CORPUS CHRISTI — Yannick Junger and Tomas Stillman won a pair of singles matches each to help UTSA split matches with DePaul (W, 4-0) and Texas A&M-Corpus Christi (L, 4-3) on Friday during the first day of the H-E-B Tournament of Champions.
The Roadrunners fought back from a heartbreaking 4-3 setback to the host Islanders in the opening round with a 4-0 win against DePaul (7-6) to run their record to 6-5 on the season.
Stillman, the nation's No. 77-ranked singles player, posted his seventh straight win and ran his dual-match ledger to 9-2 with a triumph at No. 1 against DePaul’s David Vieyra. The senior from Harlingen took the first set, 6-4, and the contest was called when Vieyra retired after falling behind, 3-0 in the second.
Junger took care of the Blue Demons’ Nathan de Veer in straight sets (6-1, 6-4) to run his record to 6-5.
Joel Rubio handled Jan-Willem Feilzer, 6-3, 6-3, on the fourth court and Joao Riquelme dispatched Max Renke, 6-2, 6-2, at No. 5 to help lift UTSA to the win.
Earlier in the day, two former Southland Conference foes battled down to the final doubles contest in the tournament format, which begins with singles play instead of doubles and stops when a team reaches four points.
Texas A&M-Corpus Christi took a 2-0 lead after winning matches at No. 6 when Paul Cook defeated Jake Rother, 6-2, 6-2, and at No. 5 when Javier Pujol downed Riquelme, 6-2, 6-4.
UTSA responded with triumphs by Tito Moreiras against Ricardo Mayagoitia (7-5, 6-4) at No. 3 and Junger versus Kevin Bettendroffer (6-4, 7-6 [7-4]) on the second court to knot the match at 2-2.
Stillman gave the Roadrunner a 3-2 advantage after he rallied from a 6-4 setback in the opening set with a pair of 6-4 decisions against Peter Nagy at No. 1. However, the Islanders sent the match to doubles with a 6-4, 3-6, 7-5 win by Guillaume Rauseo against Rubio on the fourth court.
Bettendroffer and Rauseo paired up for a 6-0 sweep of Diogo Casa and Rubio at No. 2 to give the home side an early edge toward the doubles point. UTSA countered when Moreiras and Rother teamed up to edge Mayagoitia and Cook, 7-6 (7-2), on the third court.
With the decision down to court one, Nagy and Arthur Bedel outlasted Junger and Stillman, 7-6 (7-4), to clinch the win for the Islanders.
The Roadrunners will face Lamar (6-5) in the fifth place match at 9:30 a m. on Saturday.
Texas A&M-Corpus Christi 4, UTSA 3
Doubles
1. Bedel/Nagy (AMCC) def. Junger/Stillman (UTSA) 7-6 (7-4)
2. Bettendroffer/Rauseo (AMCC) def. Casa/Rubio (UTSA) 6-0
3. Moreiras/Rother (UTSA) def. Cook/Mayagoitia (AMCC) 7-6 (7-2)
Singles
1. #77 Tomas Stillman (UTSA) def. Peter Nagy (AMCC) 4-6, 6-4, 6-4
2. Yannick Junger (UTSA) def. Kevin Bettendroffer (AMCC) 6-4, 7-6 (7-4)
3. Tito Moreiras (UTSA) def. Ricardo Mayagoitia (AMCC) 7-5, 6-4
4. Guillaume Rauseo (AMCC) def. Joel Rubio (UTSA) 6-4, 3-6, 7-5
5. Javier Pujol (AMCC) def. Joao Riquelme (UTSA) 6-2, 6-4
6. Paul Cook (AMCC) def. Jake Rother (UTSA) 6-2, 6-2
Order of finish: Doubles (2,3,1); Singles (6,5,3,2,1,4)
UTSA 4, DePaul 0
Doubles
Not played
Singles
1. #77 Tomas Stillman (UTSA) def. David Vieyra (DU) 6-4, 3-0, retired
2. Yannick Junger (UTSA) def. Nathan de Veer (DU) 6-1, 6-4
3. Tito Moreiras (UTSA) vs. Kyle Johnson (DU) 3-6, 5-4, unfinished
4. Joel Rubio (UTSA) def. Jan-Willem Feilzer (DU) 6-3, 6-3
5. Joao Riquelme (UTSA) def. Max Renke (DU) 6-2, 6-2
6. Jake Rother (UTSA) vs. Tim Corwin (DU) 4-6, 4-1, unfinished