HOUSTON — Tomas Stillman captured the singles crown to highlight action for the UTSA men's tennis team at last weekend's Rice Invitational.
Stillman, the No. 6 seed in the 64-man bracket, beat David Warren of Rice, 6-4, 6-3, in the championship match to cap an impressive run through six rounds at Jake Hess Tennis Stadium. The senior from Harlingen opened the three-day event with a 5-7, 6-2, 10-4 victory against Nebraska's Scott Elsass on Friday. He then got past Lamar's Juuso Laitinen, 6-2, 6-1, to earn a spot in the final 16.
Stillman ousted Tulane's Sebastian Rey in straight sets, 6-3, 6-3, before knocking off senior teammate Joel Rubio, 6-4, 6-2, to clinch a spot in the semifinals. There, the 2014 Conference USA Newcomer of the Year upended second-seed Tony Lupieri of Baylor, 3-6, 7-6 (6), 11-9, to move on to the finale.
Rubio put together straight-set wins against Nicholls' Evan Karatzas (6-1, 6-4) and SMU's Nathaniel Lammons (6-4, 6-4) before upsetting No. 3 seed Jamie Malik of Rice, 1-6, 6-2, 10-6, prior to his setback against Stillman in the quarterfinals.
Rubio and Stillman also combined for a 6-4 triumph against Partha Adavelly and Lukas Clemens of Nicholls in the opening round of the doubles draw before being eliminated by Rey and Constantin Schmitz of Tulane, 6-5 (3).
In other singles action, Yannick Junger and Tito Moreiras both advanced to the semifinals of the consolation bracket before the event was called due to weather.
Junger registered a 7-5, 6-3 victory over Nicholls' Bernard Wezeman before rallying for a 1-6, 7-5, 10-3 win against Rice's Srikar Alla to reach the quarters. There, the senior from Stuttgart, Germany, posted a 6-4, 6-4 victory over junior teammate Jacob Rother, who reached the quarters with wins against Nicholls' Sam Meessen (6-4, 6-2) and UT Arlington's Pablo Colvee (7-5, 6-7 [6], 10-6).
Moreiras bettered Texas A&M's Max Montague, 6-3, 6-3, and SMU's Eric Fritz-Randolph, 6-1, 6-1, before advancing to the semis with a 6-4, 7-5 victory against Lamar's Jeandre Hoogenboezem.
Junger and Morieras, a sophomore transfer, teamed up and reached the quarterfinal round of the doubles draw with a 6-2 win against Chris Hobgarski and Marc Hermann of Nebraska and by default when Wezeman and Kieran Cronin of Nicholls withdrew.
The Roadrunners will return to action this weekend at the ITA All-American Championships in Tulsa, Okla.The tournament is scheduled to begin on Saturday.
2014 Rice Invitational Results
(UTSA matches only)
Singles Main Draw
Round of 64
Joel Rubio (UTSA) def. Evan Karatzas (Nicholls) 6-1, 6-4
Tomas Stillman (UTSA) def. Scott Elsass (Nebraska) 5-7, 7-2, 10-4
Michael Feucht, (Lamar) def. Diogo Casa (UTSA) 3-6, 6-4, 10-6
Nikita Lis (Lamar) def. Yannick Junger (UTSA) 3-6, 6-2, 10-5
Tony Russell (SMU) def. Jacob Rother (UTSA) 5-7, 6-3, 10-7
Round of 32
Tomas Stillman (UTSA) def. Juuso Laitinen (Lamar) 6-2, 6-1
Joel Rubio (UTSA) def. Nathaniel Lammons (SMU) 6-4, 6-4
Andrew Dzulnsky (Nebraska) def. Tito Moreiras (UTSA) 6-4, 4-6, 10-3
Round of 16
Joel Rubio (UTSA) def. Jamie Malik (Rice) 6-1, 6-2
Tomas Stillman (UTSA) def. Sebastian Rey (Tulane) 6-3, 6-3
Quarterfinals
Tomas Stillman (UTSA) def. Joel Rubio (UTSA) 6-4, 6-2
Semifinals
Tomas Stillman (UTSA) def. Tony Lupieri (Baylor) 3-6, 7-6 (6), 11-9
Championship Match
Tomas Stillman (UTSA) def. David Warren (Rice) 6-4, 6-3
Singles Consolation Bracket
Round of 32
Diogo Casa (UTSA) def. Chris Schindler (Nebraska) 6-4, 6-4
Yannick Junger (UTSA) def. Bernard Wezeman (Nicholls) 7-5, 6-3
Jacob Rother (UTSA) def. Sam Meessen (Nicholls) 6-4, 6-2
Tito Moreiras (UTSA) def. Max Montague (A&M) 6-3, 6-3
Round of 16
Yannick Junger (UTSA) def. Srikar Alla (Rice) 1-6, 7-5, 10-3
Jacob Rother (UTSA) def. Pablo Colvee (UTA) 7-5, 6-7 (6), 10-6
Tito Moreiras (UTSA) def. Eric Fritz-Randolph (SMU) 6-1, 6-1
Naoki Takeda (Arizona) def. Diogo Casa (UTSA) 6-3, 6-0
Quarterfinals
Yannick Junger (UTSA) def. Jacob Rother (UTSA) 6-4, 6-4
Tito Moreiras (UTSA) def. Jeandre Hoogenboezem (Lamar) 6-4, 7-5
Doubles Main Draw
Round of 32
Junger/Moreiras (UTSA) def. Hermann/Hobgarski (Nebraska) 6-2
Rubio/Stillman (UTSA) def. Adavelly/Clemens (Nicholls) 6-4
Bermudez/Jaruvang (Arizona) def. Casa/Rother (UTSA) 6-4
Round of 16
Junger/Moreiras (UTSA) def. Cronin/Wezeman (Nicholls) by default
Rey/Scmitz (Tulane) def. Rubio/Stillman (UTSA) 6-5 (3)
Quarterfinals
Hoogenboezem/Laitinen (Lamar) def. Junger/Moreiras (UTSA) 6-5 (3)
Doubles Consolation Bracket
Round of 16
Dzulnsky/Shin (Nebraska) def. Casa/Rother (UTSA) 6-0