April 23, 2005

SAN ANTONIO, Texas - Texas-San Antonio junior Anthony Portois outlasted UTA's Diego Mattar in a three-set, three-and-a-half-hour marathon 4-6, 6-3, 7-6 (7-1) to lift the UTSA to a 4-3 victory over the Mavericks in the semifinals of the 2005 Southland Conference Men's Tennis Championships here Saturday.

The third-seed Roadrunners advance to Sunday's finals against regular season champion Texas A&M-Corpus Christi. UTA ends the season at 10-11.

Nightfall loomed as Portois and Mattar met each other shot for shot for 3:34. Mattar could not take advantage of six match points in the third set as Portois overcame hand and leg cramps to force a tiebreaker that he took control of by breaking Mattar's serve with the first point.

"It was a great match by both players," said head coach Christian Wassmer.

UTA overcame a 0-2 deficit to tie the match at 3-3 and force the decisive match at No. 2 singles.

UTSA won the doubles point with wins at Nos. 2 and 3. Hetori Chaves and Protois defeated UTA's Alberto Agis and Felipe Acosta, 8-3. At No. 3, Jonus Hogland and Adam Becker defeated Neils Buksik and Ian Vazquez-Rowe 8-1.

UTA got on the board with a win at No. 1 singles when Sandy Farquharson knocked off Andrade 6-4, 6-0. Vazquez defeated Chaves 6-2, 6-3 to even the match.

After Joe Olfindo defeated Acosta 6-1, 7-5 at No. 6 singles to take a 3-2 lead, UTA's Agis rallied from a 4-1 deficit in the second set by winning eight straight games and turn the match around. Agis defeated Hoglund 6-7, 6-4, 6-2.

UTSA grabbed a 2-0 lead after Almeida defeated Buksik 6-2, 6-0.