SAN ANTONIO – The UTSA men’s tennis team (7-9) are set for their final road swing of the regular season, facing off with a pair of American Athletic Conference opponents as non-conference competition. The Roadrunners will travel to Houston to meet Charlotte (9-9) in a neutral-site meeting on Saturday at 8 a.m. (after impending weather moved the match late on Friday), while UTSA will also face host No. 69 Rice (11-8) at 11 a.m. on Sunday. Both matches will be played at George R. Brown Tennis Center.
Following the Action
Fans can follow along both days on Rice’s live results and the Owls will live stream both matchs here.
About the Roadrunners
After playing away from home for over a month, the Roadrunners christened April at the UTSA Tennis Center by rallying to a 5-2 victory over Abilene Christian last Saturday, rolling in singles play after falling behind on the doubles point. UTSA has won three of the last five outings coming down the stretch in the first season under coach Sasha Gozun. The final three regular-season matches are at home leading into the AAC Championships in Memphis.
Senior Danijal Muminovic and freshman Oskar Grzegorzewski continue to lead the Roadrunners in singles victories with 7-5 and 7-4 records, respectively. UTSA senior Tiago Torres remains ranked nationally at 106th with a 6-4 singles mark, while rookie Enzo Vargas is 5-6. In doubles play, Torres teams with classmate Miguel Alonso for a team-high 4-2 record.
About the Charlotte 49ers
The 49ers have dropped the last two, both at home and ranked matches, following up victories over UAB and UNC Asheville, coming into the weekend with a 9-9 record and opening their trip to Houston on Friday against Rice. Kyle Bailey is in his sixth season and led the 49ers to a conference tournament championship and an NCAA appearance last season.
Four players, Vasco Prata, Frederic Schlossmann, Brett Gloria and Matias Iturbe have each collected 10 wins apiece. Iturbe and Prata lead Charlotte on the doubles courts with an 11-6 record on one, helping the 49ers to a 51.6 percent win rate in doubles action. Charlotte has used 17 different doubles combinations this year.
UTSA and Charlotte will meet for the fifth time in school history, with the Roadrunners claiming their first series win in the last outing - as then-No. 37 UTSA delivered a 4-0 sweep at Charlotte for the team’s 12th consecutive win in 2023.
About the Rice Owls
With the Owls coming in ranked No. 69 in the 13th season under Efe Ustundag, Rice snapped a four-match losing skid with a 4-2 home triumph over Tulane. In that streak, three of the matches were against ranked foes. The Owls saw some major victories in February with wins over LSU, Texas Tech and Florida Atlantic, while March presented a 4-4 record.
All familiar faces to the Roadrunner seniors, Kabeer Kapasi, Petro Kuzmenok and Emir Sendogan top the Owls with nine-win records on the year. Kuzmenok is proven among the doubles players with a team-high 11-3 record while playing with five different partners this season, while both Arthus de la Bassetiere and Kapassi both have garnered eight wins each. The Owls have put together 19 different pairs this year.
Extending what is already one of UTSA’s longer series, UTSA and Rice will meet for the 31st time in a series that dates to 1983. The Owls hold a 24-6 advantage after coaxing out a 4-3 win over the Roadrunners in San Antonio on last year’s regular season finale. Rice has won each of the last three meetings and are 17-4 when playing UTSA in Houston. The last trip to Houston in 2023 came down to the absolute final game point as Rice squeaked out a 4-3 win at home, snapping UTSA’s NCAA-leading 14-match win streak just ahead of the Conference USA Tournament.
Up Next
UTSA will return to the UTSA Tennis Center for a doubleheader on April 11 against Prairie View A&M, following up with Senior Day on April 13 against Grand Canyon. The American Athletic Conference Championships runs from April 17-20 in Memphis at the Leftwich Tennis Center.
- UTSA -