Medica Posts Comeback Win in Loss to Rice

Thursday, March 5

Houston, Texas

2:30 P.M. CT

DePaul University

Rice

3/5/2026 5:49:00 PM | MEN'S TENNIS

DePaul falls in 6-1 decision in first outdoor match

HOUSTON, Texas – DePaul men's tennis opened its stay in Houston with a 6-1 setback to Rice on Thursday afternoon at George R. Brown Tennis Center. In the Blue Demons' first outdoor match of the spring, Rice used the doubles point and five singles wins to secure the result.

Rice entered the match having appeared in the ITA national rankings twice this spring, checking in at No. 62 on Feb. 19 and No. 71 on Feb. 24. The Owls also pushed No. 8 Baylor in a narrow 4-3 loss earlier this week, adding to what has been a strong stretch of play this season.

Despite the final score, DePaul was right in the mix early in doubles play. Rice claimed the top court, but the Blue Demons had chances on the remaining two courts. At No. 2, Pablo Torres Almeida and Alejandro Gandini battled into a tiebreak before Rice edged the match 7-6(5) to clinch doubles. On court three, Thomas Giles and Sven Moser were narrowly in front at 6-5 when play was abandoned.

Rice followed with straight-set wins at the top-two courts in singles to build a 3-0 lead. The Owls added victories at No. 5 and No. 6 to move within a point of the team result before Kabeer Kapasi sealed the match at No. 3.

DePaul's point came from Sebastian Medica at the fourth court. After dropping the opening set, Medica regrouped and turned the match around with a 1-6, 6-4, 6-3 comeback win over Tommy Czaplinski.

Final Results
Rice 6, DePaul 1
March 5, 2026
George R. Brown Tennis Center – Houston, Texas

Doubles
1. Yair Sarouk/Kabeer Kapasi (RICE) def. Sebastian Medica/Tobias Leitner (DPU) 6-3
2. Santiago Navarro/Joshua Mandelbaum (RICE) def. Pablo Torres Almeida/Alejandro Gandini (DPU) 7-6(5)
3. Thomas Giles/Sven Moser (DPU) vs. Tommy Czaplinski/Rafael Botran (RICE) 6-5, uf.

Singles
1. Santiago Navarro (RICE) def. Alejandro Gandini (DPU) 6-1, 6-0
2. Rafael Botran (RICE) def. Andy Hadziabdic (DPU) 6-0, 6-1
3. Kabeer Kapasi (RICE) def. Pablo Torres Almeida (DPU) 6-4, 6-2
4. Sebastian Medica (DPU) def. Tommy Czaplinski (RICE) 1-6, 6-4, 6-3
5. Gabriel Porras (RICE) def. Sven Moser (DPU) 6-2, 6-2
6. Noey Do (RICE) def. Augusto Pardo Cano (DPU) 6-2, 6-3

Order of Finish
Doubles: 1-2
Singles: 1-2-5-6-3-4

UP NEXT
DePaul closes its stay in Houston, Texas tomorrow against UAB at 3 p.m. CT.

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