A Decade in C-USA: Men's and Women's Tennis
UTSA's tennis program had some successes in their 10 year run in Conference USA
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EDITORS NOTE: This is the sixth in a series of stories about the UTSA teams during their 10 year run as members of Conference USA.
Previously in the series: SOCCER | VOLLEYBALL | FOOTBALL | CROSS COUNTRY | BASKETBALL
When UTSA's tennis program joined Conference USA in 2013 both the men's team and women's team were looking to build on recent success. In their lone year in the WAC the men's team had reached the conference semifinals and the women's team had reached the conference quarterfinals.
The men's tennis program had won the Southland Conference in 2010 and 2012. The Women's team had reached the Southland Conference tournament championship game in 2009 but lost to UT-Arlington.
UTSA's men's tennis program went into Conference USA being led by Jeff Kader. Kader had come to UTSA prior to the 2010-11 season and would stay at UTSA until after the 2014-15 season. In his time at UTSA Kader went 26-26 in team events. The Roadrunners were 92-76 in doubles matches and 197-195 in singles matches under Kader. In Kader's final season at UTSA the Roadrunners won Conference USA and reached the NCAA tournament, losing to LSU in the first round.
After Kader left, the Roadrunner men's program turned to Rodrigo De Silva. De Silva led the program from 2015 to 2019 and compiled a 36-60 record. The Roadrunners went 155-193 in doubles and 354-438 in singles during the De Silva era.
The fall of 2019 saw the UTSA men's tennis program get a new coach when Sergey Avdeyev arrived at the Hills of Oak and Cedar. Avdeyev has led the Roadrunners since, going 48-33 in match play. The Roadrunner men have gone 143-111 in doubles and 315-230 in singles under Avdeyev. In their final year of Conference USA membership the Roadrunner men became the first team at UTSA to earn an at large bid to the NCAA tournament.
UTSA's women's program went into Conference USA with head coach Erin Scott leading the way. Scott had come to UTSA in 2006 and would lead the Roadrunners until 2018. During her years leading the Roadrunners in Conference USA, Scott went 52-57. The Roadrunners were 194-231 in doubles and 477-458 in singles during their first years in Conference USA under Scott.
In 2018 UTSA women's tennis got a new coach when Ki Kroll came to town. Kroll has been the head coach since and gone 47-59. The Roadrunners are 163-168 in doubles and 296-352 in singles under Kroll.
The women's team didn't make the NCAA tournament during their 10 year run in Conference USA. The farthest they got in the conference tournament was the quarterfinals which they reached four times in nine conference tournaments held.
| Coach | Doubles record in C-USA era | Singles record in C-USA era | Postseason Trips in C-USA era | Years at UTSA |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Jeff Kader |
92-76 |
197-195 |
1 (2015 NCAA Tourn,) |
2010-15 |
|
Rodrigo De Silva |
155-193 |
354-438 |
None |
2015-19 |
|
Sergey Avdeyev |
143-111 |
315-230 |
1 (2023 NCAA Tourn.) |
2019-present |
| Coach | Doubles record in C-USA era | Singles record in C-USA era | Postseason Trips in C-USA era | Years at UTSA |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Erin Scott |
194-231 |
477-458 |
None |
2006-2018 |
|
Ki Kroll |
163-168 |
296-352 |
None |
2018-present |
Notable moments and Players
UTSA men's tennis had its greatest season so far in its final season in Conference USA. In 2023 the Roadrunners got into the top 50 rankings in tennis (equivalent to top 25 in other sports) and had a 14-game winning streak during the spring season.
The Roadrunner men closed out their time in Conference USA by becoming the first team in school history to earn an at large bid to an NCAA tournament. UTSA lost to Pepperdine in the first round of the team tournament in early May but two weeks later the duo of Sebastian Rodriguez/Alan Magadan reached the round of 16 in the men's doubles NCAA tournament where they lost to the duo of Cleeve Harper and Eliot Spizzirri from Texas that was ranked third in the nation.
Rodriguez and Magadan had beaten a duo from NC State in the round of 32 to give UTSA tennis its first win in the NCAA tournament in program history.
Prior to 2023 the Roadrunner men's best season in Conference USA had been the 2014-15 season. That year UTSA won the Conference USA tournament by beating Southern Miss, Old Dominion and Rice. The Roadrunners fell to LSU in the first round of the NCAA team tournament. Tomas Stillman reached the round of 64 in the singles tournament but lost to Texas's Soren Hess-Olesen in that round.
UTSA's women's team had some notable players in their decade in Conference USA. The first notable Roadrunner was Miriam Rosell Canudas. Rosell Canudas played for UTSA from 2013-14 until 2016-17. In her senior season she became the first Roadrunner women's tennis player to be nationally ranked. Rosell Canudas was first team all conference in her sophomore and senior seasons and second team all-conference in her freshman and junior seasons.
Jasmin Starr was another notable Roadrunner women's tennis athlete. Starr played at UTSA from 2018-19 to 2021-22. During her time at UTSA, Starr was named to the all-conference first team as a sophomore in 2019-20 when she was 12-1 in singles matches and 8-3 in doubles matches with Keegan McCain. McCain played at UTSA from 2019-20 until the 2022-23 season and was named to the Commissioner's Honor Roll as a freshman and sophomore.
Now the Roadrunner tennis program turns the page to another chapter. The men's team will have to replace Rodriguez this year but the rest of the roster is likely to return. The women's team will have to replace McCain but the rest of their roster is also likely to be back in 2023-24. UTSA's tennis program looks ready to compete in its new conference home.
Next in the series: Baseball
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