Roadrunners rally past Tulane in AAC opening roundRoadrunners rally past Tulane in AAC opening round
Ben Naylor/American Athletic Conference
Men's Tennis

Roadrunners rally past Tulane in AAC opening round

MEMPHIS, Tenn. – The sixth-seeded UTSA men’s tennis team (12-10) is moving on to the American Athletic Conference Quarterfinals after mounting a comeback victory past 11th-seed Tulane (5-17) on Thursday afternoon at the Leftwich Family Tennis Center. With a late-match deficit at a single point, senior Miguel Alonso and freshman Oskar Grzegorzewski provided back-to-back third-set scores, Alonso providing the setup and Grzegorzewski clinching the 4-3 triumph over the Green Wave – the first conference tournament win for the Roadrunners since 2023 and UTSA’s fifth consecutive victory.

The Roadrunners were forced to battle from behind after setbacks on the top two doubles courts provided the Green Wave the early 1-0 advantage. However, 105th-ranked senior Tiago Torres went to work quickly toward the equalizer on the top flight, then shut the door on Luka Petrovic via a match-tying 6-3, 6-0 win. Alec Gaudin nudged Tulane back ahead with a 6-3, 6-3 win on four, but the Roadrunners again had an answer, as senior Danijal Muminovic finished off a tense second-set tiebreak over Hady El Kordy on court two with a 6-1, 7-6 (4) that knotted the match score at 2-2. Though Santiago Flyckt forced a third set on six, Steven Rice pulled out the 6-1, 2-6, 6-2 win to edge the Green Wave up at 3-2. On five, Alonso rallied from split sets with Asaf Friedler and rallied from a 2-1 deficit in the third, winning three consecutive games and breaking two Friedler serves to pull out the match-tying 6-3, 4-6, 6-3 victory. Just two courts over on three, Grzegorzewski recovered from a 5-7 setback to Vincent Vohl in the opening set to even things up and force a third. Turning a 3-2 lead into the clinching point, Grzegorzewski knocked down three consecutive games, breaking a key Vohl serve and delivering match point after going ahead 40-15 in the final game of the 5-7, 6-4, 6-2 triumph – moving the Roadrunners along to Friday’s AAC Quarterfinal on a 4-3 win.

AAC Opening Round Results
Doubles
1 Hady El Kordy/Luka Petrovic (TLN) def. Ben Chetewy Ungar/Oskar Grzegorzewski: 6-4 
2 Asaf Friedler/AJ Mercer (TLN) def. Tiago Torres/Enzo Vargas: 6-4
3 Miguel Alonso/Danijal Muminovic vs. Charlie Burdell/Alec Gaudin (TLN): UF 4-4
Order of Finish: 1, 2

Singles
1 #105 Tiago Torres def. Luka Petrovic (TLN): 6-3, 6-0
2 Danijal Muminovic def. Hady El Kordy (TLN): 6-1, 7-6 (4)
3 Oskar Grzegorzewski def. Vincent Vohl (TLN): 5-7, 6-4, 6-2
4 Alec Gaudin (TLN) def. Ben Chetewy Ungar: 6-3, 6-3
5 Miguel Alonso def. Asaf Friedler (TLN): 6-3, 4-6, 6-3
6 Steven Rice (TLN) def. Santiago Flyckt: 6-1, 2-6, 6-2
Order of finish: 1, 4, 2, 6, 5, 3

Up Next
UTSA advances to the AAC Championships Quarterfinal for the first time since joining the league, slated to square off with No. 3 seed (No. 67 nationally) Florida Atlantic (10-8) on Friday, April 18 at 10 a.m. at the Leftwich Tennis Center. The Owls earned an opening-round BYE in the tournament as one of the top five seeds. FAU has won its last two, both in non-conference play against AAC foes, Charlotte (5-2) and Memphis (4-2). Since edging out a 4-3 win over the Roadrunners on a third-set clinch in San Antonio in February, the Owls have reeled off wins in nine of their last 10 matches. Freshman Segundo Goity Zapico (12-7) and sophomore Simon Myslivec (10-3) lead FAU in singles victories, while freshmen Lucca Pignaton and Marek Pazdera are 11-6 and 11-4 to pace the Owls on the doubles courts.

UTSA is facing Florida Atlantic for the ninth time in series history – the Owls holding a 6-2 advantage overall and a 2-1 lead on neutral courts. The last time they met twice in a season (2023), the Roadrunners captured wins in both meetings. In that pair was the Conference USA Championships Semifinal, with UTSA securing the 4-3 victory to move on to the title match.

The winner of Friday’s Quarterfinal will face the winner of No. 7 Charlotte (12-10) and No. 2 Memphis (14-11) in Saturday’s AAC Semifinal. Live results for Friday’s UTSA match will be posted to social media accounts and the UTSA team schedule as the links become available.

 

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