NORFOLK, Va. -- Joao Ceolin (Palotina, Brazil) and Sebastian Rodriguez (Trujillo, Peru) each earned single wins and teamed up to help claim the doubles point, leading fifth-seeded UTSA men's tennis to a 4-1 win over host and No. 4 seed and 64th ranked Old Dominion, on Friday afternoon at the Folkes-Stevens Tennis Center.
"We are really happy to advance to the semifinals," UTSA head coach Sergey Avdeyev said. "We lost to ODU earlier in the year so it was a mental challenge for both teams in a rematch. Our guys really wanted to win and showed that determination throughout the day."
UTSA (12-11) used the doubles point to open the day, getting a 6-4 win from Ceolin and Rodriguez on court 1 and a 6-4 win from Javier Gonzalez (San Fernando, Chile) and Maxim Groysman (Bellevue, Wash.).
In singles, Ceolin posted a 6-1, 6-2 win on court 1. Rodriguez posted a 7-5, 6-4 win on court 3 and Danijal Muminovic (Tuzla, Bosnia) earned a 6-2, 6-0 win on court 6.
ODU (13-9) only won on one court, posting a win by retirement on court 5.
FINAL! UTSA takes down host Old Dominion in the first round of the @ConferenceUSA Championships!#BirdsUp 🤙 pic.twitter.com/YaYpQMYH35
— UTSA Men's Tennis (@UTSAMT) April 22, 2022
The Roadrunners will now advance to face top-seeded and 18th ranked Middle Tennessee (25-4) who beat No. 8 seed UAB 4-0 on Friday – in the league tournament semifinals with a berth in the championship round at stake. The match is set for 12 p.m. at the Folkes-Stevens Tennis Center.
UTSA 4, #64 Old Dominion 1
Singles competition
1. #103 Joao Ceolin (UTSA) def. #52 Francois Le Tallec (ODU) 6-1, 6-2
2. Younes Lalami (ODU) vs. Tiago Torres (UTSA) 6-2, 1-6, 3-5, unfinished
3. Sebastian Rodriguez (UTSA) def. Yevhen Sirous (ODU) 7-5, 6-4
4. Codie Van Schalkwyk (ODU) vs. Javier Gonzalez (UTSA) 6-4, 3-5, unfinished
5. Danijal Muminovic (UTSA) def. Oliver Nolan (ODU) 6-4, 3-0, retired
6. Oliver Tobisch (ODU) def. Maxim Groysman (UTSA) 6-2, 6-0
Doubles competition
1. Joao Ceolin/Sebastian Rodriguez (UTSA) def. Younes Lalami/Yevhen Sirous (ODU) 6-4
2. Javier Gonzalez/Maxim Groysman (UTSA) def. Oliver Nolan/Codie Van Schalkwyk (ODU) 6-4
3. Francois Le Tallec/Oliver Tobisch (ODU) vs. Tiago Torres/Garrett Skelly (UTSA) 6-5, unfinished
- UTSA -