March 29, 2005
SANTA BARBARA, Calif. - The San Diego State men's tennis team swept doubles play and upset 23rd-ranked Harvard, 5-2, in a neutral site match on the campus of UC Santa Barbara. The win is the Aztecs' second in a row and improves their record to 6-5 on the season.
SDSU began the day by earning the doubles point and taking a 1-0 match advantage thanks to an Aztec sweep.
At No. 1 Benedikt Stronk and Armando Carrascosa posted an 8-6 victory over the Harvard duo of Johnathan Chu/Brandon Chiu. At the second position Dontia Haynes and Daniel Jung cruised to an 8-2 win over the Crimson pair of Dan Nguyen-Ashwin Kumar. Meanwhile, Markus Dickhardt and Eugenio Romero notched a 9-8(5) over Scott Denenberg-Gideon Valkin at No. 3.
To begin singles play, Romero gave SDSU a 2-0 cushion when he defeated Jason Beren in straight sets, 6-2, 6-2, at No. 6. Following his win, Chris Groh, who played in just his second match after suffering an injury against UCLA (Feb. 4), notched a 6-4, 6-0, victory at No. 5 over Valkin.
The clinching match came at No. 3 when 93rd-ranked Carrascosa disposed of Chiu, 6-2, 6-4.
After the Aztecs claimed the win, the Crimson gathered victories at Nos. 1 and 4, before Dickhardt added a, 6-4, 6-7(6), 10-5, win to give the dual match its final score.
San Diego State will return to action tomorrow as it goes for its third straight victory when it faces the host school, UC Santa Barbara, at 1:30 p.m.
San Diego State 5, #23 Harvard 2
Doubles
1. Stronk/Carrascosa (SDSU) def. Chu/Chiu (HU), 8-6
2. Haynes/Jung (SDSU) def. Nguyen/Kumar (HU), 8-2
3. Dickhardt/Romero (SDSU) def. Denenberg/Valkin (HU), 9-8(5)
San Diego State wins doubles point
Singles
1. Ashwin Kumar (HU) def. #43 Benedikt Stronk (SDSU), 6-3, 2-6, 10-8
2. Markus Dickhardt (SDSU) def. Dan Nguyen (HU), 6-4, 6-7(6), 10-5
3. #93 Armando Carrascosa (SDSU) def. Brandon Chiu (HU), 6-2, 6-4
4. Scott Denenberg (HU) def. Daniel Jung (SDSU), 7-5, 3-6, 10-6
5. Chris Groh (SDSU) def. Gideon Valkin (HU), 6-4, 6-0
6. Eugenio Romero (SDSU) def. Jason Beren (HU), 6-2, 6-2
order of finish: 6, 5, 3, 4, 1, 2