HOUSTON – The UTSA men's tennis team won two singles matchups, but it was not enough to get past Florida Atlantic, which recorded a 4-2 victory in the opening round of the Conference USA Championship on Friday at the George R. Brown Tennis Center.
Joao Ceolin and Juri Reckow picked up the two points for the Roadrunners (13-12) in singles action.
The Owls (18-9) won two of three doubles matchups to take a 1-0 lead in the contest.
Reckow and Gabriel Bugiga won their doubles tilt at the top spot, but Florida Atlantic rallied for wins in the second and third positions to clinch the point.
The Owls then took the second flight of singles play to take a 2-0 advantage.
Reckow put up UTSA's first point with a 6-2, 6-4 victory at the third spot against Gabriel Sidney.
Ignacio Garcia defeated Javier Gonzalez in straight sets at No. 4 singles to push the lead to 3-1.
Ceolin pulled the Roadrunners back within a point with a 6-2, 6-4 victory at the fifth position.
However, Thomas Bugeaud ended the match in straight sets at the sixth spot.
UTSA completed the 2018 campaign with a 13-12 record. Under the direction of third-year head coach Rodrigo da Silva, the Roadrunners more than doubled their win total after collecting six victories a year ago.
In his freshman season, Ceolin led the Birds with a 13-7 overall record in singles action. Kai Breitbach finished with a dozen victories, while Gonzalez and Reckow won 11 matches apiece.
