RELATED LINKSMatch results
THIBODAUX, La. — UTSA won the doubles point and the first two singles contests, but the Roadrunners could not capitalize on the momentum and Nicholls rallied for a 4-3 victory in the Southland Conference opener for both schools on Sunday.
The three UTSA (2-5, 0-1 SLC) doubles pairings swept the opening session.
Freshman Joel Rubio then put the Birds up by two after defeating Palash Tiwari in straight sets at No. 4 singles. Freshman David Kelleher helped UTSA push its advantage to 3-0 following a straight-sets victory at the sixth position.
However, the Colonels (4-3, 1-0 SLC) stormed back to tie the contest, as Damjan Despotovoski, Dmitry Kosionov and Roy Knight each were victorious at the Nos. 1, 2 and 5 positions, respectively.
Shayann Vaezzadeh then outlasted senior Martin Ayala in three frames for a 6-1, 6-7 (5-10), 6-3 win at the third spot to clinch the match.
The Roadrunners will return to action at 3 p.m. on Friday, Feb. 24, when they host St. Edward's at the UTSA Tennis Center.
Nicholls 4, UTSA 3
Doubles
1. Junger/Zanotelli (UTSA) def. Kozionov/Vaezzadeh (NICH) 8-6
2. Ayala/Brown (UTSA) def. Collado/Sivakumar (NICH) 8-5
3. Kilgo/Rubio (UTSA) def. Despotovski/Knight (NICH) 8-4
Singles
1. Damjan Despotovski (NICH) def. Yannick Junger (UTSA) 6-2, 6-3
2. Dmitry Kozionov (NICH) def. Tyler Brown (UTSA) 4-6, 7-5, 6-4
3. Shayann Vaezzadeh (NICH) def. Martin Ayala (UTSA) 6-1, 6-7 (5-10), 6-3
4. Joel Rubio (UTSA) def. Palash Tiwari (NICH) 6-1, 6-0
5. Roy Knight (NICH) def. Daniel Moser (UTSA) 6-1, 6-2
6. David Kelleher (UTSA) def. Guillermo Collado (NICH) 6-1, 6-1