Oct. 9, 2016
SAN DIEGO -- San Diego State men's tennis sophomore Raul de la Torre (Calexico, Calif.) captured the Flight 2 singles championship Sunday with a comeback victory over unattached player Reid Ponder to highlight the final day of competition at the Aztec Fall Invitational.
After falling behind by an early 2-6 count, de la Torre stormed back in the final two sets, 6-4, 6-3 to claim the title in the Scarlet and Black's lone home event of the fall schedule at Aztec Tennis Center.
In consolation singles action, freshman Joel Popov (Tampere, Finland) was also triumphant on Sunday after disposing of UC Irvine's Derek Chen, 6-4, 6-0. However, fellow classmate Nicholas Mitchell (Ojai, Calif.) was not as fortunate in his encounter with Richard Han of UC San Diego, dropping a 6-2, 6-3 decision. Similarly, another freshman David Hough (Traralgon, Australia) came up short in his match with Joel Gamerov, an individual competitor, by a 6-4, 6-3 tally.
In the Flight 1 singles championship, Grand Canyon's Lorenzo Fucile took home the crown with a 6-3, 6-2 victory over unattached Nico Borter, while the Flight 1 double crown was secured by the USC tandem of Henry Ji and David Laser, who outlasted the Florida Gulf Coast pairing of Oliver Landert and Ezequiel Cerrini in a nail-biter, 8-7(2).
San Diego State resumes its fall schedule in almost two weeks when it competes in the USTA/ITA Southwest Regional Championships., Oct. 20-24, in Malibu, Calif.
Aztec Fall Invitational
Aztec Tennis Center
San Diego, Calif.
SDSU Day Three Results Only
Singles Flight 2
Championship Final
Raul de la Torre (SDSU) def. Reid Ponder (IND), 2-6, 6-4, 6-3
Consolation Singles Matches
Joel Popov (SDSU) def. Derek Chen (UCI), 6-4, 6-0
Richard Han (UCSD) def. Nicholas Mitchell (SDSU), 6-2, 6-3
Joel Gamerov (IND) def. David Hough (SDSU), 6-4, 6-3