| April 30, 2004
Contact: Kyle Stephens (210) 458-4907 UTSA men open SLC Tournament with 4-2 victory over Texas-Pan American SLC Men's Tennis Championship site
SAN ANTONIO - UTSA's hopes for a Southland Conference Men's Tennis Tournament championship remain alive as the Roadrunners scored a 4-2 victory over the Texas-Pan American Broncs in first round action at the UTSA Tennis Center on Friday afternoon.
With the match knotted at two wins apiece, UTSA's Dennis Andrade at No. 1 and Ricardo Almeida at No. 2 singles, both won three-set victories to keep UTSA's tournament hopes alive. The match ended when Almeida closed out Jeremy Salvo, 6-4 in the third set. When the final point was totaled in that match, UTSA's Joe Olfindo was clinging to a 5-7, 7-6, 2-0 lead over Texas-Pan American's Oliver Steil at No. 4 singles. The Roadrunners other win came at No. 6 singles when Brett Veale rolled to a 6-1, 6-3 win over Armando Martinez.
The No. 4 seed in the tournament, UTSA improves to 10-11 on the season with the victory, and advances to Saturday's semifinal round where they will face off against No. 1 seed Texas A&M-Corpus Christi at 11:30 a.m. It will be the second match between the two teams this season, with the Islanders scoring a 7-0 victory over UTSA on April 10 in Corpus Christi.
"I was pleased with our play today and thought we came up with some big points when we needed them the most," said UTSA coach Dr. Oliver Trittenwein. "We have had to make some adjustments to our lineup due to injuries, and I thought a number of guys stepped up today. We are going to have to play better tomorrow if we hope to beat Corpus Christi."
UTSA had opened the match strong as Andrade and Almeida had combined to defeat Salvo and Rehman Esmail 8-3 in No. 1 doubles. The Roadrunners garnered the doubles point as Olfindo combined with Tom Hoy to defeat Gary Bianco and Armando Martinez at No. 3 doubles, 8-4.
In Friday's second match, No. 3 seed Southeastern Louisiana scored a 4-2 victory over No. 6 Lamar. The Lions improved to 11-8 on the season with the victory and advance to play No. 2 seed Texas-Arlington on Saturday at 2 p.m. Southland Conference Men's Tennis Championship
UTSA Tennis Center First Round Results No. 4 UTSA 4 - No. 5 Texas-Pan American 2
Singles:
1. Dennis Andrade, UTSA def. Gary Bianco, UTPA, 3-6, 6-2, 6-3
2. Ricardo Almeida, UTSA def. Jeremy Salvo, UTPA, 6-3, 2-6, 6-4
3. Nik Porter, UTPA def. Hetori Chaves, UTSA, 6-4, 6-1
4. Joe Olfindo, UTSA led Oliver Steil, UTPA, 5-7, 7-6, 2-0 (did not finish)
5. Rehman Esmail, UTPA def. Tom Hoy, UTSA, 2-6, 6-3, 6-4
6. Brett Veale, UTSA def. Armando Martinez, UTPA, 6-1, 6-3
Doubles:
1. Andrade/Almeida, UTSA def. Esmail/Salvo, UTPA, 8-3
2. Chaves/Gasca, UTSA led Porter/Steil, UTPA, 6-5 (did not finish)
3. Olfindo/Hoy, UTSA def. Bianco/Martinez, UTPA, 8-4
No. 3 Southeastern Louisiana 4 - No. 6 Lamar 2
Singles:
1. Haris Huremovic, SELA def. Ignacio Melus, LU, 6-3, 6-3
2. Juan Pablo Alatorre, LU vs. Olivier Nussbaum, SELA, (did not finish)
3. Emilio Kirby, LU def. Matthew Tate, SELA, 7-5, 6-1
4. Milos Vasovic, SELA def. Naeem Kath, LU, 6-1, 2-6, 6-2
5. Dean Clower, LU def. Josh Smith, SELA, 6-4, 6-3
6. Paul Birkett, SELA def. Jonathan Capps, LU, 6-4, 6-1
Doubles:
1. Melus/Clower, LU vs. Nussbaum/Tate, SELA (did not finish)
2. Huremovic/Smith, SELA def. Kath/Alatorre, LU, 8-6
3. Birkett/Vasovic, SELA def. Kirby/Kapps, LU, 8-4
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