SAN ANTONIO – UTSA men's tennis senior Kai Breitbach and junior Sebastian Rodriguez picked up a pair of singles wins in runs to the quarterfinals of The Racquet Club Collegiate Invitational in Midland, Texas, held over the weekend to open the fall season for the Roadrunners.
Breitbach picked up a win over top-seeded Barnaby Smith from Texas A&M, 6-2, 6-4, before besting Texas Tech's Reed Collier, 4-6, 6-3, 6-4. Breitbach, a native of Kaarst, Germany, fell in the semifinals to Texas A&M's Pranav Kumar, 5-7, 6-3, 6-4.
Rodriguez posted a pair of wins to move into the quarterfinals. Rodriguez won vs. ACU's Taine Bernhard, 6-4, 6-2, before taking down Jaycer Lyeons, 7-6 (5), 6-1. Rodriguez fell vs. eventual champion Pierece Rollins from Texas A&M in the quarterfinals, 6-2, 2-6, 6-3.
"Our guys played really well," UTSA assistant coach Cullen Dees said. "Kai battled in every match and gave it his all. He did really well to upset the No. 1 seed. I couldn't have been happier with the way guys competed in every single match. To have three in the quarterfinals, more than any other team, was impressive. I'm very proud of them and they should feel very good about what they accomplished in their first tournament of the year. Good things are ahead."
In addition to Breitbach, UTSA saw sophomore Alan Sanson and senior Juri Reckow compete in singles.
Sanson fell in the first round vs. Kumar, 6-4, 6-2. Reckow topped his first-round foe, Utah State's Arvid Hjalte, 6-4, 6-4, before taking down Texas A&M's Guido Marson, 6-3, 3-0. Reckow fell in the quarterfinals vs. Abilene Christian's Jonathan Sheehy, 6-3, 6-3. Sanson then rebounded with a pair of wins in the consolation bracket to advance to its semifinals round.
In doubles, Rodriguez and Reckow teamed to post a pair of wins, topping a duo from Texas Tech and Utah State, before falling vs. Smith and Rollins in the quarterfinals. Breitbach and Sanson formed UTSA's other doubles pairing, falling vs. New Mexico's Jake Trondson and Facundo Bernejo.
The Roadrunners will return to action with the ITA All-American Championships, held Oct. 4-Oct. 13 in Tulsa, Okla., and the Lamar Invitational on Oct. 11-13.
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