Senior Andre Moreira picked up wins at No. 1 singles and doubles in the 4-3 loss to UAB. |
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. ? The UTSA men’s tennis team dropped a close 4-3 decision to Alabama-Birmingham on Sunday afternoon.
The Roadrunnners fell to 8-12 on the season, while UAB improved to 10-10.
UAB came out early and took the doubles point for an early 1-0 lead.
At No. 1, senior Andre Moreira and junior Rodrigo Morgado knocked out Slawomir Szeremeta and Dennis Ehrlich, 8-3, but that was all the success the Roadrunners would have in doubles.
Sophomore Daniel Moreiras and freshman Shariq Khan dropped their No. 3 contest with Daniel Moser and Tyrone Ewels, 8-3, and the No. 2 duo of sophomore Max Stratmann and freshman Pedro Zanotelli lost, 8-2, to Brian Ly and Alex Emery, which secured the point for UAB.
UAB won the first two of six singles matches to take a 3-0 advantage.
Junior Jorge Delgado lost his No. 6 match in straight sets to Thomas Petrich, 7-5, 6-0. Moreiras and Ewels split the first two sets of their No. 5 contest, the Blazer taking the first, 6-3, and the Roadrunner picking up the second, 6-1. Ewels would go on to take the third and final set, 6-3, to clinch the match.
Down 3-0 after just two singles matches, UTSA mounted a comeback.
Zanotelli knocked out Moser in their No. 3 duel, 6-2, 6-7 (5-7), 6-2. Morgado defeated Ly at No. 2, 7-5, 4-6, 6-4, to get the Roadrunners back within one at 3-2.
Emery sealed the match for UAB when he won his No. 4 contest with Stratmann, 6-4, 3-6, 6-3. Moreira came through at No. 1 for the second straight day, beating Dan Cornei 4-6, 7-5, 7-6 (7-5), but it was too little, too late.
“It was a tough match,” head coach Dr. Oliver Trittenwein said. “Samford and UAB are very similar to a few other teams we have played this season like DePaul and Louisiana-Lafayette. We were very evenly matched as far as talent. It just came down to who was going to play a little smarter and be a little more aggressive.
“I was disappointed with the bottom half of my lineup today. My top three all came through, and if we can win just one of those bottom three, the match goes our way. We need to play more competitively at the bottom three positions.”
UTSA has one final match in the regular season before heading to the Southland Conference Tournament. The Roadrunners will celebrate Senior Day when they host a conference contest with Lamar at 2 p.m. on Friday, April 17, at the UTSA Tennis Center.