SAN ANTONIO – No. 42 UTSA earned a 4-2 win over No. 28 VCU on Sunday afternoon at the UTSA Tennis Center, marking the team's ninth win in a row and fifth win over a ranked opponent this season.
The Roadrunners (11-4) fell behind early, dropping two of the three doubles matches, before winning four of five singles (the sixth going unfinished) on their way to an upset victory. The top-30 ranked Rams (11-3) claimed the opening point thanks to solid doubles performances, but they couldn't maintain as UTSA rallied to pull ahead in singles action.
In doubles play, Sebastian Rodriguez and Tomás Pinho won their fourth-straight match and are undefeated in doubles matches that they have played together.
Tiago Torres knotted things up rather quickly, as the sophomore out of Portugal made short work of No. 88 Matisse Bobichon, finishing first on court one (6-2, 6-4). UTSA took the lead thanks to Danijal Muminovic who also bested his VCU foe in two sets (7-5, 6-1). Rodriguez gave the Roadrunners some breathing room and put them one point away from securing the match as the senior took down Maxence Bertimon (6-4, 7-5).
VCU struck next though as Joaquim Almeida defeated Garrett Skelly (6-0, 5-7, 6-1) after Skelly made a big rally to force a third set. For the second straight match, Alan Magadan came up clutch, scoring the match-clinching point as he bounced Charles Bertimon (5-7, 6-2, 6-1) on court two, forcing Pinho's match to go unfinished with the outcome decided.
Quoting Coach Avdeyev
"I'm so proud of how the guys came back and turned the match around. It was a super difficult matchup, and we started a bit slow. VCU brought a lot of energy which helped them early. Our guys kept fighting and found the mental strength to help take care of the pressure points in the matches to turn the tide. At the end of it all, I felt we had total control of the match."
Doubles Results
Order of Finish: 3, 2, 1
#1 – #72 Charles Bertimon/Maxence Bertimon (VCU) def. Tiago Torres/Alan Magadan (UTSA) 6-3
#2 – Sebastian Rodriguez/Tomás Pinho (UTSA) def. #57 Matisse Bobichon/Rayane Stable (VCU) 6-3
#3 – Joaquim Almeida/Romain Gales (VCU) def. Garrett Skelly/Jackson Ross (UTSA) 6-2
Singles Results
Order of Finish: 1, 6, 3, 5, 2
#1 – Tiago Torres (UTSA) def. #88 Matisse Bobichon (VCU) 6-2, 6-4
#2 – Alan Magadan (UTSA) def. Charles Bertimon (VCU) 5-7, 6-2, 6-1
#3 – Sebastian Rodriguez (UTSA) def. Maxence Bertimon (VCU) 6-4, 7-5
#4 – Tomás Pinho (UTSA) vs. Rayane Stable (VCU) 7-6, 4-6, 1-0, unfinished
#5 – Joaquim Almeida (VCU) def. Garrett Skelly (UTSA) 6-0, 5-7, 6-1
#6 – Danijal Muminovic (UTSA) def. Romain Gales (VCU) 7-5, 6-1
Up Next
The Roadrunners will conclude their four-game homestand by hosting Gonzaga on Wednesday, March 15, in a matchup that will begin at 11 a.m.
- UTSA -
