April 22, 2016
LAS VEGAS - The San Diego State men's tennis team continued its strong play against Mountain West foes, besting Air Force, 4-1, in a neutral site contest at UNLV today. The Aztecs are now 4-1 in conference play, and are one of only two Mountain West teams with one conference loss (Utah State).
"Our guys fought some very difficult conditions today," head coach Gene Carswell said. "There were sustained winds of over 20 miles per hour with gusts reaching 35 miles per hour, but the team persevered and showed tremendous Aztec pride throughout their competition today."
San Diego State started the match on the right foot by becoming the first Mountain West team this season to snatch the doubles point away from Air Force. Lucas Fumagalli and Luke Sanderson beat Hendrik Jebens and Sander Gjoels-Andersen in the No. 2 spot, 6-2, but the Aztecs were able to rebound. Marko Goles-Babic and Freddy Gelbrich topped Andrew Parks and Max Olson at No. 3, 6-3, and Milen Ianakiev and Santiago Cevallos defeated Jack McCullers and Tadhg Collins in the top spot, 6-4, for the doubles point.
Singles play started with the Falcons (6-16, 1-4 MW) tying the score at 1-1 with a win on court No. 6 for Collins over Cornelius Kolb, 6-1, 6-3.
However, SDSU used the defeat as motivation to earn the win. Gjoels-Andersen bested Fumagalli, 6-4, 6-4 and Goles-Babic topped Sanderson, 6-3, 6-4. Akin to the Scarlet and Black's 4-3 win over No. 57 Utah State on Sun., April 17, the match-clinching point was left to Ianakiev, and the junior came through. He won his match in the No. 3 spot against Max Olson, 6-3, 7-5 (6) for the final 4-1 San Diego State win.
The Aztecs will go for their third straight conference win when they take on UNLV on Sat., April 23. The match is slated to begin at 1 p.m., or following the conclusion of the match between UNLV's and SDSU's women's tennis teams.
San Diego State 4, Air Force 1
April 22, 2016
Fertitta Tennis Complex, Las Vegas, Nev.
Doubles
1. Santiago Cevallos/Milen Ianakiev (SDSU) def. Jack McCullers/Tadhg Collins (USU) 6-4
2. Lucas Fumagalli/Luke Sanderson def. Hendrik Jebens/Sander Gjoels-Andersen (SDSU) 6-2
3. Marko Goles-Babic/Freddy Gelbrich (SDSU) vs. Andrew Parks/Max Olson (USU) 6-3
Order of Finish - 2, 3, 1
Singles
1. Freddy Gelbrich (SDSU) vs. Jack McCullers (AFA) 7-5, 4-5, unfinished
2. Hendrik Jebens (SDSU) vs. Andrew Parks (AFA) 6-4, 4-5, unfinished
3. Milen Ianakiev (SDSU) def. Max Olson (AFA) 6-3, 7-5 (6)
4. Sander Gjoels-Andersen (SDSU) def. Lucas Fumagalli (AFA) 6-4, 6-4
5. Marko Goles-Babic (SDSU) def. Luke Sanderson (AFA) 6-3, 6-4
6. Tadhg Collins (AFA) def. Cornelius Kolb (SDSU) 6-1, 6-3
Order of Finish - 6, 4, 5, 3