Jan. 26, 2007
LOS ANGELES - San Diego State, on the road for the first time this season, dropped a 7-0 decision to No. 43 Southern California at Marks Tennis Stadium on the campus of USC Friday afternoon. With the loss, the 49th-ranked Aztecs fall to 2-1, while the Trojans improve to 3-0 on the young campaign.
The Aztecs suffered a big blow from the beginning when senior Christian Groh was not able to compete due to injury. Groh, the top SDSU singles player, is the 28th-ranked player in the most recent FILA Collegiate Tennis Rankings and is one-half of the ninth-ranked doubles tandem with Markus Dickhardt.
Despite being shorthanded, the Aztecs went into doubles play with a new look and Southern California took full advantage by taking all three matches to go along with the doubles point.
In singles, Dickhardt moved to the top position and was defeated by Jamil Al-Agba in straight sets, 6-2, 6-4, as was Anthony Gomez at No. 3, Robert Sabo at No. 5 and Michael Beron at No. 6.
A pair of Aztec newcomers, Achim Ceban and Juan Gomez, made their respective matches interesting as both forced third sets.
Ceban's dual with Kaes Van't Hof at No. 2 was perhaps the most competitive of the afternoon. The freshman from Russia took the first set 7-6, but was defeated in the second, 6-3. In third and deciding set, Van't Hof broke a 5-5 tie and went on to clinch the match with a final set score of 7-5.
Meanwhile, Juan Gomez, who was making his SDSU debut, dropped the first set, 6-2, but rebounded in the second with a 6-4 effort. However in the third, he could not carry over the momentum and eventually lost 6-0.
The Aztecs continue their 2007 season Tuesday, Jan. 30, when they visit the Los Angeles Tennis Center to play fourth-ranked UCLA. Match time is set for 1:30 p.m. PST.
No. 43 Southern California 7, No. 49 San Diego State 0
Doubles
1. Al-Agba/Cvetkovic (USC) def. Dickhardt/A. Gomez (SDSU), 8-6
2. Farah/Van't Hof (USC) def. Ceban/Timu (SDSU), 8-4
3. Loucks/Snyder (USC) def. J. Gomez/Sabo (SDSU), 8-1
USC wins doubles point
Order of finish: 3, 2, 1
Singles
1. Jamil Al-Agba (USC) def. Markus Dickhardt (SDSU), 6-2, 6-4
2. Kaes Van't Hof (USC) def. Achim Ceban (SDSU), 6-7(4), 6-3, 7-5
3. Dejan Cvetkovic (USC) def. Anthony Gomez (SDSU), 7-6(3), 6-2*
4. Robert Farah (USC) def. Juan Gomez (SDSU), 6-2, 4-6, 6-0
5. No. 91 Jason McNaughton (USC) def. Robert Sabo (SDSU), 6-2, 6-3
6. Garrett Snyder (USC) def. Michael Beron (SDSU), 6-1, 6-3
Order of finish: 6, 1, 3*, 5, 4, 2
* Match clinching victory