Box Score

CHICAGO, Ill. – The University of Texas-Pan American Broncs men's tennis team clinched the No. 2 seed in the Western Athletic Conference Tournament with a 4-3 win over the Seattle University Redhawks on Saturday at the Chicago State University Tennis Courts.
 
"I am happy for the boys to earn another WAC regular season win and to secure the No. 2 seed in the WAC Tournament," Broncs head coach Brandon Stokes said. "These boys are elevating the program's level in a short time. Last season, we were the No. 6 seed and this season this crew have risen to the No. 2 seed."
 
The Broncs (9-11, 4-1 WAC) fell behind early in the match after dropping their doubles matches on courts two and three. Although the Redhawks (4-14, 0-2 WAC) had the doubles point in hand, the team of Juan Cruz Soria and Koby Jansen didn't give up as they beat Riley Newman and Ian Clare 8-6 on court one.
 
"Seattle took it to us in doubles," Stokes said. "We needed to respond in singles and we did. The boys took the first set in five courts and that was a big momentum shift for us."
 
It all started on court three with Jansen, who defeated John Stormans 6-3, 6-2 to get the Broncs on the board. Hector Ramirez followed with a 6-3, 6-2 win over Clare on court two giving the Broncs the 2-1 advantage. Jansen finished conference play with a 4-1 singles record while Ramirez finished with a 3-1 record.
 
Soria improved to a perfect 5-0 record in conference play after defeating Newman 6-2, 6-4 on court one, which also extended the Broncs lead to 3-1. It is also Soria's 10^th win of the spring.
 
"I am happy to be undefeated in conference, especially after playing at the No. 1 spot," Soria said. "The most important thing is that I helped the team with my victories. The team is all that matters and the victories we got are because we trust in the process we are working on with coach."
 
The Redhawks answered with wins on courts five and six tying the match at three. The match came down to court four where Johnstone opened with a 6-2 win in the first set over Tanner Berkabile. After dropping the second set 5-7, Johnstone started the third set with a break of serve and then never trailed the rest of the way as he went on to win the third set 6-3 to clinch the match.
 
"It felt great to clinch the match today for the boys," Johnstone said. "I have been battling a few demons over the past weeks so I was pumped to close this match out and get our fourth conference win as a team. I know we will build on this going into our last regular season match."
 
The Broncs close out their regular season on Tuesday against the No. 53 Texas A&M-Corpus Christi Islanders at 2 p.m. at the Thomas J. Henry Tennis Center.  
 
"I am thrilled for the boys," Stokes said. "It has been an amazing journey this season. We have many areas to improve as we continue our collective process into the post season. Our family is strong, determined and ready to finish the regular season with an in-state rival."
 
Complete Results:
Doubles (3,2,1)
1. Juan Cruz Soria/Koby Jansen (UTPA) def. Riley Newman/Ian Clare (SU) 8-6
2. Tanner Berkabile/Matt Alderson (SU) def. Ethan Ammon/Hector Ramirez (UTPA) 8-4
3. John Stormans/Conor Leahy (SU) def. Miguel Alvarez-Hevia/Elliot Johnstone (UTPA) 8-5
 
Singles (3,2,1,5,6,4)           
1. Juan Cruz Soria (UTPA) def. Riley Newman (SU) 6-2, 6-4
2. Hector Ramirez (UTPA) def. Ian Clare (SU) 6-3, 6-2
3. Koby Jansen (UTPA) def. John Stormans (SU) 6-3, 6-2
4. Elliot Johnstone (UTPA) def. Tanner Berkabile (SU) 6-2, 5-7, 6-3
5. Conor Leahy (SU) def. Miguel Alvarez-Hevia (UTPA) 7-6 (7-3), 6-2
6. Matt Alderson (SU) def. Ethan Ammon (UTPA) 5-7, 6-3, 6-4

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