March 19, 2008
SAN DIEGO - The 59th-ranked San Diego State men's tennis team won the battle for city supremacy on Wednesday when it posted a 6-1 road conquest of No. 67 San Diego in a non-conference dual at USD's West Courts. After storming through doubles competition, the Aztecs prevailed in five of six singles encounters to capture their fourth straight victory and fifth in their last six outings. Along the way, SDSU also defeated one nationally ranked doubles team and one rated singles player as the Scarlet and Black improve to 9-5 on the year. Meanwhile with the loss, the Toreros fall to 7-6 overall.
Playing in the No. 3 position for the first time this season after nine matches at No. 2, Andre Feliz and Matan Shitrit set the tone for the Aztecs in doubles action with an 8-3 triumph over Tamer Antabi and Charl Wolmarans. Shortly thereafter, Bartosz Golas and Juan Gomez secured the early point with an 8-6 upset over the 44th-ranked tandem of Chris Coetzee and Thomas Liversage on the No. 1 court. The Scarlet and Black then completed the sweep when Achim Ceban and Tim Schulz van Endert won their seventh contest in a row with an 8-5 decision over Dean Jackson and Nils Schive in the second spot.
Trailing 1-0 at the outset of singles play, USD momentarily tied the score when Jackson, ranked No. 66 in the latest ITA singles poll, breezed past Ceban, 6-0, 6-1, in the No. 2 position. However, the Aztecs never flinched from that point on, winning the final five matches of the day, including four in straight sets. Feliz put SDSU up for good after overpowering Schive, 6-0, 6-3, in the sixth slot, while Danny Heidecker gave the visitors a 3-1 advantage with a 6-2, 6-1 defeat of Jose Munoz at No. 5.
Over on court No. 4, Gomez ended any remaining drama with a 6-3, 6-3 triumph over Wolmarans, which provided the fourth and deciding point. The Aztecs then tacked on two additional wins to account for the final score. Golas was a 7-5, 6-4 victor over Coetzee at No. 3, while Shitrit outlasted 45th-ranked Liversage, 7-5, 4-6, 10-8, in a super-tiebreaker at the top of the ladder.
SDSU will have the next nine days off before traveling up the coast to face Harvard and UCSB on consecutive days, March 28-29, in Santa Barbara, Calif.
No. 59 SAN DIEGO STATE 6, No. 67 SAN DIEGO 1
USD West Courts
San Diego, Calif.
Doubles
1. Bartosz Golas / Juan Gomez (SDSU) def. #44 Chris Coetzee / Thomas Liversage (USD), 8-6
2. Achim Ceban / Tim Schulz van Endert (SDSU) def. Dean Jackson / Nils Schive (USD), 8-5
3. Andre Feliz / Matan Shitrit (SDSU) def. Tamer Antabi / Charl Wolmarans (USD), 8-3
San Diego State wins doubles point
Singles
1. Matan Shitrit (SDSU) def. #45 Thomas Liversage (USD), 7-5, 4-6, 10-8^
2. #66 Dean Jackson (USD) def. Achim Ceban (SDSU), 6-0, 6-1
3. Bartosz Golas (SDSU) def. Chris Coetzee (USD), 7-5, 6-4
4. Juan Gomez (SDSU) def. Charl Wolmarans (USD), 6-3, 6-3
5. Danny Heidecker (SDSU) def. Jose Munoz (USD), 6-2, 6-1
6. Andre Feliz (SDSU) def. Nils Schive (USD), 6-0, 6-3
Order of finish
Doubles: 3, 1, 2
Singles: 2, 6, 5, 4*, 3, 1
*match-clinching victory
^super-tiebreaker