HOUSTON – On the opening day of play at the Texas Tamale Company Rice Invitational, Texas A&M-Corpus Christi suffered a pair of defeats at the hands of UNLV and Denver.
The Islanders were without senior starters
Paul Cook,
Mitchell Cook and
Maximilian Ilic and featured four freshman in their six man singles lineup. Combined with doubles play, five freshman saw action for the Islanders against the stiff Saturday competition.
"We competed hard today," said Director of Tennis
Steve Moore. "We played with a lot of heart. UNLV and Denver were just better today, so give them credit. We're learning a lot and these young guys are improving every day and the future is bright for this team. We look forward to another opportunity to grow and compete tomorrow."
MATCH ONE | UNLV 4 – ISLANDERS 0
UNLV jumped out to an early lead thanks to a strong doubles point. The Runnin' Rebels claimed a pair of 6-4 victories on courts one and two for the point. At the three spot, Carlos Pedrosa and
Gonzalo Achondo were locked in a 4-4 battle when doubles play was halted.
In singles play, UNLV earned a its first point at the second spot of the order.
Cagatay Soke fell 6-1, 6-0 for the Islanders.
Kevin Bettendroffer was then upended at the top spot by Jakob Amilon in a 6-2, 6-3 match.
UNLV clinched the match with a win on six. In that spot for the Islanders,
Lukas Buth fell 6-3, 6-2.
When play was halted, Achondo had built a 3-0 lead in the second set after dropping the first 6-3.
William Mottet had taken his first set 7-5 and was trailing 5-3 in the second.
MATCH TWO | DENVER 4 – ISLANDERS 0
In the second match of the day for the Islanders, Denver claimed the early advantage with the doubles point thanks to wins at two and three. At two,
Cagatay Soke paired with
Lukas Buth and dropped a tough 6-4 match.
Carlos Pedrosa Cuevas and
Chad Nguyen were paired together at three, falling 6-2.
Singles play was tightly contested, but Denver found three wins to halt the match. When play was called,
William Mottet led by a set after taking the first 3-6. He was trailing 5-2 in the second.
Also holding a set advantage was Pedrosa Cuevas who bested Jesse Ruder-Hook 6-4 in the first. The sophomore had also staked a 3-2 lead in the second set when play was called.
Denver picked up wins at one, two and six to clinch the victory. At the top,
Kevin Bettendroffer was upended in straight sets by a 6-1, 6-1 score. Yannik James earned the win for Denver. Soke fell at two for the Blue and Green to Diogo Rocha. Rocha defeated the Islander freshman 6-3, 6-0.
At the sixth spot, Buth dropped a 6-3, 6-0 match to Sean Huynh. In the final unfinished match, Achondo trailed by a set and was down 4-3 in the second.
SUNDAY AT RICE
The Islanders close the Texas Tamale Company Rice Invitational Sunday with a match versus the host Owls.
