UTSA tennis is having a historical season this year by being the first men’s tennis team to break the top 50 in the national ranking. A season filled with tough opponents has tested the team and they have proved that they deserve their national ranking of 47. Playing against universities like UT Austin and TCU, ranked No. 2 and No. 1, respectively, has shown that UTSA can be competitive with the best schools in the nation.

Senior Sebastian Rodriguez has played with UTSA since he was a freshman and has found a family away from home alongside his teammates. He has high aspirations for the remainder of the season.

 “We can beat any team in the country, no matter, we can beat number one or number 50, it is the same,” Rodriguez stated. 

Rodriguez and his doubles partner Alan Magadan are finding massive success together on the court. 

“We won regionals, it is the most important tournament in Texas, and we were number six in the country, but we are now, I think, number 18.” 

The men’s tennis team is relatively young, with Rodriguez being the only senior. However, the sky’s the limit for these talented athletes as they continue to push themselves and UTSA’s ranking.

Head coach Sergey Avdeyev feels that ranking among the top 50 was only a matter of time. 

“Whatever success we are having is basically the groundwork,” Avdeyev said. “We put the last three years, and Sebastian, like he said, we always had [that] caliber in terms of players. We were just always a little short in terms of ranking.” 

The hard work of the players and coaches in the tennis program is finally paying off, and with UTSA defeating Texas A&M this past weekend, it truly seems that the team has no intention of stopping its journey through the national ranks.

The start of the spring semester has brought on more matches for UTSA tennis. The ‘Runners will try to continue their win streak with an upcoming match at the UTSA Tennis Center against ODU on March 9.