April 1, 2007
SAN DIEGO - San Diego State completed a perfect 3-0 weekend with its 4-3 victory over 74th-ranked TCU on Sunday morning at Aztec Tennis Center. The win gives No. 52 SDSU sole possession of first place in the Mountain West Conference at 3-0 and improves its overall record to 12-6.
The Aztecs opened doubles play with a bang as Billy Timu and Achim Ceban quickly dispatched TCU's Andrew Ulrich/Radu Barbu, 8-5, at the second position. However, the Horned Frogs responded with a 9-8 decision at No. 3 to knot things at one leaving the doubles point in the hands of a pair of nationally ranked tandems in No. 17 Markus Dickhardt/Christian Groh of SDSU and No. 23 Cosmin Cotet/Kriegler Brink of TCU.
The deciding doubles match at No. 1 lived up to its billing as both pairings were engaged in a highly contested battle. After the dust settled, the higher ranked team prevailed and Dickhardt/Groh gave the Aztecs the early point with their seventh win of the season.
In singles, the 52nd-ranked Dickhardt continued his stellar play by easily defeating No. 106 Cotet in straight sets, 6-2, 6-1. The victory was his 14th straight and his sixth consecutive over nationally ranked players in seven tries.
Holding a 2-0 advantage, San Diego State posted wins at No. 5 and 6 to put the match away. At the fifth position, Juan Gomez was victorious for a sixth straight time after he disposed of the Horned Frogs' Ulrich, 6-1, 6-4. Later, SDSU put the match out of reach with Robert Sabo's match-securing decision at the bottom of the order. The junior from Rancho Mirage, Calif., posted his third win in a row after defeating Stuart Row, 6-3, 6-3.
With its seventh consecutive victory already etched in stone, San Diego State unfortunately dropped the remaining three matches to provide the final score.
The Aztecs will continue MWC action on April 5 as they travel to Colorado Springs, Colo., for a showdown with Air Force. First serve is set for 3 p.m. MDT.
#52 San Diego State 4, #74 TCU 3
Aztec Tennis Center (San Diego, Calif.)
Doubles
1. #17 Markus Dickhardt/Christian Groh (SDSU) def. #23 Cosmin Cotet/Kriegler Brink (TCU), 9-8
2. Billy Timu/Achim Ceban (SDSU) def. Andrew Ulrich/Radu Barbu (TCU), 8-5
3. Stuart Row/Christopher Biro (TCU) def. Anthony Gomez/Juan Gomez (SDSU), 9-8
San Diego State wins doubles point
Singles
1. #52 Markus Dickhardt (SDSU) def. #106 Cosmin Cotet (TCU), 6-2, 6-1
2. Christopher Biro (TCU) def. #92 Christian Groh (SDSU), 5-7, 6-4, 1-0(3)
3. Kriegler Brink (TCU) def. Anthony Gomez (SDSU), 6-2, 7-6
4. Radu Barbu (TCU) def. Achim Ceban (SDSU), 7-6, 6-4
5. Juan Gomez (SDSU) def. Andrew Ulrich (TCU), 6-1, 6-4
6. Robert Sabo (SDSU) def. Stuart Row (TCU), 6-3, 6-3
Order of finish: 1, 5, 6*, 4, 3, 2
* Match-securing victory