Jan. 27, 2018
SAN DIEGO – The San Diego State men's tennis team opened its 2018 spring schedule on a sour note Saturday, falling to Loyola Marymount (5-0) and Brigham Young (4-2) in a pair of dual matches at Aztec Tennis Center.
Against the Cougars in a twilight encounter, SDSU dropped a hotly contested doubles point when the pairing of Raul de la Torre and Rafael Gonzalez Almazan suffered a heartbreaking loss to Matthew Pearce and David Ball by a narrow 7-6(6) count on the No. 3 court. Moments earlier, the No. 2 pairing of Sander Gjoels-Andersen and Nicholas Mitchell knotted the score with a 6-4 triumph over Sam Tullis and Ben Gajardo after the Aztec duo of Santiago Cevallos and Arnaud Restifo came up short to Sean Hill and Jeffery Hsu in the No. 1 spot.
Trailing 1-0, SDSU yielded further ground after opening with a pair of defeats in singles competition. Gajardo dispatched Ignacio Martinez by a 6-3, 6-0 tally in the fifth position, while Cevallos fell victim to Hill in straight sets at the top of the ladder, 6-3, 7-5.
The Aztecs tightened the score with two wins on the No. 4 and No. 6 courts, respectively. Joel Popov outlasted Pearce in three sets, 6-3, 1-6, 6-3, while Gonzalez Almazan prevailed in similar fashion over Ball, 6-4, 3-6, 6-2. However, SDSU's comeback hopes were derailed when Tullis rallied past Gjoels-Andersen, 6-4, 3-6, 6-2.
With the outcome no longer in doubt, the No. 2 match pitting Restifo against Hsu was abandoned in the third set with the Aztec sophomore trailing 3-2.
Earlier in the morning, de la Torre and Gonzalez Almazan joined forces for SDSU's lone victory over the Lions with a 6-2 conquest of Diego Nava and Errol Smith at No. 3 doubles. However, LMU posted wins in the top two spots to claim the initial point of the dual.
San Diego State will return to the courts next week when its heads north to battle UC Santa Barbara (Feb. 2) and Cal Poly (Feb. 3) on consecutive days.
Loyola Marymount 5, San Diego State 0
January 27, 2018
San Diego, Calif.
Aztec Tennis Center
Doubles
Charles Boyce/Lukas Moenter (LMU) def. Santiago Cevallos/Arnaud Restifo (SDSU), 6-2
Gabriel Diaz Freire/Nick Borchenko (LMU) def. Sander Gjoels-Andersen/Nicholas Mitchell (SDSU), 6-4
Raul de la Torre/Rafael Gonzalez Almazan (SDSU) def. Diego Nava/Errol Smith (LMU), 6-2
Order of finish: 3, 1, 2
LMU wins doubles point
Singles
Gabriel Diaz Freire (LMU) def. Arnaud Restifo (SDSU), 6-4, 6-3
Santiago Cevallos (SDSU) vs. Lucas Moreno (LMU), 3-6, 6-3, DNF
Sander Gjoels-Andersen (SDSU) vs. Lukas Moenter (LMU), 6-7(6), 3-0, DNF
Errol Smith (LMU) def. Joel Popov (SDSU), 6-1, 6-4
Charles Boyce (LMU) def. David Hough (SDSU), 6-0, 6-2
Nick Borchenko (LMU) def. Rafael Gonzalez Almazan (SDSU), 6-3, 7-6(5)
Order of finish: 5, 4, 6, 1
Brigham Young 4, San Diego State 2
January 27, 2018
Doubles
Sean Hill/Jeffery Hsu (BYU) def. Santiago Cevallos/Arnaud Restifo (SDSU), 6-3
Sander Gjoels-Andersen/Nicholas Mitchell (SDSU) def. Sam Tullis/Ben Gajardo (BYU), 6-4
Matthew Pearce/David Ball (BYU) def. Raul de la Torre/Rafael Gonzalez Almazan (SDSU), 7-6(6)
Order of finish: 1, 2, 3
BYU wins doubles point
Singles
Sean Hill (BYU) def. Santiago Cevallos (SDSU) 6-3, 7-5
Arnaud Restifo (SDSU) vs. Jeffery Hsu (BYU), 6-4, 6-7(6), 2-3, DNF
Sam Tullis (BYU) def. Sander Gjoels-Andersen (SDSU), 5-7, 6-0, 6-3
Joel Popov (SDSU) def. Matthew Pearce (BYU), 6-3, 1-6, 6-3
Ben Gajardo (BYU) def. Ignacio Martinez (SDSU), 6-3, 6-0
Rafael Gonzalez Almazan (SDSU) def. David Ball (BYU), 6-4, 3-6, 6-2
Order of finish: 5, 1, 4, 6, 3