BOCA RATON, Fla.– The UTSA men’s tennis team (4-7) worked to battle back from a doubles deficit and had three courts in contention, but 41st-ranked Florida Atlantic (9-3) sealed off their 4-1 win by closing out contested singles courts down the line.
After falling behind via a top court loss in doubles, the Roadrunners had a chance to even things up on the second court as Jackson Ross and Garrett Skelly had earned a 5-4 lead over Mark Havlicek and Jiri Jenicek. However, the Owls captured the court three win to emerge with the doubles point on a 6-4 win.
On the singles side, FAU extended its lead with a quick two-set court six point, but Ross downed Havlicek in straight 6-4 sets on five to bring the Roadrunners back within one. Though the Owls crept closer to the clinch with a court two point, the three remaining courts had gone to a third set – the Owls ultimately closing out the 4-1 win on a court four win.
Quoting Coach Sergey Avdeyev
“Doubles was not to our standard. We did not have the right energy on some courts but still we were in position to win that point. Credit to our court two team for grinding hard and being in position to win their match. Very poor performance from our one team today, disappointing. In singles, we had a lot of fight but once again we dug ourselves in the hole early, and it wasted too much energy trying save some games.”
Final Score (UTSA 1, No. 41 FAU 4)
Doubles Results (UTSA 0, FAU 1)
Order of Finish: 1, 3
1. Alberto Colas/Juan Martin Jalif (FAU) def. #29 Alan Magadan/Tomás Pinho: 6-0
2. Mark Havlicek/Jiri Jenicek (FAU) vs. Jackson Ross/Garrett Skelly: 4-5, unfinished
3. John Bernard/Simon Myslivec (FAU) def. Miguel Alonso/Tiago Torres: 6-4
Singles Results (UTSA 1, FAU 3)
Order of Finish: (6, 5, 2, 4)
1. Alberto Colas (FAU) vs. Alan Magadan: (UF) 6-2, 5-7, 4-3
2. Juan Martin Jalif (FAU) def. Tiago Torres: 6-3, 6-4
3. Jiri Jenicek (FAU) vs. Tomás Pinho: (UF) 6-3, 1-6, 5-2
4. John Bernard (FAU) def. Danijal Muminovic: 2-6, 6-3, 6-4
5. Jackson Ross: def. Mark Havlicek (FAU): 6-4, 6-4
6. Kurt Miller (FAU) def. Garrett Skelly: 6-2, 6-4
Up Next
After opening the season with 11 consecutive road matches, UTSA will finally take court at home at the UTSA Tennis Center next week. The Roadrunners host Utah State in the home opener on March 1, then wrap up the week hosting UT Arlington on Sunday, March 3.
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