April 14, 2006
SALT LAKE CITY - The 59th-ranked San Diego State men's tennis team rallied from an early deficit on Friday to defeat New Mexico, 5-2, in a Mountain West Conference dual match in Salt Lake City, Utah. After losing the doubles point, SDSU stormed back with five wins in singles action to capture the victory and remain undefeated in league play. With the win, the Aztecs improve their record to 12-7 overall and 4-0 in the MWC, while the Lobos fall to 10-7 on the season and 1-3 in the conference.
SDSU stumbled out of the gates in doubles competition as the duo of Christian Groh and Eugenio Romero suffered an 8-3 defeat to New Mexico's Graeme Kassautzki and Eric Conklin at the No. 3 position. The Aztecs knotted things up shortly thereafter when the 21st-ranked tandem of Markus Dickhardt and Benedikt Stronk recorded their seventh straight victory with an 8-5 decision over Max Jones and Kamil Pajkowski at the No. 1 spot. In the deciding match, the pairing of Stephan Timu and Anthony Gomez put up a tough fight against the combo of Miles Bugby and Johnny Parkes, but ultimately succumbed, 8-5, putting SDSU in a 1-0 hole.
The Aztecs tied the score at 1-1 in singles play when Gomez prevailed at the No. 5 position by a count of 6-3, 1-0 over Conklin, who retired in the second set with an injury. New Mexico quickly regained the lead, however, after Jones handed Groh his first loss in nine outings by a count of 6-2, 6-4 on the No. 1 court.
From that point on, it was all scarlet and black as Timu breezed past Pajkowski, 6-1, 6-2, while Stronk ended a three-match slide with a 6-4, 7-6 triumph over Kassautzki. With SDSU out in front 3-2, Robert Sabo delivered the knockout punch with a straight-set victory over Chandler Brass, 6-3, 6-4. Dickhardt then provided the contest with its final outcome, rallying from a first-set deficit against Parkes to win going away, 3-6, 6-4, 6-3.
The Aztecs continue their weekend conference slate on Saturday, remaining in Salt Lake City to tangle with Brigham Young. Match time is set for 1 p.m. MDT.
No. 59 SAN DIEGO STATE 5, NEW MEXICO 2
Salt Lake City, Utah
Doubles:
1. No. 21 Benedikt Stronk/Markus Dickhardt (SDSU) def. Max Jones/Kamil Pajkowski (UNM), 8-5.
2. Miles Bugby/Johnny Parkes (UNM) def. Stephan Timu/Anthony Gomez (SDSU), 8-5.
3. Graeme Kassautzki/Eric Conklin (UNM) def. Christian Groh/Eugenio Romero (SDSU), 8-3.
New Mexico wins doubles point
Singles:
1. Max Jones (UNM) def. Christian Groh (SDSU), 6-2, 6-4.
2 Markus Dickhardt (SDSU) def. Johnny Parkes (UNM), 3-6, 6-4, 6-3.
3. Benedikt Stronk (SDSU) def. Graeme Kassautzki (UNM), 6-4, 7-6 (0).
4. Stephan Timu (SDSU) def. Kamil Pajkowski (UNM), 6-1, 6-2.
5. Anthony Gomez (SDSU) def. Eric Conklin (UNM) 6-3, 1-0 ret. inj.
6. Robert Sabo (SDSU) def. Chandler Brass (UNM), 6-3, 6-4.
Order of Finish:
Doubles: 3, 1, 2
Singles: 5, 1, 4, 3, 6*, 2
*Match-clinching victory