CORPUS CHRISTI — UTSA posted a 4-2 victory against UT Rio Grande Valley to secure seventh place on the final day of the H-E-B Tournament of Champions, which took place on Friday-Saturday at the H-E-B Tennis Center.
The Roadrunners (3-9) won four of the six singles matches to defeat UTRGV (2-13) for the second time this season and snap a seven-match losing streak in the process.
UTSA fell behind 2-0 after losing at the top two spots in the lineup, but avoided playing doubles by taking the remaining four contests.
Patrick Poestinger swept Yehonatan Kaufman, 6-4, 6-2, at No. 3 to put the Roadrunners on the board.
Takeru Watanabe also posted a straight-set victory with a 6-3, 6-1 decision against Clement Sarradin at the fourth spot.
Christian Carrillo scored a 6-3, 6-4 triumph against Andres Hernandez at No. 5 and Igor Cantanhede posted a 6-1, 6-3 win over Mateo Schmit at the bottom of the order to provide the final margin.
The Roadrunners opened the two-day event against Arizona on Friday morning.
The Wildcats grabbed the doubles point with wins on two of the three courts. Trent Botha and Oliver Plaskett teamed up for a 6-2 triumph over Poestinger and Cantanhede at No. 2, and Shoki Kasahara and Alejandro Reguant posted a 6-4 victory against Fabian Brand and Kai Breitbach at No. 3 to claim a 1-0 advantage.
Plaskett gave Arizona a 2-0 lead when he swept Cantanhede, 6-0, 6-4, at No. 6 singles, and Botha made it 3-0 with a 6-3, 6-4 decision against Poestinger at the third spot.
Juri Reckow gave UTSA its first point of the match when he downed Will Kneale by a 6-4, 7-6 count at No. 2, but the Wildcats (7-4) clinched the 4-1 win with a 6-7, 6-1, 6-4 victory by Shoti Meparidze against Breitbach at the top of the lineup.
UTSA fell into the consolation side of the bracket and faced host Texas A&M-Corpus Christi on Friday evening.
The match started with singles play and Catagay Soke gave the Islanders the first point when he beat Reckow, 6-0, 6-1, at No. 2.
Carlos Pedrosa swept Carrillo, 6-0, 6-2, at No. 5 and William Mottet took down Watanabe, 6-1, 7-5, at the fourth spot to stake the Islanders to a 3-0 advantage.
Gonzalo Achondo then secured the 4-0 win when he rallied for a 1-6, 7-5, 6-0 decision against Cantanhede at No. 6.
The Roadrunners will return to action next weekend when they travel to Hattiesburg, Miss., for the C-USA Showcase. The three-day event will get underway on Friday, March 10.
UTSA 4, UT Rio Grande Valley 2
Singles
1. Koby Jansen (UTRGV) def. Kai Breitbach (UTSA) 6-3, 6-4
2. Juri Reckow (UTSA) def. Elliot Johnstone (UTRGV) 3-6, 6-1, 7-6
3. Patrick Poestinger (UTSA) def. Yehonatan Kaufman (UTRGV) 6-4, 6-2
4. Takeru Watanabe (UTSA) def. Clement Sarradin (UTRGV) 6-3, 6-1
5. Christian Carrillo (UTSA) def. Andres Hernandez (UTRGV) 6-3, 6-4
6. Igor Cantanhede (UTSA) def. Mateo Schmit (UTRGV) 6-1, 6-3
Order of finish: Singles (1,2,3,4,5,6)
Texas A&M-Corpus Christi 4, UTSA 0
Singles
1. Kevin Bettendroffer (AMCC) vs. Kai Breitbach (UTSA) 5-6, 6-1, 5-1, unfinished
2. Cagatay Soke (AMCC) def. Juri Reckow (UTSA) 6-0, 6-1
3. Patrick Poestinger (UTSA) vs. Paul Cook (AMCC) 2-6, 6-3, 4-1, unfinished
4. William Mottet (AMCC) def. Takeru Watanabe (UTSA) 6-1, 7-5
5. Carlos Pedrosa (AMCC) def. Christian Carrillo (UTSA) 6-0, 6-2
6. Gonzalo Achondo (AMCC) def. Igor Cantanhede (UTSA) 1-6, 7-5, 6-0
Order of finish: Singles (2,5,4,6)
Arizona 4, UTSA 1
Doubles
1. Carrillo/Reckow (UTSA) vs. Adkisson/Meparidze (UA) 6-5, unfinished
2. Botha/Plaskett (UA) def. Cantanhede/Poestinger (UTSA) 6-2
3. Kasahara/Reguant (UA) def. Brand/Breitbach (UTSA) 6-4
Singles
1. Shoti Meparidze (UA) def. Kai Breitbach (UTSA) 6-7, 6-1, 6-4
2. Juri Reckow (UTSA) def. Will Kneale (UA) 6-4, 7-6
3. Trent Botha (UA) def. Patrick Poestinger (UTSA) 6-3, 6-4
4. Takeru Watanabe (UTSA) vs. Alejandro Reguant (UA) 6-3, 3-6, 5-2, unfinished
5. Shoki Kasahara (UA) vs. Christian Carrillo (UTSA) 6-7, 6-4, 3-2, unfinished
6. Oliver Plaskett (UA) def. Igor Cantanhede (UTSA) 6-0, 6-4
Order of finish: Doubles (2,3); Singles (6,3,2,1)
