SAN ANTONIO — Takeru Watanabe won his third singles contest of the season, but it was not enough for UTSA in a 6-1 setback to Texas A&M-Corpus Christi on Wednesday afternoon at the UTSA Tennis Center.
Watanabe made quick work of Gonzalo Achondo at No. 4 singles with a 6-2, 6-1 decision and the sophomore from Japan ran his record to 3-2 in dual matches in the process.
However, the Islanders (4-0) won on the other five courts in singles and scored a slim triumph in doubles in the victory.
The UTSA tandem of Christian Carrillo and Juri Reckow teamed up for a 6-3 win against Mitchell Cook and Maximilian Ilic at No. 3 doubles, but Paul Cook and Cagatay Soke evened the score with a 6-3 triumph against Fabian Brand and Igor Cantanhede at the middle spot in the lineup.
With all eyes on center court, Kevin Bettendroffer and William Mottet staved off a fierce comeback by the Roadrunners' dup of Kai Breitbach and Axel Cronje in a 7-5 decision that handed the Islanders a 1-0 lead.
Paul Cook posted a 6-4, 6-2 win against Cronje at No. 3 before Watanabe's victory pulled UTSA to within 2-1. That was as close as the home side would get, as Bettendroffer recorded a straight-sets decision against Breitbach, 7-6 (7-4), 6-2, at the top of the order and Soke rallied for a 4-6, 6-3, 6-2 triumph against Reckow at No. 2 to clinch the win.
The Roadrunners (2-3) will travel to Lubbock to face Texas Tech (2-5) at noon Friday.
Texas A&M-Corpus Christi 6, UTSA 1
Doubles
1. Bettendroffer/William Mottet (AMCC) def. Breitbach/Cronje (UTSA) 7-5
2. P.Cook/Soke (AMCC) def. Brand/Cantanhede (UTSA) 6-3
3. Carrillo/Reckow (UTSA) def. M.Cook/Ilic (AMCC) 6-3
Singles
1. Kevin Bettendroffer (AMCC) def. Kai Breitbach (UTSA) 7-6 (7-4), 6-2
2. Cagatay Soke (AMCC) def. Juri Reckow (UTSA) 4-6, 6-3, 6-2
3. Paul Cook (AMCC) def. Axel Cronje (UTSA) 6-4, 6-2
4. Takeru Watanabe (UTSA) def. Gonzalo Achondo (AMCC) 6-2, 6-1
5. William Mottet (AMCC) def. Christian Carrillo (UTSA) 6-4, 4-6, 7-5
6. Carlos Pedrosa (AMCC) def. Gabriel Borunda (UTSA) 6-4, 6-2
Order of finish: Doubles (3,2,1); Singles (3,4,1,2,5,6)