Year In Review: Competitive Excellence

The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV) Athletic Department is taking a look back at a historic calendar year through a series of stories titled, “Year In Review.”

This is the second installment of the series which has reviewed all facility enhancements in 2024.

Below is a list of some of the most memorable moments of 2024.

Baseball Knocks Off (RV) Texas for First Time in 53 Years

UTRGV Baseball scored in each of the first eight innings to beat the Texas Longhorns 17-9 at UFCU Disch-Falk Field, their first win over the Longhorns in 53 years.

The win snapped a 48-game losing streak for UTRGV against Texas. Prior to this win, the last time UTRGV beat Texas was in the 1971 NCAA District Championships, winning game one 1-0 and game two 4-0.

This is UTRGV’s second-ever true road win against Texas.

The 17 runs are the most ever scored by UTRGV against Texas. The previous record was 12, set on May 27, 1973.

This is UTRGV’s largest-ever margin of victory over Texas, with the previous record being four on May 22, 1971. To read more about UTRGV’s win over Texas, click here.

Track & Field Shines in the Postseason

UTRGV swept the superlatives for women’s track & field at the Western Athletic Conference (WAC) Outdoor Track & Field Championships. Symoria Adkins picked up WAC Outstanding Track Performer after winning the individual WAC titles in the women’s 100-meter dash, 100-meter hurdles and 200-meter dash while anchoring the champion 4×100-meter relay team of Nayla Harris, Zoë Adams, and Yaria Akers

Hannah Hilding won Outstanding Field Athlete after taking silver in the hammer throw, bronze in the shot put and discus, and finishing fourth in javelin.

Jedidah Udunna took the men’s long jump crown at the meet and was honored as the UTRGV Male Athlete of the Year.

As a team, the women placed fourth while the men finished in eighth at the WAC Outdoor Championships.

After a successful outdoor season, UTRGV sent six student-athletes to the NCAA West Preliminary Round including Adams, Adkins, Aaron Cooper, Hilding, Daniel Siaffa, and Udunna.

Women’s Basketball Defeats Houston for First Power Conference Win Since 2003

With 10 seconds on the clock, the Vaqueros, down by one, started to execute the final play as Kade Hackerott passed to Charlotte O’Keefe, who scoped the options, then took a dribble to her left and lined up a contested three-point shot. It went clean into the net and sent her teammates into a frenzy.

The Vaqueros regained the lead, up 70-68, with three seconds left as Houston’s desperation shot was waved off as the clock hit zero before the ball left the Cougars’ hands.

This was the Vaqueros first power conference win since beating Nebraska 61-58 on January 5, 2003. To read more about the historic win, click here.

Postseason Bound: Volleyball Secures Spot in 2024 NIVC

The Vaqueros earned a postseason berth after finishing fourth in the Southland Conference (SLC) with a 16-11 overall record and a 12-4 conference record.

This was UTRGV’s third appearance in the NIVC after previously making the tournament in 2021 and 2022. In 2022, the Vaqueros earned the first two postseason wins in program history as they hosted the first two rounds in Edinburg and defeated Houston Christian and South Dakota State to reach the Great 8.

This was UTRGV’s fourth postseason trip in program history after making the NCAA Tournament in 2016.