Oct. 3, 2006
TULSA, Okla. - On a day when temperatures climbed into the mid-90s, seniors Markus Dickhardt (Marburg, Germany) and Christian Groh (Crailsheim, Germany) won their respective singles matches to advance at the Polo Ralph Lauren All-American Tennis Championships. Dickhardt defeated Old Dominion's Henrique Cancado, 6-0, 5-7, 6-3, while Groh won in straight sets over Georgia's Jamie Hunt, 7-6(4), 6-1.
Dickhardt, No. 99 in the preseason ITA singles rankings, jumped out to an early 3-0 lead in the first set and wound up winning the set, 6-0. Cancado came back to take the second set, 7-5, but Dickhardt won the final set, 6-3, to advance to the third round of singles qualifying where he will play Philippe Frayssinoux of Mississippi State.
Groh, who is ranked at No. 67 in the preseason singles rankings, had a long first set with Hunt that eventually went into a tiebreaker. Groh prevailed, 7-6(4), and carried the momentum through to the second set where he cruised to a, 6-1, victory to secure his spot in the third round. Tennessee's Kaden Hensel, who defeated Tulsa's Ross Cunningham, 6-0, 6-1, will be Groh's third-round opponent.
"Markus and Christian's victories were good wins against tough opponents," said SDSU men's tennis head coach Gene Carswell. "Their adherence to a great fitness program has helped them to succeed in the heat against some of the top collegiate players in the country."
The pair of Aztec seniors will look to secure their spots in the singles main draw with victories tomorrow in the third round of singles qualifying at the Michael D. Case Tennis Center. The singles main draw and the doubles main draw both begin on Oct. 5. Groh and Dickhardt, who are ranked at No. 21 as a duo, will face No. 19 Anze Cevka and Martin Stiegwardt of Georgia State in the first round of the doubles main draw.
Polo Ralph Lauren All-American Tennis Championships
October 3, 2006
Michael D. Case Tennis Center - Tulsa, Okla.
Singles Qualifying (Second Round)
Christian Groh (SDSU) def. Jamie Hunt (Georgia) 7-6 (4), 6-1.
Markus Dickhardt (SDSU) def. Henrique Cancado (Old Dominion) 6-0, 5-7, 6-3.