COLLEGE STATION — Sophomore Martin Ayala continued his successful fall campaign by advancing to the Round of 16 at last weekend's USTA/ITA Regional Championships.
Ayala swept UT Arlington's Brieuc Hamon (6-2, 6-3) and then bounced Texas A&M-Corpus Christi's Aurelien Tave in three sets (3-6, 6-2, 7-6 [5]) to advance to the third round. The Quito, Ecuador, native went on to upset 16th-seeded Daniel Whitehead of Texas (4-6, 6-4, 7-5) before falling to fourth-seeded Gonzalo Escobar of Texas Tech in straight sets (6-2, 7-6).
Three other Roadrunners won singles matches in the opening round, including senior Max Stratmann, who battled past Prairie View A&M's Karim Fotso in three sets (7-6, 5-7, 6-4). Sophomore Tyler Brown moved past Texas-Pan American's Beau Bernstein in straight sets (6-2, 7-5), while junior Pedro Zanotelli advanced after his opponent withdrew with an injury.
In doubles play, Brown and Stratmann teamed up to defeat Lamar's Denis Ermilov and Devin Harley, 8-5, in the opening round. Ayala and senior Daniel Moreiras downed Texas A&M's Calon Alpar and John Lewis, 8-4. However, both teams were eliminated in the next round. Brown and Stratmann fell, 8-6, while Ayala and Moreiras were topped, 9-8.
UTSA will wrap up its fall season from Nov. 5-7 at the Texas Invitational in Austin.
USTA/ITA Regional Championships (Oct. 23-24)
UTSA Results
Singles
First round
Tyler Brown (UTSA) def. Beau Bernstein (Texas-Pan American), 6-2, 7-5
Martin Ayala (UTSA) def. Brieuc Hamon (UT Arlington), 6-2, 6-3
Pedro Zanotelli (UTSA) def. Soren Goritzka (TCU), withdrew (injury)
James Langford (Texas A&M-Corpus Christi) def. Yannick Junger (UTSA), 6-4, 6-3
Max Stratmann (UTSA) def. Karim Fotso (Prairie View A&M), 7-6, 5-7, 6-4
Daniel Brown (Texas A&M) def. Daniel Moreiras (UTSA), 6-1, 7-6
Second round
Rafael Garcia (Texas Tech) def. Brown (UTSA), 6-2, 3-6, 6-3
Ayala (UTSA) def. Aurelien Tave (Texas A&M-Corpus Christi), 3-6, 6-2, 7-6 (5)
Vasil Mladenov (Texas) def. Zanotelli (UTSA), 4-6, 6-1, 6-0
Jeff Dadamo (Texas A&M) def. Stratmann (UTSA), 6-1, 6-1
Third round
Ayala (UTSA) def. Daniel Whitehead (Texas), 4-6, 6-4, 7-5
Fourth round
Gonzalo Escobar (Texas Tech) def. Ayala (UTSA), 6-2, 7-6
Consolation
First round
Junger (UTSA), bye
Moreiras (UTSA), bye
Second round
Marton Horvath (Lamar) def. Junger (UTSA), 6-2, 4-6, 1-0
Moreiras (UTSA) def. Dusan Savkovic (Lamar), 6-0, 6-2
Third round
Ricardo Hopker (UT Arlington) def. Moreiras (UTSA), 6-3, 6-3
Consolation II
Third round
Christopher Price (TCU) def. Brown (UTSA), 6-3, 4-6, 1-0
Joe Hattrup (SMU) def. Zanotelli (UTSA), 6-2, 7-6 (4)
David Subirats (UT Arlington) def. Stratmann (UTSA), 6-3, 6-1
Doubles
First round
Alex Hilliard/Sudanwa Sitaram (Texas) def. Junger/Zanotelli (UTSA), 9-8
Stratmann/Brown (UTSA) def. Denis Ermilov/Devin Harley (Lamar), 8-5
Ayala/Moreiras (UTSA) def. Calon Alpar/John Lewis (Texas A&M), 8-4
Second round
Niall Angus/Alexey Grigorov (Texas A&M) def. Stratmann/Brown (UTSA), 8-6
Gonzalo Escobar/Rafael Garcia (Texas Tech) def. Ayala/Moreiras (UTSA), 9-8
