March 17, 2008
SAN DIEGO - The 56th-ranked San Diego State men's tennis team extended its winning streak to a season-best three matches on Monday with a come-from-behind 5-2 victory over No. 67 Princeton at Aztec Tennis Center. After dropping the early doubles point, SDSU (8-5) captured the final five singles encounters on the afternoon to send the Tigers (6-4) off on a sour note on their week-long road trip to the West Coast.
Things looked good for the Scarlet and Black early on in doubles after Achim Ceban and Tim Schulz van Endert downed Ryan Kim and Ilya Trubov, 8-3, in the No. 3 position for the Aztec tandem's six win in a row. However, the tide quickly changed when Andre Feliz and Matan Shitrit experienced an 8-5 setback at the hands of Peter Capkovic and Alex Vuckovic in the No. 2 slot, which drew the visitors back to even. With momentum on its side, Princeton wrested the doubles point away from the host team when George Carpeni and Alex Krueger-Wyman outgunned Bartosz Golas and Juan Gomez, 9-7, in a tight battle on the No. 1 court.
Signs were also ominous at the start of singles play as Golas was once again unable to solve Krueger-Wyman in a 6-1, 6-2 defeat at the No. 2 spot. However, SDSU promptly righted the ship by taking the next five matches, four of which were the straight-set variety. Looking down the barrel of a 2-0 deficit on the scoreboard, Feliz got the rally going with 6-3, 6-2 decision over Trubov in the sixth slot, which gave the Aztec freshman his team-leading 12th victory of the year. Ceban then tied things up after cruising past Carpeni, 6-3, 6-2, at No. 3.
San Diego State took the lead for good when Shitrit prevailed by a 6-4, 6-3 count over Capkovic on the No. 1 court, while Danny Heidecker provided the clinching point moments later with a 6-3, 6-4 triumph over Vuckovic in the fifth spot. With the outcome no longer in doubt, Gomez added the Aztecs' final tally of the day after overcoming a dreary second set to put away Kim, 7-5, 0-6, 10-6, in a super-tiebreaker at No. 4.
SDSU goes back to work on Wednesday, March 19, when it travels across town to face arch-rival San Diego. First serve is set for 1:30 p.m. PDT.
No. 56 SAN DIEGO STATE 5, No. 67 PRINCETON 2
Aztec Tennis Center
San Diego, Calif.
Doubles
1. George Carpeni / Alex Krueger-Wyman (Princeton) def. Bartosz Golas / Juan Gomez (SDSU), 9-7
2. Peter Capkovic / Alex Vuckovic (Princeton) def. Andre Feliz / Matan Shitrit (SDSU), 8-5
3. Achim Ceban / Tim Schulz van Endert (SDSU) def. Ryan Kim / Ilya Trubov (Princeton), 8-3
Princeton wins doubles point
Singles
1. Matan Shitrit (SDSU) def. Peter Capkovic (Princeton), 6-4, 6-3
2. Alex Krueger-Wyman (Princeton) def. Bartosz Golas (SDSU), 6-1, 6-2
3. Achim Ceban (SDSU) def. George Carpeni (Princeton), 6-3, 6-2
4. Juan Gomez (SDSU) def. Ryan Kim (Princeton), 7-5, 0-6, 10-6^
5. Danny Heidecker (SDSU) def. Alex Vuckovic (Princeton), 6-3, 6-4
6. Andre Feliz (SDSU) def. Ilya Trubov (Princeton), 6-3, 6-2
Order of finish
Doubles: 3, 2, 1
Singles: 2, 6, 3, 1, 5*, 4
*match-clinching victory
^super-tiebreaker