Oct. 21, 2005
MALIBU, Calif. - San Diego State sophomore Robert Sabo (Rancho Mirage, Calif.) recorded a third-round victory on Friday to advance to the quarterfinals of the 2005 Wilson/ITA West Regional Championships in Malibu, Calif. Sabo, a transfer from the College of the Desert, defeated ninth-seeded Jonathan Kinsella of Arizona State, 7-6 (4), 7-5, at the Ralphs-Stratus Tennis Center on the campus of Pepperdine University.
"Robert battled through a very tough match," head coach Gene Carswell said. "This is his first Division I action and he's steadily maturing as a player. We're excited about his progress so far."
In his first tournament as an Aztec, Sabo won his first three singles matches and defeated a seeded player for the second day in a row. After dispatching UC Irvine's Mustafa Ulukan in the first round on Thursday, Sabo rallied from an early deficit to beat fifth-seeded Philipp Gruendler of UCLA, 3-6, 7-5, 6-4.
Meanwhile, junior Anthony Gomez (Palm Desert, Calif.) posted two victories in consolation play, defeating Christian Frick of UC Riverside, 6-4, 6-4, in the first round, while outlasting UC Santa Barbara's Max Taylor, 6-4, 1-6, 10-8, in the second.
In third-round doubles competition, the Aztecs' fifth-seeded duo of Christian Groh (Crailsheim, Germany) and Stephan Timu (Montreal, Quebec) ousted Aaron Badart and Whit Livingston of USC, 9-7. However, ASU's Kinsella and teammate Ryan McBride defeated SDSU's other doubles entry of Markus Dickhardt (Marburg, Germany) and Eugenio Romero (Ensenada, Mexico), 8-3.
Later in the afternoon, Groh and Timu fought a fierce quarterfinal battle against the UCLA tandem of Mathieu Dehaine and Aaron Yovan. The Aztecs' pair reached match point on two occasions, but fell in a heartbreaker, 9-7.
Singles action continues on Saturday as Sabo squares off against second-seeded Pedro Rico of Pepperdine in the main draw quarterfinals, while in the consolation bracket, Gomez takes on Nick Brotman of UCSB. Both matches are scheduled to begin at 9:30 a.m.
2005 Wilson/ITA West Regional Championships--Malibu, Calif.
Men's Singles
Main Draw--Round of 16
Robert Sabo (SDSU) def. (9) Jonathan Kinsella (ASU), 7-6 (4), 7-5.
Consolation Bracket--First and Second Round
Anthony Gomez (SDSU) def. Christian Frick (UCR), 6-4, 6-4.
Anthony Gomez (SDSU) def. Max Taylor (UCSB) 6-4, 1-6, 10-8.
Doubles Main Draw--Round of 16
(5) Groh/Timu (SDSU) def. Badart/Livingston (USC), 9-7.
Kinsella/McBride (ASU) def. Dickhardt/Romero (SDSU), 8-3.
Doubles Main Draw--Quarterfinals
Dehaine/Yovan (UCLA) def. (5) Groh/Timu (SDSU), 9-7.