CORPUS CHRISTI — UTSA scored a 4-3 victory against DePaul on Saturday to grab seventh place at this weekend's two-day H-E-B Tournament of Champions.
The Roadrunners (2-11) snapped an eight-match losing streak by beating the Blue Demons (3-11) for the second consecutive year at the nation's longest-running tournament.
UTSA took a 1-0 lead after doubles play.
The No. 1 duo of Fabian Brand and Diogo Casa posted a 6-3 triumph over Alex Galoustian and Jan-Willem Felizer, while Eric Buchalter and Christian Carrillo teamed up for an identical score against Paul John and Conor O’Meara at the second spot to secure the doubles point.
In singles, Brand posted a 6-3, 7-5 sweep of Willem-Felizer at No. 5 and Carrillo outlasted Kyle Johnston, 7-5, 7-6 (10-8), on the third court to help offset losses at Nos. 2, 4 and 6.
That sent all eyes to center court, where Casa and Sten Leusink battled it out in a three-set thriller. Casa, a senior from Brazil, registered a 6-4 win in the first set, but Leusink answered with a 7-6 (7-3) count in set two. In the deciding frame, Casa posted another 6-4 decision to clinch the match for the Roadrunners.
UTSA ended up in the seventh-place match after a pair of setbacks on Friday.
No. 15 Texas shut out the Roadrunners, 5-0, in the opening round.
That sent UTSA into the consolation side of the bracket, where they faced Texas-Rio Grande Valley on Friday evening.
The two teams played singles first and UTRGV took a 3-0 lead with victories on the first, second and fourth courts.
The Roadrunners responded with a pair of wins by Buchalter and Takeru Watanabe. Buchalter downed Yehonatan Kaufman, 7-5, 6-1, at No. 3, and Watanabe rallied from a 6-4 setback in the opening set with 6-0 and 6-1 decisions against Elliot Johnstone at No. 5.
However, the Vaqueros clinched the contest with a 7-6, 4-6, 6-2 win by Andres Hernandez against Ricardo Gonzalez on the sixth court.
UTSA will return to action on Tuesday, March 15, when they travel to Fort Myers, Fla., to face Florida Gulf Coast.
#15 Texas 5, UTSA 0
Doubles
1. Fabian Brand/Diogo Casa (UTSA) vs. #44 Adrian Ortiz/Michael Riechmann (UT) 4-3, unfinished
2. Colin Markes/John Mee (UT) def. Eric Buchalter/Christian Carrillo (UTSA) 6-1
3. George Goldhoff/William Jou (UT) def. Ricardo Gonzalez/Takeru Watanabe (UTSA) 6-0
Singles
1. George Goldhoff (UT) def. Diogo Casa (UTSA) 6-1, 6-4
2. Rodrigo Banzer (UT) vs. Christian Carrillo (UTSA) 6-2, 3-4, unfinished
3. Michael Riechmann (UT) def. Eric Buchalter (UTSA) 6-2, 6-0
4. Colin Markes (UT) def. Fabian Brand (UTSA) 6-4, 6-0
5. Johnny Goodwin (UT) def. Takeru Watanabe (UTSA) 6-0, 6-1
6. William Jou (UT) vs. Ricardo Gonzalez (UTSA) 6-2, 3-0, unfinished
Order of finish: Doubles (3,2); Singles (3,4,1,5)
Texas-Rio Grande Valley 4, UTSA 2
Singles
1. Juan Cruz Soria (UTRGV) def. Diogo Casa (UTSA) 6-4, 6-3
2. Ethan Ammon (UTRGV) def. Christian Carrillo (UTSA) 6-1, 6-3
3. Eric Buchalter (UTSA) def. Yehonatan Kaufman (UTRGV) 7-5, 6-1
4. Koby Jansen (UTRGV) def. Fabian Brand (UTSA) 6-2, 6-1
5. Takeru Watanabe (UTSA) def. Elliot Johnstone (UTRGV) 4-6, 6-0, 6-1
6. Andres Hernandez (UTRGV) def. Ricardo Gonzalez (UTSA) 7-6, 4-6, 6-2
Order of finish: Singles (4,2,1,3,5,6)
UTSA 4, DePaul 3
Doubles
1. Fabian Brand/Diogo Casa (UTSA) def. Alex Galoustian/Jan-Willem Felizer (DU) 6-3
2. Eric Buchalter/Christian Carrillo (UTSA) def. Paul John/Conor O'Meara (DU) 6-3
3. Kyle Johnston/Sten Leusink (DU) def. Ricardo Gonzalez/Takeru Watanabe (UTSA) 6-2
Singles
1. Diogo Casa (UTSA) def. Sten Leusink (DU) 6-4, 6-7 (3-7), 6-4
2. Alex Galoustian (DU) def. Eric Buchalter (UTSA) 6-2, 6-4
3. Christian Carrillo (UTSA) def. Kyle Johnston (DU) 7-5, 7-6 (10-8)
4. Paul John (DU) def. Takeru Watanabe (UTSA) 6-3, 6-3
5. Fabian Brand (UTSA) def. Jan-Willem Felizer (DU) 6-3, 7-5
6. Conor O'Meara (DU) def. Ricardo Gonzalez (UTSA) 7-6 (7-4), 6-4