TULSA, Okla. – The No. 7-seeded UTSA men’s tennis team (10-10) saw its inaugural American Athletic Conference Championships journey cut short on Thursday as the Roadrunners rallied from an early deficit against 10th-seeded Tulane (8-14). Although the Roadrunners had a chance to complete the comeback, Thursday’s first round match ended in a 4-2 setback to the Green Wave at Michael D. Case Tennis Center.The Green Wave shot ahead early with a 2-0 win over the Roadrunners in doubles play, one of Tulane’s strengths coming into the championships. The Roadrunners saw an early hole develop in singles play, as UTSA fell behind on four courts through the first set. However, sophomore Tomás Pinho quickly finished off opponent Alex Bancila to equalize the team scores off a 6-2, 6-3 win on line three. The Green Wave edged ahead with a sixth-court win, but UTSA knotted things once more, as senior Alan Magadan finished off Billy Suarez on the top court, 6-3, 7-5.
Tulane moved ahead 3-2 with a win on five – However, there was opportunity for the rallying Roadrunners, as the remaining courts sat undecided with both split and heading to a third set. Coming down the stretch, senior Jackson Ross was leading Luc Hoeijmans on four, but Luka Petrovic knocked out junior Tiago Torres to clinch the 4-2 Tulane win.
Quoting Coach Sergey Avdeyev
“It's too bad we could not win today because our seniors did their very best to keep this run alive. I could not be more proud of them for their great achievements. They helped us change the program and did it with fashion. We will miss them, but wish them all the best in the future. They always will be ‘Runners!”
Final Score (UTSA 2, Tulane 4)
Doubles Results (UTSA 0, Tulane 1)
Order of Finish: (3, 1)
1. Alex Bancila/Luc Hoeijmans (TLN) def. Tomas Pinho/Tiago Torres: 6-4
2. Jackson Ross/Garrett Skelly vs. Benji Jacobson/Billy Suarez (TLN) [UF]: 4-3
3. Luka Petrovic/Sam Scherer (TLN) def. Miguel Alonso/Alan Magadan: 6-3
Singles Results (UTSA 2, Tulane 3)
Order of Finish: (3, 6, 1, 5, 2)
1. Alan Magadan def. Billy Suarez (TLN): 6-3, 7-5
2. Luka Petrovic (TLN) def. Tiago Torres: 6-3, 2-6, 6-0
3. Tomas Pinho def. Alex Bancila (TLN): 6-2, 6-3
4. Jackson Ross vs. Luc Hoeijmans (TLN): [UF] 3-6, 6-3, 5-4
5. Fynn Kuenkler (TLN) def. Danijal Muminovic: 6-4, 6-3
6. Rafael de Alba (TLN) def. Miguel Alonso: 6-0, 6-3
- UTSA -