March 28, 2011
FORT WORTH, Texas - The San Diego State men's tennis team came out on the short end of its Mountain West Conference opener, losing 5-2 to No. 74 TCU at the Bayard H. Friedman Tennis Center in Fort Worth, Texas. The loss drops SDSU to 2-12 on the 2011 campaign and 0-1 in MWC play.
The Aztecs could not have asked for a better start to its afternoon, winning all three doubles matches to claim the first point. Following an 8-1 victory by SDSU's Javier Pulgar and Tim Schulz van Endert over TCU's pairing of Slah Mbarek and Zach Nichols, the Aztecs' No. 3 doubles pairing of Andre Feliz and Shiva Sangwan clinched the doubles point with a close 9-7 win over TCU's Paul Chappell and Cameron Nash. SDSU's No. 1 pairing of Hunter Nicholas and Giovanni Vaglietti were also victorious in doubles play, earning a tight 8-7 victory over Horned Frogs Emanuel Brighiu and Christopher Price.
Despite the early SDSU lead, the Horned Frogs (6-11; 0-1 MWC)were able to turn the page on the Aztecs entering singles play. Following a Vaglietti lossat the No. 1 position to Brighiu, 6-2, 7-5, TCU claimed a 2-1 team lead following a highly competitive Slah Mbarek victory over senior Tim Schulz van Endert, 6-4, 6-3.
The Aztecs would respond with a Pulgar win at the No. 3 position over Nichols, but that would be the last point they would claim the rest of the contest. Following a Nicholas loss to TCU's Soren Goritzka in three sets, 3-6, 6-3, 6-2, TCU clinched the match with a Daniel Sanchez win over SDSU freshman Juan Florez on the No. 6 court, 6-4, 7-6.
The Scarlet and Black will look to have a quick turnaround tomorrow when they make a one-hour ride east to Dallas to face SMU. The opening serve is set for 12 p.m. PT, inside the Turpin Tennis Stadium.
No. 74 TCU def. San Diego State, 5-2
Bayard H. Friedman Tennis Center - Fort Worth, Texas
Doubles
1. Nicholas/Vaglietti (SDSU) def. Brighiu/Price (TCU), 8-7 (2)
2. Pulgar/Schulz van Edert (SDSU) def. Mbarek/Nichols (TCU), 8-1
3. Feliz/Sangwan (SDSU) def. Chappell/Nash (TCU), 9-7
Singles
1. Emanuel Brighiu (TCU) def. Giovanni Vaglietti (SDSU), 6-2, 7-5
2. Slah Mbarek (TCU) def. Tim Schulz van Endert (SDSU), 6-4, 6-3
3. Javier Pulgar (SDSU) def. Zach Nichols (TCU), 7-6 (3), 6-3
4. Christopher Price (TCU) def. Javier Pulgar (SDSU), 7-5, 7-6 (5)
5. Soren Goritzka (TCU) def. Hunter Nicholas (SDSU), 3-6, 6-3, 6-2
6. Daniel Sanchez (TCU) def. Juan Florez (SDSU), 6-4, 7-6 (6)
Order of Finish
Doubles: 2, 3*, 1
Singles: 1, 2, 3, 5, 6*, 4
*Clinching match