HOUSTON – The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV) men's tennis team recorded their first victory over Rice University since 1979 with a 4-3 win on Sunday at the George R. Brown Tennis Center.
 
"This is a big win for our program and for our seniors," UTRGV head coach Dann Nelson said. "Both Koby and Elliot really came up big when we needed them. Dennis' match was huge today as this was his first college win. Mateo played great after being his first match since September. For Mateo to have not played for several months after an injury and win is amazing. We believe in each other and took a big step forward today."
 
Freshmen Zane Kohrs and Michael Loyd got things started for UTRGV (1-0) in doubles as they defeated Mohamed Abdel-Aziz and Jared Aiman 6-3 on court three. Rice (0-1) answered with wins on courts one and two to take the doubles point and grabbing the 1-0 lead.
 
In singles, sophomore Mateo Schmit got UTRGV on the board after defeating Aiman 6-3, 6-1 on court six to tie the match at one.
 
After Rice got a point after winning on court two, sophomore Dennis Boisseau bounced back after dropping the first set to Jacob Eskeland by winning two straight sets 6-2, 6-3 on court three tying the match.
 
UTRGV fell behind after falling on court five but senior Koby Jansen evened the match with a win on court one over Sumit Sarkar. Jansen took the first set 7-6 before falling 2-6 in the second. He went back and forth with Sarkar in the third set coming out on top 7-6.
 
It all came down to court four as senior Elliot Johnstone fell behind in his match against Daniel Warren falling 5-7 in the first set. Johnstone bounced back with a 7-6 win in the second and then pulled off the 7-5 victory in the third to complete the victory.
 
UTRGV will be back in action next week when they travel to Lubbock to face New Mexico on January 20 in a neutral site match.
 
Complete Results
Singles (6,2,3,5,1,4)
1. Koby Jansen (UTRGV) def. Sumit Sarkar (RICE) 7-6, 2-6, 7-6 (7-4)
2. Eric Rutledge (RICE) def. Yehonatan Kaufman (UTRGV) 6-3, 6-3
3. Dennis Boisseau (UTRGV) def. Jacob Eskeland (RICE) 3-6, 6-2, 6-3
4. Elliot Johnstone (UTRGV) def. Daniel Warren (RICE) 5-7, 7-6, 7-5
5. Mohamed Abdel-Aziz (RICE) def. Zane Kohrs (UTRGV) 4-6, 6-3, 6-1
6. Mateo Schmit (UTRGV) def. Jared Aiman (RICE) 6-3, 6-1
 
Doubles (3,1,2)
1. Sumit Sarkar/Eric Rutledge (RICE) def. Yehonatan Kaufman/Elliot Johnstone (UTRGV) 6-3
2. Jacob Eskeland/Daniel Warren (RICE) def. Koby Jansen/Dennis Boisseau (UTRGV) 6-4
3. Zane Kohrs/Michael Loyd (UTRGV) def. Mohamed Abdel-Aziz/Jared Aiman (RICE) 6-3

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