SAN ANTONIO — No. 72 UTSA extended its winning streak to five matches with a 6-1 upset of 60th-ranked South Alabama on Sunday at the UTSA Tennis Center.
The Roadrunners grabbed the doubles point and then won the first three singles contests en route to running their record to 10-5 on the year.
Diogo Casa and Joel Rubio improved to 9-3 in dual matches with a 6-2 victory against Olivier Gingras and Tim Srkala at No. 2 doubles to give UTSA the upper hand early on.
Yannick Junger and Jake Rother then teamed up for a 6-3 win against Tuki Jacobs and Juan Troglia on the third court to hand UTSA a 1-0 advantage in the match.
For good measure, Tito Moreiras and Tomas Stillman combined for a 7-6 (7-4) triumph over the Jaguars’ No. 61-ranked pair of Gerhard Gruindelingh and Daniel Leitner at the top spot. It marked the duo’s third straight win since playing together for the first time last Thursday.
In singles, Joao Riquelme registered his sixth win of the year with a 7-5, 6-1 decision against Gruindelingh at No. 4, while Casa made quick work of Gingras at the sixth position, 6-4, 6-2, to put the home side up, 3-0.
Rubio then secured UTSA’s eighth victory in its last nine outings with a 7-5, 7-5 win against Troglia at No. 3.
The Jaguars (8-6) picked up their lone point when Jacobs bettered Mark Ginting, 7-6 (7-4), 6-4, at No. 5.
UTSA responded with wins at the top two spots to provide the final margin.
Stillman, the No. 77-ranked player in Division I, rallied from an early 4-1 deficit in the opening set against Srkala at No. 1 for a 7-6 (8-6) decision and then scored a 6-3 win the the second en route to his 11th straight victory. The senior from Harlingen now owns a 12-2 dual match ledger and has not lost since Feb. 6 against Tin Ostojic of Wichita State.
Meanwhile, Moreiras rebounded from a 6-3 setback in the opening frame against Leitner with 6-4 and 6-3 wins to upset the No. 75-ranked singles player in three. The sophomore transfer from San Antonio now has won his last eight contests and is 11-3 in his first season with the Birds.
The Roadrunners will continue their home stand against No. 69 Texas A&M-Corpus Christi (9-3) at 3 p.m. Wednesday, March 18.
#72 UTSA 6, #60 South Alabama 1
Doubles
1. Moreiras/Stillman (UTSA) def. #61 Gruindelingh/Leitner (USA) 7-6 (7-4)
2. Casa/Rubio (UTSA) def. Gingras/Srkala (USA) 6-2
3. Junger/Rother (UTSA) def. Jacobs/Troglia (USA) 6-3
Singles
1. #77 Tomas Stillman (UTSA) def. Tim Srkala (USA) 7-6 (8-6), 6-3
2. Tito Moreiras (UTSA) def. #75 Daniel Leitner (USA) 3-6, 6-4, 6-3
3. Joel Rubio (UTSA) def. Juan Troglia (USA) 7-5, 7-5
4. Joao Riquelme (UTSA) def. Gerhard Gruindelingh (USA) 7-5, 6-1
5. Tuki Jacobs (USA) def. Mark Ginting (UTSA) 7-6 (7-4), 6-4
6. Diogo Casa (UTSA) def. Olivier Gingras (USA) 6-4, 6-2
Order of finish: Doubles (2,3,1); Singles (4,6,3,5,1,2)