March 27, 2016
FRESNO, Calif. - The Mountain West opener for San Diego State men's tennis came down to the final set and the Aztecs were able to leave conference foe Fresno State victorious, topping the Bulldogs, 4-3. It was the third Mountain West-opening win in four seasons for San Diego State.
"Today was a great team effort," head coach Gene Carswell said. "With Hendrik Jebens and Cornelius Kolb out of singles today, it gave others an opportunity to get into some different position in the singles lineup. I'm very proud of Raul de la Torre for stepping up and taking advantage of the opportunity at No. 6, and Marko Goles-Babic was fantastic, as well."
The day started off on the right foot for the Scarlet and Black (6-9, 1-0 MW) in doubles play. Jebens and Sander Gjoels-Andersen defeated Jakob Keppleman and Jeremy Moser, 6-1, in the No. 2 spot. Goles-Babic and Santiago Cevallos lost to Nikolas Papic and Youssef Hassan, 6-2, to even the score. But the Aztecs were able to take the doubles point thanks to a 6-4 win on court No. 1 for Freddy Gelbrich and Milen Ianakiev over Euan McIntosh and Mantas Bugailiskis.
It was the first doubles point won by San Diego State since a Feb. 20 match against UC Santa Barbara. "It was great to put together a doubles point win," Carswell said. "There's still plenty of room to improve, but it was a step in the right direction."
In singles play, Fresno State (8-10, 0-1 MW) was able to win its first point of the day thanks to Hassan's 6-0, 6-2 win over Jonas Meinzer. Goles-Babic snatched back SDSU's lead with a 6-3, 6-2 win in the No. 4 spot over Patrick Pech.
No. 112 Gelbrich dropped his match, 6-3, 6-3 to Papic but de la Torre, appearing in just his third match of the dual season, dropped Jeremy Moser on court No. 6, 6-2, 6-3.
In the No. 3 spot with an opportunity for the San Diego State win, Gjoels-Andersen won his first set against McIntosh, 6-4, but fell in the next two sets, 3-6, 2-6.
But as was the case in the Aztecs' most recent win over Arizona on March 12, the match came down to Ianakiev. In the No. 2 spot, the junior dropped his first set to Bugailiskis, 3-6, but pulled even with a 6-4 second-set victory. Ianakiev then won the third set 7-6 (4) to hand San Diego State the 4-3 Mountain West win.
SDSU continues its action-packed spring break, visiting No. 15 California on Tues., March 29 at 2 p.m.
San Diego State 4, Fresno State 3
March 27, 2016
Spalding G. Wathen Tennis Center, Fresno, Calif.
Singles
1. Nikolas Papic (FSU) def. No. 112 Freddy Gelbrich (SDSU) 6-3, 6-3
2. Milen Ianakiev (SDSU) def. Mantas Bugailiskis (FSU) 3-6, 6-4, 7-6 (4)
3. Euan McIntosh (FSU) def. Sander Gjoels-Andersen (SDSU) 4-6, 6-3, 6-2
4. Marko Goles-Babic (SDSU) def. Patrick Pech (FSU) 6-3, 6-2
5. Youssef Hassan (FSU) def. Jonas Meinzer (SDSU) 6-0, 6-2
6. Raul de la Torre (SDSU) def. Jeremy Moser (FSU) 6-2, 6-3
Order of Finish: 5, 4, 1, 6, 3, 2
Doubles
1. Freddy Gelbrich/Milen Ianakiev (SDSU) def. Mantas Bugailiskis/Euan McIntosh (FSU) 6-4
2. Hendrik Jebens/Sander Gjoels-Andersen (SDSU) def. Jakob Keppleman/Jeremy Moser (FSU) 6-1
3. Nikolas Papic/Youssef Hassan (FSU) def. Marko Goles-Babic/Santiago Cevallos (SDSU) 6-2
Order of Finish: 2, 3, 1