Upending UTSA

SAN ANTONIO – On the road yet again, Texas A&M-Corpus Christi tennis picked up wins in both men's and women's action Wednesday at UTSA.
 
The Islanders earned a come-from-behind 4-2 win in women's play and a solid 6-1 victory in men's action. The men are now 13-2 against UTSA since 2007 while the women improved to 8-2 since 2009 against the Roadrunners.
 
WOMEN WIN 25TH STRAIGHT
 
UTSA came out of the gates on fire, taking the first two doubles matches to take the opening point of the match. The Roadrunners quickly followed with at second point as 51st ranked Miriam Rosell Canudas knocked off Hortense Boscher 6-1, 6-2 in the top spot of the order.
 
From there, it was all Islanders as the Blue and Green reeled off the next four points to complete the comeback.
 
Senior Judit Vives started the rebound as she toppled Lina Hallgren in straight sets. Vives rolled to a 6-2, 6-0 victory in the third spot in the order to get the Islanders on the board.
 
Freshman Louise Trigona would level the match at 2-2 shortly after. Trigona knocked off Laura Cabrera in the five slot by a 6-3, 6-2 score. Fellow rookie Maria Maldonado gave the Islanders their first advantage of the afternoon with her win at four. Maldonado defeated Charleen Tiwari by scores of 6-2, 6-4.
 
With the 3-2 advantage, Jelena Dzinic provided the clinching point out of the second spot. The junior sealed the match with her 6-2, 6-4 win over Denisa Ibrahimovic to send the Islanders to 4-0 on the season.
 
MEN MAKE IT 4-0
 
After the women sealed their victory, the Islanders men cruised to a 6-1 victory of their own to improve to 4-0 on the season.
 
The Islanders opened the day by claiming the doubles point with wins at the top two spots. Cagatay Soke and Paul Cook paired together to give the Islanders a win at number two. The senior/freshman duo won 6-3, leveling the doubles action.
 
The French pairing of Kevin Bettendroffer and William Mottet would clinch the point for the Blue and Green with a 7-5 win at the top of the order.
 
As play moved into singles, Paul Cook quickly claimed his match at number three. Cook rolled 6-4, 6-2 to give the Islanders a 2-0 lead. After Takeru Watanabe gave the Roadrunners a point at three, the Islanders were victorious in the next four to make the final 6-1.
 
Bettendroffer was the next to finish, defeating Kai Breitbach in a first set tiebreak before crusing 6-2 in the second set. His scores were 7-6 (4), 6-2.
 
With the match standing at 3-1, Soke provided the clinching point with a 4-6, 6-3, 6-2 win at number two.  Mottet and Carlos Pedrosa Cuevas finished off the match with wins at five and six. Mottet won by a 6-4, 4-6, 7-5 final in a tight match while Pedrosa Cuevas was victorious in straight sets 6-4, 6-2.
 
 
MOORE'S THOUGHTS
 
On the atmosphere…
"This was a very competitive college tennis match today! UTSA did an amazing job with the environment. There were several hundred people who were and created an electric atmosphere. I really salute Coach Da Silva and Coach Scott for creating the type of atmosphere we need at college tennis matches."
 
On the women's win…
"It was another great battle today as always when we play at UTSA – tough and competitive. Our girls showed great character again today by rallying after dropping the doubles. They showed tremendous fight by winning five first sets. They are really tough and really motivated and really competed with a special spirit."
 
On the men's victory and growth…
"I'm really proud of our guys because we're very young, but they're listening and fighting and getting better and better every week. They really care and they really bring it. This was a tough match and UTSA challenged us the whole day, but our guys are on the right path. They have great character and they're really motivated and they're getting 5% smarter every week because they're listening. We had great character and team spirit on the road today from both islander teams!"