HOUSTON — UTSA dropped a pair of 4-2 decisions to Southern Miss and UAB on Saturday at the Conference USA Pod, which is being played at the George R. Brown Tennis Center.
In the first match of the day against Southern Miss, UTSA grabbed an early lead after claiming the doubles point.
Fabian Brand and Diogo Casa teamed up to blank Daniel Merker and Tarun Surat, 6-0, at No. 1. Christian Carrillo and Jake Rother clinched the 1-0 lead with a 6-3 win against Jorman Reyes and Mikhail Esipov on the third court after Southern Miss posted a 6-1 triumph at No. 2.
The Golden Eagles (7-4) rallied to take a 2-1 lead after scoring victories at Nos. 3 and 4 singles.
Casa then knotted the match at 2-2 with a 6-4, 6-2 win against Surat at the top spot. However, Southern Miss responded with a 6-1, 6-4 win by Wen-Po Tseng against Rother at No. 2. That sent all eyes to the bottom two spots in the lineup.
Eric Buchalter was leading Merker, 6-1, 4-6, 5-4 at No. 5, but Southern Miss secured the victory when Teeradon Tortrakul outlasted Brand, 6-2, 4-6, 6-1, at the sixth spot.
In the evening contest against UAB, the Blazers (5-4) grabbed the doubles point behind wins at No. 1 from Christian Coetzee and Luiz Felipe Pinto against Brand and Casa (6-2) and at the second position from Mitchell Martell and Kenton Parton against Buchalter and Joao Riquelme (6-3) for a 1-0 advantage.
UAB moved out to a 2-0 lead with a 6-0, 6-4 victory by Coetzee against Riquelme at No. 4, before Christian Carrillo pulled out a 6-4, 6-1 win against Oliver Poysti at No. 3.
The Blazers made it 3-1 when Parton scored a 6-1, 6-4 triumph over Brand at the sixth spot.
Casa pulled the Roadrunners (1-8) to within 3-2 when he edged Martell, 3-6, 6-2, 6-3, at the top of the order, but UAB stopped the match with a 4-6, 6-4, 6-3 win by Eric Komati against Rother at No. 2.
The Roadrunners will face No. 30 Rice at 3 p.m. on Sunday.
Southern Miss 4, UTSA 2
Doubles
1. Fabian Brand/Diogo Casa (UTSA) def. Daniel Merker/Tarun Surat (USM) 6-0
2. Chao-Yu Huang/Wen-Po Tseng (USM) def. Eric Buchalter/Joao Riquelme (UTSA) 6-1
3. Christian Carrillo/Jake Rother (UTSA) def. Mikhail Esipov/Jorman Reyes (USM) 6-3
Singles
1. Diogo Casa (UTSA) def. Tarun Surat (USM) 6-4, 6-2
2. Wen-Po Tseng (USM) def. Jake Rother (UTSA) 6-1, 6-4
3. Chao-Yu Huang (USM) def. Christian Carrillo (UTSA) 6-3, 6-1
4. Jorman Reyes (USM) def. Joao Riquelme (UTSA) 6-2, 6-2
5. Daniel Merker (USM) vs. Eric Buchalter (UTSA) 1-6, 6-4, 4-5, unfinished
6. Teeradon Tortrakul (USM) def. Fabian Brand (UTSA) 6-2, 4-6, 6-1
Order of finish: Doubles (1,2,3); Singles (3,4,1,2,6)
UAB 4, UTSA 2
Doubles
Doubles
1. Christian Coetzee/Luiz Felipe Pinto (UAB) def. Fabian Brand/Diogo Casa (UTSA) 6-2
2. Mitchell Martell/Kenton Parton (UAB) def. Eric Buchalter/Joao Riquelme (UTSA) 6-3
3. Christian Carrillo/Jake Rother (UTSA) vs. Eric Komati/Stepan Vancurik (UAB) 5-4, unfinished
Singles
1. Diogo Casa (UTSA) def. Mitchell Martell (UAB) 3-6, 6-2, 6-3
2. Eric Komati (UAB) def. Jake Rother (UTSA) 4-6, 6-4, 6-3
3. Christian Carrillo (UTSA) def. Oliver Poysti (UAB) 6-4, 6-1
4. Christian Coetzee (UAB) def. Joao Riquelme (UTSA) 6-0, 6-4
5. Eric Buchalter (UTSA) vs. Luiz Felipe Pinto (UAB) 7-5, 4-6, 4-2, unfinished
6. Kenton Parton (UAB) def. Fabian Brand (UTSA) 6-1, 6-4
Order of finish: Doubles (1,2); Singles (4,3,6,1,2)