April 24, 2008
FORT WORTH, Texas - The sixth-seeded San Diego State men's tennis team came from behind to post a 4-2 upset of No. 3 seed Utah on Thursday during the quarterfinals of the Mountain West Conference Championships in Fort Worth, Texas. After dropping the early doubles point, the Aztecs stormed back with a vengeance in singles play, taking four of the first five encounters in straight sets at the Bayard H. Friedman Tennis Center on the campus of TCU. With the win, SDSU put the brakes on a five-match losing streak to raise its record to 13-11 on the year, while the MWC regular-season tri-champion Utes slipped to an identical 13-11 mark overall.
For just the second time in nine duals this season, the Scarlet and Black rallied for a victory after ceding the doubles point. The Aztecs stumbled out of the gates as the tandem of Danny Heidecker and Tim Schulz van Endert, playing together for the first time since Feb. 6, suffered an 8-2 defeat at the hands of John Taylor and Othman Zerouali-Ouariti at the No. 2 position. The remaining two contests were much tighter affairs, but Utah still managed to clinch the point when Timmy Allin and Wes Hancock outlasted the newly formed duo of Achim Ceban and Andre Feliz in a 9-8(2) thriller on the No. 3 court. With the doubles outcome no longer in question, the match at the No. 1 spot featuring two all-MWC pairings was halted with SDSU's Bartosz Golas and Juan Gomez holding a slim 7-6 advantage over Zach Ganger and Miron Mann.
Despite the 1-0 deficit on the scoreboard, the Aztecs came out firing on all cylinders, determined to put the frustrations of the previous five dual matches behind them. Heidecker, seeing his first action after incurring an illness on April 4, ignited the SDSU comeback with a 6-1, 6-2 triumph over Jason Smits in the No. 5 position, while Gomez followed suit in his clash with Hancock in the No. 4 spot, dispatching his Ute opponent by a 6-4, 6-1 count. Ceban was all business as well, knocking off Zerouali-Ouariti, 6-1, 6-3, in the third slot to provide the Scarlet and Black a 3-1 cushion.
Utah managed to stem the Aztecs momentum temporarily when Mann collected a 6-3, 6-4 win over Shitrit on court two. However, Feliz cast aside all remaining doubts with a 6-4, 7-5 decision over Allin at the No. 6 position to give SDSU the requisite fourth point for the team victory. After Feliz's clincher, Golas had his match with Ganger abandoned at the top of the ladder.
San Diego State, ranked 60th in the latest ITA team poll, will now take on the winner of the Air-Force New Mexico match in the semifinal round on Friday beginning at 10 a.m. CDT.
(6) SAN DIEGO STATE 4, (3) UTAH 2
MWC Quarterfinals
Bayard H. Friedman Tennis Center
Fort Worth, Texas
Doubles
1. Bartosz Golas / Juan Gomez (SDSU) vs. Zach Ganger / Miron Mann (U), 7-6 DNF
2. John Taylor / Othman Zerouali-Ouariti (U) def. Danny Heidecker / Tim Schulz van Endert (SDSU), 8-2
3. Timmy Allin / Wes Hancock (U) def. Achim Ceban / Andre Feliz (SDSU), 9-8(2)
Utah wins doubles point
Singles
1. #116 Zach Ganger (U) vs. Bartosz Golas (SDSU), 7-6(3), 2-5, DNF
2. Miron Mann (U) def. Matan Shitrit (SDSU), 6-3, 6-4
3. Achim Ceban (SDSU) def. Othman Zerouali-Ouariti (U), 6-1, 6-3
4. Juan Gomez (SDSU) def. Wes Hancock (U), 6-4 6-1
5. Danny Heidecker (SDSU) def. Jason Smits (U), 6-1, 6-2
6. Andre Feliz (SDSU) def. Timmy Allin (U), 6-4, 7-5
Order of finish
Doubles: 2, 3
Singles: 5, 4, 3, 2, 6*
*match-clinching victory