HATTIESBURG, Miss. — Tomas Stillman recorded his 20th singles victory of the season, but it was not enough in a 4-2 setback at Southern Mississippi on Friday afternoon at the USM Tennis Courts.
Stillman swept Alex Doleac, 6-1, 6-3, at the No. 2 singles position to run his season ledger to a team-best 20-2, including a 12-1 mark at the second spot. The junior from Harlingen has won seven straight and 19 of his last 20 outings.
Diogo Casa posted the other win for the Roadrunners (9-15) by downing Juan Escobar, 6-4, 6-0, at No. 4, as the sophomore picked up his fourth consecutive triumph in improving to 11-12 on the year.
The Golden Eagles (11-9) grabbed a 1-0 lead by winning at Nos. 2 and 3 doubles. The home side took a 3-0 lead after Chao-Yu Huang defeated Kolby Kilgo, 6-0, 6-1, at No. 5 and Vasco Valverde beat Joel Rubio, 6-2, 6-4, on the third court.
Southern Miss then clinched the two-point win with a 6-4, 7-5 decision by Paulo Alvarado against Yannick Junger at the top spot.
UTSA will travel to Mobile, Ala., to face No. 75 South Alabama (15-7) at 2 p.m. on Saturday in its final tune-up before the Conference USA Championships, which are scheduled for April 17-20 in Tulsa, Okla.
Southern Miss 4, UTSA 2
Doubles
1. Alvarado/Escobar (USM) vs. #47 Rubio/Stillman (UTSA) 7-5, unfinished
2. Huang/Valverde (USM) def. Junger/Kamiljanov (UTSA) 8-4
3. Doleac/Trotsenko (USM) def. Brand/Casa (UTSA) 8-3
Singles
1. Paulo Alvarado (USM) def. Yannick Junger (UTSA) 6-4, 7-5
2. Tomas Stillman (UTSA) def. Alex Doleac (USM) 6-1, 6-3
3. Vasco Valverde (USM) def. Joel Rubio (UTSA) 6-2, 6-4
4. Diogo Casa (UTSA) def. Juan Escobar (USM) 6-4, 6-0
5. Chao-Yu Huang (USM) def. Kolby Kilgo (UTSA) 6-0, 6-1
6. Grigory Trotsenko (USM) vs. Harley Pearson (UTSA) 3-6, 7-6, 0-3, unfinished
Order of finish: Doubles (3,2); Singles (5,3,4,2,1)