SAN ANTONIO – Just two days after suffering a heartbreaking loss on its home courts, No. 65 Texas A&M-Corpus Christi men's tennis rebounded on the road, knocking off UTSA 4-1 Wednesday afternoon.
The Islanders (7-2) bested the Roadrunners for a third time in the past two seasons after taking a pair of 4-3 bouts in 2015. However, the Blue and Green made sure to leave a little less doubt in Wednesday's match, taking victories at the top three singles spots to close out UTSA early.
DOUBLES DELIVER AGAIN
As they have all season long, the Islanders doubles pairings handed A&M-Corpus Christi the first point of the match. Wins on courts two and three would seal a 1-0 advantage for the Islanders heading into singles play.
The all-senior duo of Ricardo Mayagoitia and Guillaume Rauseo rolled on court two, knocking off Eric Buchalter and Joao Riquelme in 6-2 fashion. The veterans continue to lead the Islanders doubles pairings in wins with six on the season following Wednesday's victory.
Just behind was the Blue and Green's No. 3 pairing of Paul Cook and Mitchell Cook, who clinched the point with their own 6-2 victory. The Cooks defeated Christian Carrillo and Jake Rother to remain perfect in doubles action, now 4-0 on the season.
SINGLES SEAL IT
After seeing a 3-0 lead slip away Monday against UT Arlington, the Islanders made certain Wednesday never came down to the final match, winning at each of the top three spots to seal the 4-1 victory.
Top-billed Kevin Bettendroffer was the first to close out his match, winning 6-3, 6-1, over the Roadrunners' Diogo Casa. Bettendroffer improved to 6-1 in singles action on the year.
Rauseo once again bounced back after suffering a loss Monday afternoon. The senior earned a straight sets victory over Carrillo, 6-3, 7-5, to return his singles record to an even 4-4 on the season. Rauseo's doubles partner Mayagoitia would provide the clinching point for the Blue and Green with his win at No. 2. Mayagoitia took a 6-3, 6-3 win over Rother to ice the match for the Islanders.
UTSA's lone point came on court five where
Paul Cook was upended 1-6, 4-6, suffering his second consecutive loss. In the two matches left unfinished,
Javier Pujol led by a set after winning 6-2 in the first and
Arthur Bedel was level 1-1 with sets of 3-6 and 6-1.
MOORE'S THOUGHTS
On bouncing back from Monday's loss…
"I thought the guys really made a statement today with the way they competed and controlled the things they could control. Our effort and attitude were tremendous today. We had heartbreaking loss Monday and we challenged them to show how a high character team handles that situation. I'm very proud of the choices these guys made that resulted in a win on the road against a very tough opponent."
UP NEXT
The Islander men return to action next Wednesday as they continue a six-match road swing to close out February. The Blue and Green will face the Ragin' Cajuns of Louisiana-Lafayette before taking on Southern Miss the following day.
