UMBC

EDINBURG, Texas – In a match lasting over five hours, featuring three tiebreakers and two three-set singles matches, the UMBC men’s tennis team rallied from a 3-1 deficit to defeat Texas-Pan American, 4-3, on Friday at Orville Cox Tennis Center.

The overall match was tied a 3-3 with the No. 5 singles match still going on. After falling 7-6 after a tiebreak in the first set, Sebastien Job found himself trailing Daniel Gray 4-3 in the second set. Job tied the match up at 4-4, but Gray took the next game to get the chance to give the Retrievers (7-7) a victory with one more win. Job, however, won three-straight games to take the set 7-5 and force a decisive third set.

Job took the first game, but Gray took the next three. Job won back-to-back games to tie it up at 3-3. Job and Gray traded games from there, leading them to be tied at 5-5. Job won his second game in a row to take a 6-5 lead, but Gray tied the set and then won the tiebreaker to take the set 7-6 and clinch the match. The final set lasted about an hour and a half.

The Broncs (7-6) took the Nos. 1 and 2 doubles matches to capture the doubles point.

In singles, Ricardo Hopker dominated the first set in the No. 2 position, taking the first set 6-0. UMBC senior Joe Adewumi (Phoenix, Ariz.) rallied in the second set, but Hopker took the tiebreaker to win the set 7-6.

UTPA’s Beau Bernstein won the No. 1 singles match, 6-3, 6-1 over Retriever senior Cristain Hodel (Calarasi, Romania) . Around the same time, Retriever freshman Kamal Patel got the visitors on the board with 6-4, 6-1 victory over Victor Alves.

UMBC freshman Juan Aranzazu (Ibague, Colombia) took the No. 3 singles match for the Retrievers 6-4, 6-4 over Chetan Panditi to cut the Broncs’ lead to 3-2.

On court number four, junior Gaulthier Berret (Lagny Sur Marne, France) won the first set for the Retrievers against Rolf Niederstrasser 6-4, but Niederstrasser won the second set 6-3. Berret jumped out to a 4-1 lead in the third set and went on to win 6-2.

UMBC took two of three matches in Texas. The Retrievers’ next match is at Georgetown on Wed., March 28.