Sept. 24, 2016
SAN DIEGO -- The San Diego State men's tennis team continued its busy weekend schedule at two separate tournaments on Saturday with its roster split between the Battle in the Bay Classic in San Francisco, Calif., and the Wildcat Invitational in Tucson, Ariz.
At the Battle in the Bay, Marko Goles-Babic posted two victories in the open singles main draw to advance to the semifinals. The Aztec senior dispatched Johan Joenhagen of host San Francisco 6-3, 7-6(6) in the round of 16, before knocking off TCU's Jerry Lopez in the quarterfinals, 7-6(5), 6-4. With his results, Goles-Babic will square off against Robbie Bellamy of USC on Sunday, starting at 11:30 a.m.
In the consolation bracket, sophomore Sander Gjoels-Andersen split his two matches on the day, defeating Jack Van Slyke of Pepperdine, 6-3, 6-3, but dropped a hard-fought battle to Iowa's Kareem Allaf, 7-5, 7-6(5).
The two SDSU teammates also combined for doubles competition, but came out on the wrong side of an 8-5 score against the Boise State pairing of Kyle Butters and Jack Heslin.
Shifting the scene to the Wildcat Invite, freshman Joel Popov saw his run in the "A" singles main draw come to an end after suffering a tough three-set defeat at the hands of New Mexico State's Christopher Goncalves in the semifinals on Saturday morning, 6-4, 4-6, 6-4.
Sophomore Raul de la Torre also fell short in a gritty consolation match, falling to Felix Schumann of Northern Arizona, 6-7, 6-2, 10-8.
In consolation doubles play, Popov joined forces with fellow freshman David Hough to split their two encounters on Saturday. The Aztec combo emerged with a 6-2 triumph over NAU tandem of Schumann and Ruben Montano, but dropped a close 7-6 nail-biter to Mike Lee and Jose Zamorano of host Arizona.
This weekend's tournament action concludes for SDSU at both locations on Sunday.
Battle in the Bay Classic
California Tennis Center
San Francisco, Calif.
SDSU Results Only
Men's Open Singles
Round of 16
Marko Goles-Babic (SDSU) def. Johan Joenhagen (USF), 6-3, 7-6(6)
Quarterfinal Round
Marko Goles-Babic (SDSU) def. Jerry Lopez (TCU), 7-6(5), 6-4
Consolation Third Round
Sander Gjoels-Andersen (SDSU) def. Jack Van Slyke (PEP), 6-3, 6-3
Consolation Quarterfinal Round
Kareem Allaf (Iowa) def. Sander Gjoels-Andersen (SDSU), 7-5, 7-6(5)
Men's Open Doubles
Butters/Heslin (BSU) def. Goles-Babic/Gjoels-Andersen (SDSU), 8-5
Wildcat Invitational
Ventana Golf and Racquet Club
Tucson, Ariz.
SDSU Results Only
"A" Draw Singles
Semifinal Round
Christopher Goncalves (NMSU) def. Joel Popov (SDSU), 6-4, 4-6, 6-4
Consolation Singles
Felix Schumann (NAU) def. Raul de la Torre (SDSU) 6-7, 6-2, 10-8
Consolation Doubles
Popov/Hough (SDSU) def. Schumann/Mantano (NAU), 6-2
Zamorano/Lee (UA) def. Popov/Hough (SDSU), 7-6