{"id":183201,"date":"2026-02-27T17:21:12","date_gmt":"2026-02-27T17:21:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/183201\/"},"modified":"2026-02-27T17:21:12","modified_gmt":"2026-02-27T17:21:12","slug":"womens-tennis-excited-to-host-first-leg-of-southland-conference-play","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/183201\/","title":{"rendered":"Women\u2019s Tennis Excited to Host First Leg of Southland Conference Play"},"content":{"rendered":"

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\n Live Stats vs. Northwestern State<\/a>
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\n Live Stats vs. Stephen F. Austin<\/a>
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RIO GRANDE VALLEY \u2013\u00a0The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV) Vaqueros women’s tennis program is excited to host the Northwestern State (NWST) Demons and Stephen F. Austin (SFA) Lumberjacks in their Southland Conference (SLC) opener this week at Orville Cox Tennis Center.
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\nLast Time Out
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\nUTRGV returned home for its match against Utah State. The Vaqueros fell 7-0 but battled on a handful of courts Thursday.
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\nOn court three, junior Rhea Makesar<\/a> went back-and-forth, trading service games and breaks, with\u00a0Natalie Paterova\u00a0before entering a tiebreaker for the first set. Makesar pulled off a fantastic 8-6 win in the tiebreak. Paterova bounced back to win the second set, 6-2, before escaping with a 10-5 win in the deciding tiebreaker.
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\nOn court four, sophomore\u00a0Luna Buijtenhuijs<\/a> lost the first set 6-2 but bounced back in a big way. Buijtenhuijs trailed\u00a0Maria Paula Ramos Garcia\u00a03-2 in the second before knotting the set at 3-3 and breaking serve to take a 4-3 lead. They continued trading games with Buijtenhuijs taking the second set, 6-4. Ramos Garcia ended up winning the super tiebreaker, 10-3.
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\nNorthwestern State \u2013\u00a0Feb. 28, 1 p.m. \u2013\u00a0Orville Cox Tennis Center
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\nThe Vaqueros will open SLC play against Northwestern State at 1 p.m. Saturday at Orville Cox Tennis Center. All matches at Orville Cox Tennis Center are free and open to the public.
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\nUTRGV is 0-9 all-time against the Demons with the latest matchup coming in 2025, a 5-2 win for NWST, in Natchitoches, La. In the last matchup, returner Rhea Makesar<\/a> picked up a 6-3, 4-6, 3-1 ret. win at No. 2 singles. The Vaqueros also picked up a win on court three.
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\nNWST is 4-4 on the season with all wins coming over Xavier (La.), Jackson State, LSU-Shreveport, and Tyler Junior College. The Demons are riding a two-match losing streak, falling in sweeps to South Alabama and Tarleton.
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\nLeading the way for the Demons is Martina Acebedo who has achieved a combined record of 5-1 with three wins on court three and two wins on court four. In singles, the Demons have winning records on courts two, three, and five this year.
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\nMeanwhile, in doubles, the Demons have winning records on courts two and three.
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\nStephen F. Austin \u2013\u00a0March 2, 11 a.m. \u2013\u00a0Orville Cox Tennis Center
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\nThe Vaqueros will turn around to battle Stephen F. Austin at 11 a.m. Monday at Orville Cox Tennis Center. All matches at Orville Cox Tennis Center are free and open to the public.
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\nUTRGV is 5-16 all-time against the Lumberjacks with the latest matchup coming in 2025, a 6-1 win for SFA, in Nacogdoches. However, four of UTRGV’s wins has come in the last 10 matches, including a 5-2 win in Nacogdoches in 2024. In their last match in Edinburg, UTRGV won 4-3 in 2023.
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\nSFA is still looking for their first win of the season as they currently sit at 0-4 this season with all losses coming against NCAA DI competition. The Lumberjacks have matches scheduled against UTSA and Texas A&M-Corpus Christi on Feb. 27 and 28, respectively, before visiting UTRGV on March 2.
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\nLeading the way for the Lumberjacks is Sonja Rooth who has accumulated a perfect 4-0 record this season with two wins on courts two and three. Rooth earned SLC Player of the Week honors on Feb. 24.<\/p>\n

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