HOUSTON – Following a nearly five-hour rain delay at Rice's George R. Brown Tennis Center, No. 41 UTSA men's tennis (18-6) finished as the Conference USA runner-up in only the Roadrunners' second C-USA final, coming up short against top-seeded No. 27 Middle Tennessee (21-7), 4-0. Despite the shutout, it was a hotly-contested match with three courts on the fringe of scoring until the Blue Raiders garnered the fourth point to secure their fourth consecutive conference title.
It was just the sixth setback for the Roadrunners and the third to a ranked team – all six of those opponents are in the current national rankings. The 2023 team has garnered the third-most wins in program history and the most victories since 1985.
The Roadrunners were forced to play from behind after the Blue Raiders produced a strong doubles performance for the initial point on court one and three. Middle Tennessee entered Sunday's match coming off a 4-0 sweep of fifth-seeded UAB, while the Roadrunners came away victorious on Saturday from an all-out battle with third-seeded No. 59 FAU, ending in a 4-3 victory.
The Blue Raiders saw quick success on singles courts four and six, finishing both courts in two sets to give Middle Tennessee a 3-0 advantage. However, UTSA was in contention for the win in each of four remaining courts – which could have swayed the match for either team.
With UTSA leading on one court and two others split into third sets, the Blue Raiders clinched the match in a 4-0 win with a fifth-flight Marcel Kamrowski win, 7-6 (5), 6-3.
Quoting Coach Sergey Avdeyev
"We did not play at the level to win today. We were facing a three-time conference champion and some of their guys had the experience of winning it all three years. They were more present in the moment. We had our chances in doubles and singles but could not convert any of them. Congrats to Middle Tennessee again for their win. We will take some time off and then get back to practice to get ready for possibly our first NCAA at-large bid."
Doubles Results
Order of Finish: 1, 3
1. #53 Oskar Brostrom Poulsen/Francisco Rocha def. Alan Magadan/Tiago Torres: 6-2
2. Pavel Motl/Stijn Slump vs. Tomás Pinho/Sebastian Rodriguez: 3-4 (unfinished)
3. Ondrej Horak/Marcel Kamrowski def. Jackson Ross/Garrett Skelly: 6-4
Singles Results
Order of Finish: 4, 6, 5
1. #59 Stijn Slump vs. Tiago Torres: 5-7, 7-5, 1-0 (unfinished)
2. Francisco Rocha vs. Alan Magadan: 6-7 (4), 4-4 (unfinished)
3. Oskar Brostrom Poulsen vs. Sebastian Rodriguez: 7-5, 4-6, 2-2 (unfinished)
4. Ondrej Horak def. Tomás Pinho: 6-3, 6-0
5. Marcel Kamrowski def. Danijal Muminovic: 7-6 (5), 6-3
6. Pavel Motl def. Garrett Skelly: 6-1, 6-2
Up Next
While Middle Tennessee's victory assures the Blue Raiders an automatic bid to the NCAA Championships, the Roadrunners will need to wait for the NCAA Selection Show to learn if UTSA will receive its first ever at-large bid to the NCAA tournament. A top 50 ranking is requisite for at-large consideration and the Roadrunners have held up their end with nine consecutive weeks ranked among the top 50.
The NCAA Men's Tennis Selection Show is set for Monday, May 1 and the first (May 5-7) second (May 12-13) rounds will take place at Regional campus sites, ahead of the NCAA Championships, May 17-27 at the USTA National Campus (Collegiate Center) in Orlando, Fla.
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