March 18, 2011
SAN DIEGO - The No. 67 Purdue men's tennis team defeated San Diego State, 4-3, in the semifinal round of the SDSU-USD Invitational at the Aztec Tennis Center.
Purdue (9-5) jumped out to an early lead after picking up the doubles point. Purdue's Aaron Dujovne and Mark Kovacs were first to finish as they won at No. 3, defeating Andre Feliz and Jose Sierra Short, 8-2. San Diego State leveled the doubles score with a victory at No. 1. Hunter Nicholas and Giovanni Vaglietti defeated Szymon Tatarczyk and Pawel Poziomski, 8-5. Then, with the point on the line, the Boilermakers Eric Ramos and Krisztian Krocsko defeated Javier Pulgar and Tim Schulz van Endert, 8-6, to give Purdue a 1-0 lead.
San Diego State (2-10) quickly tied the match, getting a victory at number three singles from Schulz van Endert. He defeated Kovacs, 6-1, 6-2. The Boilermakers retook the lead after Ramos rallied for a 1-6, 6-1, 6-1 win at No. 4 over Andre Feliz. Purdue then clawed its way within a point of the victory when Krocsko upended Pulgar at No. 2, 6-4, 6-4.
The Aztecs closed the gap and brought the team score to 3-2 with a victory at No. 5 from Hunter Nicholas. He won his match against Dujovne, 6-2, 7-6 (2). However, the Boilermakers were able to clinch the match when Poziomski won at No. 6, 7-5, 2-6, 6-1, over Florez. San Diego State wrapped up the match with a win at No. 1 as Vaglietti defeated Tatarczyk, 2-6, 6-3, 7-5, to draw the final score to 4-3.
The Aztecs will face East Tennessee State for third place in the event on Saturday morning. First serve at the Aztec Tennis Center is scheduled for 10 a.m. PT.