Junior Jorge Delgado's victory at No. 5 singles lifted UTSA to a 4-3 victory on Saturday. |
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. ? The UTSA men's tennis team pulled out a close victory on Saturday with a 4-3 decision over Samford. The win brings UTSA's record to 8-11 on the season and drops Samford to 6-13-1.
The Roadrunners started the match as they frequently have this season by securing the doubles point to jump out to the early 1-0 lead.
The Birds picked up the bottom two matches quickly to take the point. Sophomore Daniel Moreiras teamed up with freshman Shariq Khan for the first time this season and the duo won the No. 3 contest against Richard Walsh and Carson Kadi, 8-5. Sophomore Max Stratmann and freshman Pedro Zanotelli won by the same score at No. 2 over Oliver Reynolds and Carl Abalos.
Samford came out swinging in singles and grabbed the first two matches for a 2-1 lead.
Brian Dushock knocked out Moreiras at No. 4, 6-1, 6-3. Abalos finished off Khan, 6-4, 6-3 at No. 6 to take the advantage.
Senior Andre Moreira came through at No. 1 for the Runners, defeating Walsh, 6-4, 6-3, and tying the match up at two.
Samford jumped back ahead 3-2 when Kadi beat Zanotelli in three sets, 0-6, 7-6 (8-6), 6-1. Junior Rodrigo Morgado tied things up at three with his victory over Kelwin DeWet at No. 2, 5-7, 6-2, 6-2.
The match came down to the No. 5 contest between junior Jorge Delgado and Reynolds. Delgado dropped the first set in a tiebreak, 7-6 (7-5), but bounced back to take the last two sets by identical scores of 6-4 to seal the win.
The Roadrunners will be back in action on Sunday when they play UAB at 11 a.m. (CT).