March 2, 2006
LA JOLLA, Calif. - Two doubles teams from the San Diego State men's tennis squad emerged victorious on Thursday during first-round action of the 117th Annual Pacific Coast Doubles Championships held at the La Jolla Beach and Tennis Club.
The Aztecs' duo of junior Anthony Gomez (Palm Desert, Calif.) and sophomore Robert Sabo (Rancho Mirage, Calif.) recorded a straight-set win over the independent team of Jason Giavara and Jawad Bisherat, 6-3, 6-3, and will face Pepperdine's Ivor Lovrak and Pedro Rico in the round of 64 on Friday, beginning at 11 a.m.
SDSU's other triumph of the day went to senior Eugenio Romero (Ensenada, Mexico) and freshman Billy Timu (Montreal, Quebec), who were extended to three sets before defeating another unattached pairing, Arturo Navarro and Patrick Rost, 6-3, 4-6, 6-1. Romero and Timu will face UCLA's Jeremy Drean and Michael Look on Friday with an 8 a.m. start.
Meanwhile, the tandem of junior Christian Groh (Crailsheim, Germany) and senior Stephan Timu (Montreal, Quebec) received a first-round bye Thursday and will square off in the round of 64 against the fifth-seeded duo of Ryan Keckley and Barry King from Notre Dame. Their match is set to begin on Friday at 9:45 a.m.
The Pacific Coast Doubles Championship is the second-oldest tennis event in the United States, dating back to 1890 when it was held at the Hotel Del Monte in Monterey, Calif. The tournament moved to its present location in La Jolla in 1942, and lists among its past champions such players as Bobby Riggs, Jack Kramer, Don Budge, Tony Trabert, Stan Smith, Arthur Ashe, Dennis Ralston and John McEnroe.