MUFREESBORO, Tenn. – Middle Tennessee fought off a late charge in singles to hold off UTSA men's tennis, 4-3 in the 2019 Air Force Reserve Conference USA Championships, hosted by the Blue Raiders, on Friday afternoon.
UTSA (14-10) fell in a narrow thriller vs. the host Middle Tennessee (16-11) in the opener of the C-USA Championships, ending its season slate.
UTSA dropped the doubles point but roared back to push the match in singles. The Roadrunners earned singles winners from junior Juri Reckow and sophomore Javier Rodriguez to even the match at 2-2. After Kai Breitbach fell on the first court as the Roadrunners dropped down 2-3, it came down to the finish on court two and court six, featuring Joao Ceolin and Alan Sanson.
Sanson fell in the first set, 0-6, before forcing a third with a 6-4 win. Ceolin opened the match with a 6-1 win before Stijn Slump forced a third set with a 6-3 win. Sanson ripped out to a 5-0 lead and after Pavel Motl won the next three points, he finished off a 6-0, 4-6, 6-3 winner.
Ceolin and Slump were locked in a 4-4 tie in their third-set decider after Sanson evened the match at 3-3. Ceolin fell in the decisive set, 6-7.
Sanson improved to 12-6 on the year with the singles win, Reckow moved to 15-6 and Rodriguez 17-5.
- UTSA -
