SAN DIEGO – San Diego State men’s tennis faced No. 42 Boise State at the Aztec Tennis Center on Sunday. Despite winning the doubles point to take an early advantage, the Aztecs couldn’t overcome the Broncos in singles play and fell 4-1.
The Aztecs move to 8-10 on the season and 1-2 in the Mountain West while the Broncos improve to 17-4 overall and 3-0 in the league.
Doubles competition was the highlight of the day for the Scarlet and Black. Eugenio Gonzalez Fitzmaurice and Mathieu Josserand earned a 6-4 win over John Chin and Dylan Jaen on court three before Alexander Mandma and Denis Maijorov secured the point with a 6-4 victory over Jett Middleton and Carson Baker on the top court. The matchup between Liam Spiers/Marc Kleber and Julius Seifert/Taiyo Kurata was left unfinished with the Broncos leading 5-4.
Boise State rallied in singles, taking courts six, two, three and five.
Freshman Paul Janson was bested 7-6 (7-5), 6-1 by Chin on the bottom court to put the Broncos on the board. Mandma then came up short 6-4, 6-4 to Baker in the second spot, giving Boise State the advantage. Philipp Bosse battled hard, but fell in two tiebreak sets 7-6 (7-5), 7-6 (7-4) to Lukas Velik on court three. Idriss Haddouch clinched the match for the Broncos, taking court five in three sets. Maijorov picked up a 7-6 (7-5) win in the first set, but dropped the second 6-4 and the third 6-3.
Spiers led the court four matchup 3-6, 6-3, 5-4 against Herzeele when the match was called. Playing in the top spot, Gonzalez Fitzmaurice was behind 6-4, 5-7, 0-1 to Middleton.
“Great job by our Aztecs grabbing the doubles point to get on the board first,” said Head Coach Gene Carswell. “Singles was a battle and we had our opportunities, but Boise State was the better team today. We’ll look forward to seeing them again if we match up at the Mountain West Tournament.”
The Aztecs return to action on April 11, hitting the road to take on New Mexico at noon.
Doubles
1. Alexander Mandma/Denis Maijorov (SDSU) def. Jett Middleton/Carson Baker (BSU) 6-4
2. Julius Seifert/Taiyo Kurata (BSU) vs. Liam Spiers/Marc Kleber (SDSU) DNF 5-4
3. Eugenio Gonzalez Fitzmaurice/Mathieu Josserand (SDSU) def. John Chin/Dylan Jaen (BSU) 6-4
Singles
1. Jett Middleton (BSU) vs. Eugenio Gonzalez Fitzmaurice (SDSU) DNF 4-6, 7-5, 1-0
2. Carson Baker (BSU) def. Alexander Mandma (SDSU) 6-4, 6-4
3. Lukas Velik (BSU) def. Philipp Bosse (SDSU) 7-6 (7-5), 7-6 (7-4)
4. Liam Spiers (SDSU) vs. James Van Herzeele (BSU) DNF 3-6, 6-3, 5-4
5. Idriss Haddouch (BSU) def. Denis Maijorov (SDSU) 6-7 (5-7), 6-4, 6-3
6. John Chin (BSU) def. Paul Janson (SDSU) 7-6 (7-5), 6-1
Order of finish: Doubles (3,1); Singles (6,2,3,5)