Jan. 27, 2002
SAN DIEGO - The 53rd-ranked San Diego State men's tennis team earned a berth into next month's ITA National Team Indoor Championship by claiming a 4-3 victory over 69th-ranked Brigham Young in the Region VII championship match on Saturday in Boise, Idaho.
The Aztecs second victory in as many days gave them the region championship and a spot in the 16-team team indoor championship on Feb. 7-9 in Louisville, Ky.
The Aztecs lost the doubles point as the nation's second-ranked team of junior Oliver Maiberger and sophomore Ryan Redondo fell to the 10th-ranked doubles team of Carlos Lozano and Gert Vilms, 8-3. The Cougars also claimed victories in the number two and three doubles to take a 1-0 lead in the match.
The Aztecs won the match by taking four of six singles matches, including a must-win three-match thriller at number one singles. Maiberger, ranked 11th in singles, dropped the first set to the 84th-ranked Vilms, but rallied for the victory, 3-6, 7-6, 6-4.
The other three San Diego State victories came in straight sets. Felix Hardt, Ryan Redondo and Gabe Coren won in number three, five and six singles for SDSU, respectively.
The Aztecs, which have won 10 straight regular-season matches, begin a stretch of three consecutive road matches against teams ranked in the top 10 with a contest at second-ranked Stanford on Saturday.
San Diego State 4, Brigham Young 3
Singles
No. 1 - Oliver Maiberger (SDSU) def. Gert Vilms (BYU) - 3-6, 7-6, 6-4
No. 2 - Carlos Lozano (BYU) def. Valentino Pest (SDSU) - 6-7, 7-6, 6-2
No. 3 - Felix Hardt (SDSU) def. Nic Losee (BYU) - 6-2, 6-3
No. 4 - Erik Nyman (BYU) def. Travis Hasson (SDSU) - 6-2, 4-6, 6-1
No. 5 - Ryan Redondo (SDSU) def. Anton Rudjuk (BYU) - 6-2, 6-4
No. 6 - Gabe Coren (SDSU) def. Jeff Harbach (BYU) - 6-3, 6-4
Doubles
No. 1 - Vilms/Lazano (BYU) def. Maiberger/Redondo (SDSU) - 8-3
No. 2 - Harbach/Olsen (BYU) def. Hardt/Hasson (SDSU) - 9-8
No. 3 - Nyman/Losee (BYU) def. Pest/Coren (SDSU) - 8-4
Records: SDSU (2-0), BYU (1-1)