ARLINGTON, Texas– The UT Arlington men's tennis team (10-7, 1-0 WAC) took out their first WAC opponent UT Rio Grande Valley 6-1 at the UTA Tennis Center on Sunday to kick off conference play.
 
The Mavericks did not drop a doubles match, earning three wins to gain the early lead.
 
Anton Shepp and Solano Caffarena continued their success from their win over Oklahoma by taking the first match on Court 1. At 2-2, Shepp forced an error to earn a break and go up 3-2. The rest of the match followed in a similar manner, with the pair breaking again to win. Shepp and Caffarena defeated Emilien Burnel and Borna Devald 6-3 to move to 9-3 on the season.
 
Santiago Giamichelle and Dante Teramo took the next win on Court 2 to clinch the doubles point for the Mavs. The pair earned a break over Karlo Krolo and Sam Whitehead to go up 2-1 early in the match. Giamichelle hit an ace to go up 5-3, then Krolo and Whitehead brought the score to 5-4. The Vaqueros could not overcome the Mavs in the final game, with Giamichelle hitting a volley winner to secure the 6-4 win.
 
Lachlan Robertson and Joan Torres Espinosa finished off doubles play by adding another win to complete the doubles sweep. The match with Chris Lawrance and Agustin Salazar stayed close until 3-3, when Robertson and Espinosa earned a break to go up 4-3. The Mavs won the next two games to complete the 6-3 victory.
 
Singles play followed in a similar manner, with the Mavericks allowing the Vaqueros only one point.
 
Whitehead scored the only point for the Vaqueros with a win over Espinosa on Court 5. After going down a break in the first set, Espinosa fought back to even the score at 4-4. Whitehead was too much to overcome towards the end, finishing the set 6-4.
 
Espinosa could not gain momentum in the second set, going down 2-0 early in the set. Whitehead proceeded to go up, allowing Espinosa two games before winning the set and match 6-2.
 
Robertson retaliated on Court 4 by earning his tenth win for the Mavericks over Te Kani Williams. At 2-2, Robertson forced a break in order to go up 3-2, then cruised through the rest of the set to win 6-3.
 
The momentum carried into the second set, with Robertson dropping only one game to Williams for the win. Robertson capitalized on an early 2-0 lead to earn a 6-1 win and put the Mavs back in the win column. He moves to 10-4 on the season.
 
Shepp continued the Mav's success with another win on Court 1 to move to 11-5 on the season. Shepp broke Burnel's serve at 3-3 to go up 4-3, then proceeded to hit a forehand and cause an error to go up 5-4. He took the next game handily for the 6-4 win.
 
The next set followed similarly, with the score staying tight for the majority. As Shepp was up 5-4, he needed to break Burnel's serve to win the match. He was able to finish off the match and secure the 6-4 victory to put the score at 3-1.
 
Teramo took the next win on Court 6 in straight sets over Salazar. An early break allowed Teramo to go up 5-2 in the set, then he was able to finish it off with a 6-2 win.
 
The second set stayed tight, with both players earning breaks to keep the score even. Teramo brought the set to 6-6 and forced a tiebreaker with Salazar. He dominated in the tiebreaker with a final score of 7-6 (3) to clinch the match for the Mavericks.
 
Giamichelle added another win for the Mavericks over Devald on Court 2. After going down 3-0 in the first set, Giamichelle bounced back to even the score at 3-3. He allowed Devald one more game before finishing off the set 6-4.
 
Devald kept the match close in the second set, with the score staying on-serve until 5-5. Giamichelle earned a break of serve to go up 6-5 for the opportunity to win the match. He played a solid service game next, finishing off with an ace to win the match 7-5.
 
Caffarena ended the day on a high note by taking the final match on Court 3 over Krolo. Krolo earned an early lead, going up 3-1 to start the match. Caffarena retaliated by breaking back and evening the score at 3-3. He allowed Krolo one more game before earning the first set after winning a long point 6-4.
 
Caffarena proceeded to carry the momentum into the second set, earning a 5-1 lead to start. Krolo fought back to bring the score to 5-4, but Caffarena held serve in the last game to pull out the 6-4 win.
 
The Mavericks will be back in action on Thursday to face WAC opponent Abilene Christian at 2 p.m. at the UTA Tennis Center.
 
UTA 6, UTRGV 1
Singles

1. Anton Shepp (UTA) def. Emilien Burnel (UTRGV) 6-4, 6-4
2. Santiago Giamichelle (UTA) def. Borna Devald (UTRGV) 6-4, 7-5
3. Solano Caffarena (UTA) def. Karlo Krolo (UTRGV) 6-4, 6-4
4. Lachlan Robertson (UTA) def. Te Kani Williams (UTRGV) 6-3, 6-1
5. Sam Whitehead (UTRGV) def. Joan Torres Espinosa (UTRGV) 6-4, 6-2
6. Dante Teramo (UTA) def. Agustin Salazar (UTRGV) 6-2, 7-6 (3)

Doubles

1. Solano Caffarena/Anton Shepp (UTA) def. Emilien Burnel/Borna Devald (UTRGV) 6-3
2. Santiago Giamichelle/Dante Teramo (UTA) def. Karlo Krolo/Sam Whitehead (UTRGV) 6-4
3. Lachlan Robertson/Joan Torres Espinosa (UTRGV) def. Chris Lawrance/Agustin Salazar (UTRGV) 6-3

 
FOLLOW ALONG
For updates, behind-the-scenes photos, videos and more engaging and personal content, be sure to follow the men's tennis program on Twitter (@UTAMavsMTEN) Instagram (@UTAMavsMTEN ) and Facebook ( /UTAMavsMTEN ).