WACO — Joel Rubio reached the semifinal round of the singles consolation bracket to lead UTSA's effort at the ITA Regional Championships, which began Saturday and will conclude Tuesday at the Hurd Tennis Center.
Rubio, a junior from Arnedo, Spain, fell into the consolation bracket after dropping his opening-round match to Clement Homs of Texas by a 6-3, 6-2 count. He received a bye in the round of 128 and then reeled off three consecutive victories to reach the final four. On Sunday, Rubio downed Carlos DiLaura of Texas Tech, 7-6 (7-0), 6-3, and Hudson Blake of TCU, 6-3, 6-0. He then ousted Daniel Armengol of UT Arlington, 6-4, 6-2, in the quarterfinals on Monday before Norja Cortes of Abilene Christian ended Rubio's run with a 6-4, 3-6, 10-3 decision Monday afternoon.
Rubio also teamed with Tomas Stillman in the doubles draw and the duo advanced to the round of 32 with an 8-4 victory against Jair Assuncao and Leonard Ivic of Incarnate Word. They were eliminated by Texas A&M's top-seeded and eventual doubles draw finalist team of Junior Ore and Jackson Withrow, 8-0.
Diogo Casa posted a pair of victories in the singles draw to advance to the round of 32. The sophomore from Pelotas, Brazil, took out Mikko Rajamaki of Lamar, 7-6, 7-6 (4), 7-5, in the opener and downed Zach Yablon of Rice, 6-4, 6-4, in the second round before falling to Hugo Dojas of Texas Tech, 6-4, 6-2.
Casa paired up with Yannick Junger in the doubles draw and the tandem upended Michael Morris and Niklas Wingord of Abilene Christian, 8-5, in the opening round before dropping a tight match to Texas Tech's duo of Dojas and Maxime Hinnisdaels, 8-6.
Junger and Stillman each posted first-round singles victories. Junger dispatched Antonio Cavazos of Incarnate Word, 6-1, 6-0, before falling to Sudanwa Sitaram of Texas in a close battle, 7-5, 2-6, 7-5. Stillman beat Francesco Migliano of UT Arlington, 6-3, 6-2, but was ousted by Hinnisdaels in three sets, 6-2, 4-6, 6-3.
The Roadrunners will return to action this weekend at the Texas Fall Invitational. The three-day tournament gets underway on Friday.
ITA Texas Regional Championships
Hurd Tennis Center (Waco, Texas)
Saturday-Sunday, Oct. 19-20
Singles
First Round
Diogo Casa (UTSA) def. Mikko Rajamaki (Lamar) 7-6, 7-6 (4), 7-5
Yannick Junger (UTSA) def. Antonio Cavazos (Incarnate Word) 6-1, 6-0
Clement Homs (Texas) def. Joel Rubio (UTSA) 6-3, 6-2
Tomas Stillman (UTSA) def. Francesco Migliano (UT Arlington) 6-3, 6-2
Second Round
Casa (UTSA) def. Zach Yablon (Rice) 6-4, 6-4
Sudanwa Sitaram (Texas) def. Junger 7-5, 2-6, 7-5
Maxime Hinnisdaels (Texas Tech) def. Stillman (UTSA) 6-2, 4-6, 6-3
Third Round
Hugo Dojas (Texas Tech) def. Casa (UTSA) 6-4, 6-2
Singles Consolation
First Round
Joel Rubio (UTSA) bye
Second Round
Rubio (UTSA) def. Carlos DiLaura (Texas Tech) 7-6 (0), 6-3
Third Round
Rubio (UTSA) def. Hudson Blake (TCU) 6-3, 6-0
Quarterfinals
Rubio (UTSA) def. Daniel Armengol (UT Arlington) 6-4, 6-2
Semifinals
Borja Cortes (Abilene Christian) def. Rubio (UTSA) 6-4, 3-6, 10-3
Doubles
First Round
Diogo Casa/Yannick Junger (UTSA) def. Michael Morris/Niklas Wingord (Abilene Christian) 8-5
Joel Rubio/Tomas Stillman (UTSA) def. Jair Assuncao/Leonard Ivic (Incarnate Word) 8-4
Second Round
Hugo Dojas/Maxime Hinnisdaels (Texas Tech) def. Casa/Junger (UTSA) 8-6
Junior Ore/Jackson Withrow (Texas A&M) def. Rubio/Stillman (UTSA) 8-0