March 28, 2006
SAN DIEGO - Battling wind and drizzle throughout the afternoon, the 72nd-ranked San Diego State men's tennis team endured the elements long enough to post a 4-2 triumph over Harvard on Tuesday at Aztec Tennis Center as only singles matches were contested in the rain-shortened duel. With the victory, the Aztecs improve their record to 7-6, while the Crimson fall to 3-8 on the year.
With the forecast calling for light rain, SDSU quickly grabbed a 1-0 advantage as senior Benedikt Stronk raced to a straight-set victory over Brandon Chiu, 6-1, 6-3, at the No. 1 position. Harvard returned the favor; however, as the Crimson's Dan Nguyen dealt junior Anthony Gomez a 6-4, 6-3 defeat at the No. 5 spot to knot the score at 1-1.
Unfazed, SDSU recaptured the lead at 3-1 when senior Stephan Timu overpowered Shantanu Dhaka, 6-1, 6-3, at the No. 4 position, and then junior Markus Dickhardt followed with a 6-4, 6-3 drubbing of Chris Clayton at No. 2.
Sophomore Robert Sabo, meanwhile, had his three-match winning streak snapped after a marathon engagement with Sasha Ermakov, 7-6(15-13), 7-5. The struggle was so intense that the four previous matches were completely finished before the two adversaries on the No. 6 court even made it through their first set.
Nevertheless, junior Christian Groh clinched what proved to be the deciding match for the scarlet and black, knocking off Ashwin Kumar in a tough three-set skirmish at the No. 3 spot. After breezing through the first set by a 6-1 margin, Groh was forced to battle the rest of the way. Despite dropping the second set, 6-7, the Crailsheim, Germany, native escaped with his fourth win in a row after a close shave in the third set, 7-5. Shortly after the completion of singles play, the rain fell heavier, wiping out any plans for doubles competition.
The Aztecs open up Mountain West Conference play this weekend, March 31-April 2, traveling to Las Vegas, Nev., to tangle with league foes Utah, Air Force and UNLV on consecutive days. All three matches are scheduled to be played at the Fertitta Tennis Complex on the campus of UNLV.
No. 72 SAN DIEGO STATE 4, No. 75 HARVARD 2
Aztec Tennis Center--San Diego, Calif.
Singles:
1) Benedikt Stronk (SDSU) def. Brandon Chiu (HU), 6-1, 6-3.
2) Markus Dickhardt (SDSU) def. Chris Clayton (HU), 6-4, 6-3.
3) Christian Groh (SDSU) def. Ashwin Kumar (HU), 6-1, 6-7, 7-5.
4) Stephan Timu (SDSU) def. Shantanu Dhaka (HU), 6-1, 6-3.
5) Dan Nguyen (HU) def. Anthony Gomez (SDSU), 6-4, 6-3.
6) Sasha Ermakov (HU) def. Robert Sabo (SDSU), 7-6 (15-13), 7-5.
Order of finish
Singles: 1, 5, 4, 2, 6, 3*
*match-securing victory