Feb. 24, 2007
SEATTLE - The 50th-ranked San Diego State men's tennis team lost a close 4-3 decision to No. 75 Oregon in a neutral-site contest at Nordstrom Tennis Center in Seattle, Wash. The loss marks the Aztecs' fourth straight and puts their record at 2-4 on the season, while the Ducks improve to 8-4.
For the first time since sweeping all six doubles matches in its season-opening doubleheader against UC Riverside and Concordia (Calif.), SDSU took all three against Oregon to open with a 1-0 lead.
Robert Sabo and Billy Timu were the beneficiaries of the Ducks' tandem of Marcos Verdasco and Ric Mortera retiring with the Aztecs ahead 5-2 at the No. 2 position. San Diego State later clinched the point when Markus Dickhardt and Juan Gomez notched an 8-5 win at No. 3. For good measure, Christian Groh and Anthony Gomez pocketed an 8-4 victory at No. 1 to complete the sweep.
Then as singles began, things all of a sudden got very competitive. Oregon tied the match at one apiece when Gustavo Loza defeated Michael Beron in straight sets and took the lead when Francisco Gallardo downed Sabo at No. 5.
No. 68 Dickhardt continued his strong play at the second position cruising to a 6-1, 6-4, win over Mike Myrhed to knot the score at two. The win was his team-leading fourth of the dual season and his second in a row.
The score, however, was only tied for a short while as Groh fell at No. 1 and Anthony Gomez was unsuccessful at No. 3, giving the Ducks the necessary four team points for the win. Juan Gomez won his second match as an Aztec, a three-set thriller, to provide the match its final score.
San Diego State returns to the courts tomorrow, Sunday, Feb. 25, to take on 15th-ranked Washington at noon PST.
No. 75 Oregon 4, No. 50 San Diego State 3
Nordstrom Tennis Center (Seattle, Wash.)
Doubles
1. Groh/A. Gomez (SDSU) def. Embry/Cornelissen (UO), 8-4
2. Sabo/Timu (SDSU) def. Verdasco/Mortera (UO), 5-2 (ret.)
3. Dickhart/J. Gomez (SDSU) def. Gallardo/Wiechert (UO), 8-5
San Diego State wins doubles point
Singles
1. Alexander Cornelissen (UO) def. Christian Groh (SDSU), 6-2, 6-4
2. No. 68 Markus Dickhardt (SDSU) def. Mike Myrhed (UO), 6-1, 6-4
3. Ric Mortera (UO) def. Anthony Gomez, 7-6 (8), 6-4
4. Juan Gomez (SDSU) def. Geoff Embry (UO), 6-3, 6-7 (7), 7-5
5. Francisco Gallardo (UO) def. Robert Sabo (SDSU). 6-2, 6-3
6. Gustavo Loza (UO) def. Michael Beron (SDSU), 6-1, 6-1
Order of finish
Doubles: 2, 3, 1
Singles: 6, 5, 2, 1, 3, 4