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| 3 | 4 | | |
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| 4 | 5 | | R E S O L U T I O N |
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| 5 | 6 | | WHEREAS, The chess team of The University of Texas Rio Grande |
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| 6 | 7 | | Valley continued its tradition of excellence by winning the 2021 |
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| 7 | 8 | | President's Cup tournament, claiming its third consecutive title in |
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| 8 | 9 | | this prestigious event; and |
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| 9 | 10 | | WHEREAS, Joining the other three top collegiate teams in the |
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| 10 | 11 | | country for the President's Cup virtual competition on April 3 and |
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| 11 | 12 | | 4, the UTRGV players staged an impressive comeback, overtaking |
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| 12 | 13 | | Saint Louis University on the final day of the tournament to win the |
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| 13 | 14 | | championship; the "three-peat" triumph follows first-place cup |
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| 14 | 15 | | finishes in 2018 and 2019, with the 2020 event being cancelled due |
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| 15 | 16 | | to the COVID-19 pandemic; and |
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| 16 | 17 | | WHEREAS, The Vaqueros were paced by grandmaster Kamil Dragun, |
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| 17 | 18 | | who placed third in the individual scoring; grandmasters Mateusz |
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| 18 | 19 | | Bartel, Hovhannes Gabuzyan, and Vladimir Belous also contributed to |
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| 19 | 20 | | the team's point total, finishing fifth, sixth, and seventh, |
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| 20 | 21 | | respectively; the team also received valuable contributions |
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| 21 | 22 | | throughout the year from the other members of the roster: Vladimir |
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| 22 | 23 | | Fedoseev, Sanan Syugirov, Ildar Khayrullin, Irakli Beradze, Ulvi |
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| 23 | 24 | | Bajarani, Felix Ynojosa, Yannick Rajesh Kambrath, and Askar |
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| 24 | 25 | | Nurbekov; these accomplished players benefited from the leadership |
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| 25 | 26 | | and support of head coach Bartlomiej Macieja, associate dean of |
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| 26 | 27 | | students Douglas Stoves, and program manager Aleksander Mista; and |
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| 27 | 28 | | WHEREAS, The 2020-2021 season also marked the first time |
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| 28 | 29 | | UTRGV sent its women's players into competition; the individuals |
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| 29 | 30 | | who proudly represented their school included Yuliia Osmak, Alicja |
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| 30 | 31 | | Sliwicka, Julia Antolak, Ana Shamatava, Lauren Tovias, and Lorena |
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| 31 | 32 | | Garcia Ramon; and |
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| 32 | 33 | | WHEREAS, Through the skill, hard work, and unwavering |
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| 33 | 34 | | determination of its members, the UTRGV chess program has |
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| 34 | 35 | | established itself as one of the most successful in the nation, and |
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| 35 | 36 | | all those associated with the team are to be commended for their |
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| 36 | 37 | | achievements; now, therefore, be it |
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| 37 | 38 | | RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 87th Texas |
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| 38 | 39 | | Legislature hereby congratulate The University of Texas Rio Grande |
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| 39 | 40 | | Valley chess team on winning the 2021 President's Cup tournament |
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| 40 | 41 | | and extend to the players and staff sincere best wishes for the |
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| 41 | 42 | | future; and, be it further |
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| 42 | 43 | | RESOLVED, That an official copy of this resolution be |
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| 43 | 44 | | prepared for the team as an expression of high regard by the Texas |
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| 44 | 45 | | House of Representatives. |
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