CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas – In its first of two matches today, the Texas A&M-Corpus Christi men's tennis team shutout South Alabama, 4-0, to advance to the semifinals of the H-E-B Tournament of Champions. Check back throughout the day for continued coverage and the semifinal recap.
QUARTERFINALS: ISLANDERS 4 – SOUTH ALABAMA 0
The defending H-E-B champions, Texas A&M-Corpus Christi jumped out to a strong start at the 50th edition of the tournament, topping South Alabama 4-0 Friday morning.
The Islanders once again employed a reshuffled doubles lineup, which mirrored their order against George Washington earlier this week. The Blue and Green got a quick start thanks to Kevin Bettendroffer and Arthur Bedel at the top. The only duo to retain its accustomed spot, Bettendroffer and Bedel wrapped up a 6-2 victory at No. 1 to give the Islanders an early spark.
The Jaguars would rally back to even the doubles action with a 6-2 set themselves on court No. 2, leaving the first point of the match at stake. After the juggled lineup due to injury, Ricardo Mayagoitia and Javier Pujol clinched the point with a 6-3 win. The senior pairing leveled their record as a doubles team to 1-1 with the win.
In singles action, Bettendroffer once again led the way as the Islander top man defeated Tim Srkala in straight sets. The Frenchman took his match in 6-3, 6-1 fashion to push the Islander lead to 2-0 in the match.
Shortly thereafter, senior Guillaume Rauseo added another point to the Islanders' tally with a straight set victory at No. 4. The veteran cruised to a 6-2, 6-3 win to bring the Islanders within a point of clinching the match.
Tension would build despite the 3-0 lead, as the Islanders, who had taken the first set on three of the remaining four courts dropped second sets in each of those matches. In the end, senior Mayagoitia would finish off the match as he finished a 6-3, 3-6, 6-2 victory to clinch the semifinal berth.
