HATTIESBURG, Miss. — The UTSA men's tennis team dropped a pair of matches to No. 38-ranked Rice and UAB on Saturday at the C-USA Showcase, which was played at the USM Tennis Facility.
Originally scheduled to be a three-day round-robin tournament, tournament officials decided to play the two matches scheduled for Sunday on Saturday afternoon due to rain in the forecast.
In the first contest of the day, Gabriel Borunda and Juri Reckow each picked up victories in singles play for the Roadrunners, but the Blazers (6-5) won on three other courts to go along with claiming the doubles point to secure the win.
UAB's top duo of Tim Dollman and Stefan Gonzalez teamed up for a 6-2 victory against Fabian Brand and Igor Cantanhede.
Christian Coetzee and Eric Komati then clinched the point with a 6-3 decision against Kai Breitbach and Reckow at the second position.
In singles, Coetzee gave UAB a 2-0 advantage with a 6-1, 6-3 triumph over Takeru Watanabe at No. 4.
Gonzalez then pulled the Blazers to within a point of clinching with a 6-4, 6-1 win against Patrick Poestinger at No. 3.
Reckow got UTSA on the board with a 6-3, 6-4 sweep of Komati at No. 2.
Borunda then pulled the Birds to within 3-2 with a 6-3, 6-3 victory at the sixth spot.
However, Dollman stopped the contest with a 7-6, (7-4), 6-3 win against Breitbach at the top of the lineup.
Singles were played first in the afternoon matchup against Rice, and the Owls (14-5) built a 2-0 lead after a pair of straight-set decisions.
Jamie Malik downed Breitbach by a 6-3, 6-1 count at the top of the lineup, and Oscar Janglin beat Borunda, 6-0, 7-5, at No. 5.
Tommy Bennett moved Rice to one point from clinching with a 6-2, 6-3 triumph against Reckow at the second spot.
Emanuel Llamas secured the win for the Owls with a tough 7-6 (7-5), 6-4 win over Christian Carrillo at No. 4.
The Roadrunners (3-12) will open a three-match home stand against Cleveland State (5-8) at 5 p.m. on Tuesday, March 14, at the UTSA Tennis Center.
UAB 4, UTSA 2
Doubles
1. Dollman/Gonzalez (UAB) def. Brand/Cantanhede (UTSA) 6-2
2. Coetzee/Komati (UAB) def. Breitbach/Reckow (UTSA) 6-3
3. Carrillo/Watanabe (UTSA) vs. Manchev/Parton (UAB) 5-4, unfinished
Singles
1. Tim Dollman (UAB) def. Kai Breitbach (UTSA) 7-6 (7-4), 6-3
2. Juri Reckow (UTSA) def. Eric Komati (UAB) 6-3, 6-4
3. Stefan Gonzalez (UAB) def. Patrick Poestinger (UTSA) 6-4, 6-1
4. Christian Coetzee (UAB) def. Takeru Watanabe (UTSA) 6-1, 6-3
5. Christian Carrillo (UTSA) vs. Kenton Parton (UAB) 3-6, 6-4, 4-3, unfinished
6. Gabriel Borunda (UTSA) def. Tom El Safadi (UAB) 6-3, 6-3
Order of finish: Doubles (1,2); Singles (4,3,2,6,1)
#38 Rice 4, UTSA 0
Singles
1. Jamie Malik (RICE) def. Kai Breitbach (UTSA) 6-3, 6-1
2. Tommy Bennett (RICE) def. Juri Reckow (UTSA) 6-2, 6-3
3. Jake Hansen (RICE) vs. Takeru Watanabe (UTSA) 6-6, unfinished
4. Emanuel Llamas (RICE) def. Christian Carrillo (UTSA) 7-6 (7-5), 6-4
5. Oscar Janglin (RICE) def. Gabriel Borunda (UTSA) 6-0, 7-5
6. Henrik Munch (RICE) vs. Igor Cantanhede (UTSA) 7-5, 4-1, unfinished
Order of finish: Singles (1,5,2,4)
