ATLANTA – The No. 37 UTSA Roadrunners men's tennis squad (13-4) overcame weather-induced facility challenges and a tough singles battle amid their first trip to the east coast, before securing a 4-1 win over Georgia State (3-10) for their 11th consecutive victory, Friday afternoon at the Peachtree City Tennis Center's indoor courts.
Unfavorable weather conditions in the area forced a late change to the scheduled matches, sending the competition into covered courts at a different location, testing the Roadrunners' ability to be comfortable in uncomfortable circumstances – UTSA remained focused on playing their game in spite of the challenges.
Although the Panthers claimed the slight early edge, winning the first doubles set on court three, UTSA reeled off two consecutive wins to secure the doubles point on a 6-4 Tomas Pinho and Sebastian Rodriguez triumph, followed swiftly by a 7-6 deciding set for Alan Magadan and Tiago Torres on court one.
The Roadrunners used the leverage of the early lead and battled to a decisive victory, though the Panthers forced third-set competition on three courts. Setting the tone that would lead to victory, the Roadrunners claimed wins in 4-of-5 opening singles sets, but gutted past Georgia State's rallies to take the match.
Leading 1-0 out of the doubles, Magadan gave UTSA some insurance on the second court, by extending the overall lead via the first singles point after rebounding from a split set to win the third for the 7-5, 1-6, 6-1 defeat of Gabriele Datei.
Georgia State struck back on court four as Diego Padilha bested Pinho, 7-5, 7-5.
However, the joy was short-lived for the Panthers, as Torres finished off Roberts Grinvalds, 6-1, 4-6, 6-2, on court one. Muminovic closed the door – winning court five with a 7-5, 6-4 defeat of Edward Tymes to deliver UTSA the 4-1 victory.
Due to only five available courts, the court six matchup between Garrett Skelly and Ricardo Batista never got under way.
Quoting Coach Sergey Avdeyev
"I'm so proud of the guys to come back in singles and win this match in very difficult conditions. We had to use covered courts unexpectedly. It was very difficult to adjust and definitely favored the home team. We got ourselves a great head start by winning the doubles and four first sets - it was definitely one of our better starts.
Doubles Results
Order of Finish: 3, 2, 1
#1 Alan Magadan/Tiago Torres def. Roberts Grinvalds/Diego Padilha: 7-6
#2 Tomas Pinho/Sebastian Rodriguez def. Diogo Morais/Ricardo Batista: 6-4
#3 Gabriele Datei/Edward Tymes def. Jackson Ross/Garrett Skelly: 6-3
Singles Results
Order of Finish: 2, 4, 1, 5
#1 Tiago Torres def. Roberts Grinvalds: 6-1, 4-6, 6-2
#2 Alan Magadan def. Gabriele Datei: 7-5, 1-6, 6-1
#3 Diogo Morais vs. Sebastian Rodriguez: 4-6, 6-3, 4-1, unfinished
#4 Diego Padilha def. Tomas Pinho: 7-5, 7-5
#5 Danijal Muminovic def. Edward Tymes: 7-5, 6-4
#6 Ricardo Batista vs. Garrett Skelly: 0-0, unfinished (did not start)
Up Next
The Roadrunners remain on the road out East, heading to North Carolina for a road test at Charlotte, scheduled Sunday, March 19 at 12:00 p.m. Central Time.
- UTSA -
