April 30, 2010
The second-seeded Aztecs, winners of a league-tying three MWC tournament championships, will go for their fourth tournament title on Saturday against fourth-seeded TCU, who upset top-seeded Brigham Young, 4-2. The program is looking to add to its impressive resume of 10 conference championships since the formation of the Mountain West, prior to the 2000 season. In addition to the three postseason titles (2002, 2003 and 2005), San Diego State has claimed seven regular-season MWC men's tennis championships (2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2005, 2006 and 2007). This marks the Aztecs first appearance in the league championship match since 2006. San Diego State got off to a good start, earning the doubles point that eluded the Aztecs during SDSU's 4-3 regular-season victory over the Rebels. Although SDSU's top duo of Achim Vladimirschii and Giovanni Vaglietti, ranked 87th nationally, were upset at number one doubles, the Aztecs were able to earn victories at number two and three positions to earn the team point. At number two doubles, Juan Gomez and Luis Rattenhuber were 9-7 winners over Johannes Markel and Bernard Schoeman. Andre Feliz and Tim Schulz van Endert secured the team point with a 9-8 win against Kasper Konyves and Attila Toth. Feliz and Schulz Van Endert improved to 15-5 in the dual portion of the season and provided San Diego State with its ninth consecutive victory at the number three position. Vladimirchii pushed San Diego State's advantage to 2-0, dropping just three games while disposing of Luca Barlocchi at number two singles, 6-2, 6-1. It was the fourth consecutive singles victory for the senior, who won his 10th dual singles match of the season. Feliz, a junior from San Gabriel, Calif., was the lone player in the match to earn victories for his team in both singles and doubles play. After securing the doubles point for the Aztecs, Feliz cruised to a 6-1, 6-2, straight-set win at number six singles over Konyves. The victory, the fourth in a row for Feliz, gave the three-time letterwinner a 12th victory in dual matches. He is one of three Aztec players to reach double figures in singles wins this year. One day after earning Mountain West Conference player of the year, Gomez punched San Diego State's ticket to the final with a 6-3, 6-3 win over Mehdi Bouras at number one singles. The senior won his seventh consecutive match and now has 22 singles victories this season. The Aztecs own a winning record for the first time this season, improving to 13-12 overall and claiming their fourth straight win and the ninth in the last 10 outings. UNLV is 13-12 overall. The men's tennis program will be trying to add to the three Mountain West Conference championships (women's soccer, women's basketball and men's basketball) already claimed by Aztecs' athletic teams this academic year. The championship match between the Aztecs and Horned Frogs is scheduled to begin at 10 a.m. PT. San Diego State won the regular-season meeting between the teams 4--3 in San Diego on April 4. Live scoring for the match is available at GoAztecs.com. No. 55 San Diego State 4, No. 67 UNLV 0 DOUBLES SINGLES Team Records: San Diego State: 13-12; UNLV: 13-12 |
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