AUSTIN, Texas – The remarkable 2023 season for UTSA men's tennis reached its conclusion on Saturday at the Texas Tennis Center, as the No. 39 Roadrunners (18-7) were topped in their NCAA First Round Matchup with the No. 32 Pepperdine Waves (19-8), closing UTSA's fifth program NCAA postseason appearance with a 4-1 loss.
The Roadrunners had to work from behind after the Waves pulled ahead via doubles victories on courts one and two, 6-3 and 6-2, respectively.
It was immediately clear from the start of singles play that the Waves and Roadrunners were set to grind it out until the final result, with the teams going blow-for-blow and splitting first-set victories – Alan Magadan, Tomás Pinho and Jackson Ross picking up first-set wins on courts two, four and six, respectively.
Setbacks on courts three and five multiplied the pressure on remaining courts in contention, as Eero Vasa bested Sebastian Rodriguez, 6-4, 6-3 and Maxi Homberg pushed past Danijal Muminovic, 6-4, 6-2 – giving Pepperdine the upper hand with a 3-0 lead.
As the clashes on the other three courts poured into third sets, Pinho battled all the way back from a 2-5 deficit in the second set on court four to claim a 7-5 victory over Pietro Fellin – putting UTSA's first program postseason score on the scoreboard.
Meanwhile, Ross was giving his all on court six to fight off Linus Halldin after splitting sets and rallying from an 0-3 third-set deficit back to a 3-4 scoring difference. However, Halldin was able to hold off a repeat of court two's outcome and clinched the match for Pepperdine at 4-1 with a 2-6, 6-1, 6-3 win.
The Roadrunners left a couple of potential wins on the court at drop time, as both Magadan and Tiago Torres held unfinished third-set ties against their ranked foes, No. 69 Daniel De Jonge and No. 107 Tim Zeitvogel.
The loss closes out a phenomenal team campaign for UTSA; the Roadrunners finish the year with the third-most victories in a season in program history at 18, while accruing the program's longest winning streak of 14 matches and the highest historic ranking at 34th in the nation.
Quoting Coach Sergey Avdeyev
"I could not be more proud of this group of guys. We fought today till the end. It was hard to pull it off without the doubles point since the level between these teams was so even. Some spots for Pepperdine played outstanding today, but we still had our chances in singles. We just fell behind too quickly in the third sets to escape the deficit. I am happy that Tomás was able to record the first win at the NCAA team competition. We have a lot to talk about once we come back but are very motivated to continue our momentum and success next year."
Doubles Results
Order of Finish: 2, 1
1. #64 Jonge,Daniel De/Zeitvogel,Tim def. Tiago Torres/Alan Magadan: 6-3
2. Vasa,Eero/Homberg,Maxi def. Sebastian Rodriguez/Tomás Pinho: 6-2
3. Fellin,Pietro/Halldin,Linus vs. Jackson Ross/Garrett Skelly: 5-5 (unfinished)
Singles Results
Order of Finish: 3, 5, 4, 6
1. #107 Zeitvogel,Tim vs. Tiago Torres: 6-2, 4-6, 3-3 (unfinished)
2. #69 Jonge,Daniel De vs. Alan Magadan: 4-6, 6-3, 2-2 (unfinished)
3. Vasa,Eero def. Sebastian Rodriguez: 6-4, 6-3
4. Tomás Pinho def. Fellin,Pietro: 6-2, 7-5
5. Homberg,Maxi def. Danijal Muminovic: 6-4, 6-2
6. Halldin,Linus def. Jackson Ross: 2-6, 6-1, 6-3
More Action Ahead in NCAA Doubles
While the Roadrunners season may be complete in the team duals of the NCAA Championships, UTSA still has a pair with a date on the schedule. After receiving UTSA's first-ever selection for a doubles pair with a No. 26 ranking, Alan Magadan and Sebastian Rodriguez are scheduled to travel to Orlando, Florida to battle their way through the NCAA Doubles Championships, starting on May 23rd at the USTA National Campus.
- UTSA -
