against the Antelopes as they left nine runners on base.
Graduate second baseman Andy Atwood drove in the opening run of the game on an RBI-double in the first inning. In the fifth, junior third baseman Darian Luper blasted a shot into right center for an RBI-double.
Men’s Basketball (9-10, 2-5)
- Thursday night quarterfinal 61-77 defeat vs. No. 3 New Mexico State University in Las Vegas at the WAC Tournament
The Vaqueros shooting woes continued into their first game of the WAC Tournament in addition to being outrebounded 24-38 by the Aggies.
Graduate center Jeff Otchere led the team with 15 points, 11 coming in the second half as the Vaqueros tried to close the gap. Senior guard Javon Levi finished with 12 points, four rebounds and six assists.
Women’s Basketball (6-13, 2-8)
- Wednesday night quarterfinal 54-67 defeat vs. No. 3 Grand Canyon University in Las Vegas at the WAC Tournament
The Vaqueros’ season came to an end in the first round of the WAC Tournament as the team struggled against the defensive pressure from the Antelopes only shooting 35% from the field and 30% from deep.
Graduate guard Amara Graham in her final collegiate game scored a game-high 24 points to go along with six rebounds and four assists.
After taking the Vaqueros to the WAC Championship game in his first season, UTRGV Head Coach Lane Lord and his team have lost in the first round the last two seasons.
Men’s Golf
- 1st place finish out of 14 at the Colin Montgomerie Invitational in Spring, Texas
As a team, the Vaqueros notched their first victory of the 2021 season with a final three round score of 876, five strokes ahead of host Houston Baptist.
Freshman Leonardo Novella with a three-round score of 215 and graduate Luca Portelli with a score of 218, both placed in 4th and 6th, respectively.
Senior Euan Gill finished tied for 19th with a score of 222 and freshman Rassrikanesh Kanavathi, shooting 225, and senior Alex Summers, shooting 227, rounded out the team with tied for 27th and 33rd, respectively, in a field of 75 players.
Women’s Golf
- 2nd place finish out of 10 at the UTRGV Invitational in McAllen
The Vaqueros finished 23 strokes behind first place Texas A&M Corpus Christi and 15 shots ahead of third place Lamar.
Sophomore Julie Lucio earned her first collegiate victory with a three-round score of 219, posting 74, 69 and 76.
This is the first individual victory for the Vaqueros since the 2015-16 season when Emma Mesta’s three-day score of 221 took it all at the GCU Invitational.
Freshman Samantha Garza finished in ninth with a score of 229. Five other Vaqueros placed in the top-30 with junior Briana Garza tied for 14th, freshman Sophia Tejeda in 20th; senior Rachel Yu tied for 21st; freshman Mercedes Vega in 25th; and junior Ellie Darnell tied for 29th.
Sophomore Blayke Van Houten placed 52nd, improving nearly nine strokes in round three after a tough first 36-holes.
Men’s Soccer (3-0-1, 3-0-1)
- Saturday afternoon 3-1 victory vs. UNLV
In the first home game of the season and after falling behind early 1-0, the Vaqueros found the back of the net three times to remain unbeaten.
Senior forward William Akio found the back of the net in the 49th on a PK and in the 54th for his third and fourth goal of the season. Junior forward Reshaun Walkes added the third goal of the match in the 65th.
UTRGV Head Coach Bryheem Hancock, who was hired Nov. 24, 2020, earned his first home victory at the helm.
Women’s Soccer (6-3-2, 3-3-1)
- Thursday night 2-1 victory vs. New Mexico State University in El Paso
In the closing minutes of the first half, the Vaqueros were able to break the deadlock on a goal off the crossbar from freshman forward Anna Frida Groedem, her second of the season, on an assist from freshman forward Mari Liis Lillemae.
In the 63rd minutes, the Aggies evened up the match on a sophomore forward Hannah Leitner goal.
After a foul was awarded to the Vaqueros in the 80th minute, junior forward Emily Zapata stepped to take the free kick. Zapata would fire a shot that eked by junior keeper Makenna Gottschalk for the game winning goal.
- Saturday afternoon 1-0 victory vs. New Mexico State University in Las Cruces, New Mexico
The Vaqueros completed the season sweep of the Aggies with a 50th minute goal by junior forward Emily Zapata, her third of the season.
Junior goalkeeper Maile Lunardi recorded her fifth clean sheet of the season, with a two-save day.
The Vaqueros remain undefeated in road and neutral site games with a combined 5-0-0 record.
Men’s Tennis (3-10)
- Wednesday afternoon 0-7 defeat vs. Texas A&M Corpus Christi in Corpus Christi
The Islanders were able to get the first point of the day by taking two victories in doubles on court No. 2 and 3. This third doubles match went unfinished after the Islanders clinched.
In singles, the Vaquero forced a third set with sophomore Samuel De Felipe Garcia and freshman Luka Jankovic before ultimately falling 4-6, 6-2, 10-12 and 2-6, 6-4, 4-10, respectively.
The Vaqueros were swept on the day.
Women’s Tennis (2-8)
- Monday afternoon 4-3 victory vs. St. Mary’s in San Antonio
The Vaqueros earned the opening point of the day as the freshman duo of Valeria Montero and Lea Karren battled it out in a 7-6 victory and freshman Isabelle Bahr and sophomore Katarina Sasaroga took their match 6-0.
In singles, the Vaqueros won on court 4 and 6 with Montero and Karren, respectively, to extend their lead to 3-0 over the Rattlers.
UTRGV was able to clinch the matchday victory on court No. 3 as sophomore Ana Platisa went the three-set distance (6-3, 2-6, 6-4) to beat senior Marina Vigil.
- Monday night 3-4 defeat vs. St. Mary’s in San Antonio
In the second match of the doubleheader, the Vaqueros were able to get the first point of the day by taking two-of-three doubles matches with freshman duo Valeria Montero and Lea Karren and freshman Isabelle Bahr and sophomore Katarina Sasaroga.
The Rattlers then evened the match in singles by earning a win on court No. 2. The Vaqueros quickly countered with Sasaroga and Karren on court No. 5 and 6, respectively, to lead 3-1.
St. Mary’s would close out the day by winning all remaining matches on court No. 1, 4 and 3 to split the doubleheader.
Men’s Track and Field
- Five 1st, five 2nd and seven 3rd place finishes at the Rice Invitational in Houston
In the field events, junior Harry Barthelemy placed first in the High Jump event with a distance of 2.02m.
The Vaqueros also picked up a pair of third place finishes with graduate Michael Gonzalez in the Discus and sophomore Aaron Williams in the Shot Put with a distance of 43.67m and 14.83m, respectively.
In the track events, the Vaqueros highlighted the 200-Meter Dash with a podium sweep as graduate Yariel Matute, junior Mario Hernandez and freshman Jermarrion Stewart finished with times of 21.67, 22.07 and 22.19, respectively.
The Vaqueros placed first in the 4×400-Meter Relay with a time of 3:14.60 with Hernandez, junior Max Carmona, Stewart and Matute.
Junior Tristian Peña placed first in the 1500-Meter Dash with a time of 3:55.64.
Two Vaqueros placed in the 400-Meter Hurdles with junior Roel Renteria placing first and graduate Wes Franklin placing third with a time of 55.57 and 58.06, respectively.
A pair of Vaqueros also placed in the 110-Meter Hurdles as Renteria placed second with a time of 15.30 and graduate Anthony Magallon finished in 15.50 for third place.
In the 800-Meter Run, graduate Ricardo Mendoza and sophomore Miguel Escamilla finished in second and third with times of 1:54.51 and 1:55.88, respectively.
UTRGV also placed second in the 400-Meter Dash with Carmona and in the 5,000-Meter Run with sophomore Alex Muñoz.
The Vaqueros place in third in the 100-Meter Dash with a time of 11:65 from freshman Marco Guajardo.
Women’s Track and Field
- Five 1st, three 2nd and six 3rd place finishes at the Rice Invitational in Houston
In the second event of the season, UTRGV were able to place atop of the podium in the Long Jump with Idatonye Cheetman-West with a distance of 6.24m and graduate Aviana Goode with 1.69m in the High Jump, both third best in program history.
The Vaqueros in both the Shot Put and Javelin had a pair of Top-3 finishes.
Junior Britany Cantu and sophomore Esmeralda Ruiz finished second and third in the Shot Put with distances of 12.49m and 12.04m, respectively.
Sophomore Uxia Pereira and freshman Kayleen May placed second and third in the Javelin with 27.26m and 24m throws, respectively.
UTRGV placed third in the Discus event with a distance of 37.05m for Ruiz.
The Vaqueros placed first in the 4×400-Meter Relay as the team of sophomores Tamara Woodley, Diamond Lilly, freshman Josefine Eriksen and junior Natalie Garza finished with a time of 3:50.65, eight-best time in program history.
Eriksen also set a second-best time in program history in the 800-Meter Run with a time of 2:10.78 to finish atop the podium.
Pereira earned a third-place finish in the 400-Meter Hurdles with a time of 1:06.25.
In the 200-Meter Hurdles, Goode set a program record with a time of 14.00 in a second-place finish and junior Zarrey Sams finished in third with a time of 14.37, third best time in program history.
Lastly, in the 5,000-Meter Run, freshman Samantha Gonzalez and junior Anahi Romo placed first with a time of 18:15.69 and third with 19:01.07, respectively.
Volleyball (2-10, 2-8)
- Monday night 0-3 defeat vs. Seattle U in Seattle
A tough night on the pins for the Vaqueros as they fell in straight sets (18-25, 21-25, 20-25) with a final hitting percentage of .123% on 106 attacks committing 16 errors compared to the Redhawks .325%.
Freshman outside hitters Ada Bulgur and sophomore Victoire Nama tied for a team high eight kills. Senior libero Samaret Caraballo dug out 15 balls.
- Tuesday evening 3-1 victory vs. Seattle U in Seattle
The Vaqueros split the series against the Redhawks for their second win of the season in four sets (25-15, 23-25, 25-20, 25-20).
The team bounced back with a strong hitting performance, .311% to .214%, as sophomore outside hitter Victoire Nama on 28 attacks, killed the ball 16 times with only two errors. Nama recorded her second double-double of the season with 11 digs.
Junior outside hitter Yasmim Da Silva posted a career-high 14 kills to go along with six digs.
Twitter: @Radio_Rubio
