April 26, 2018
SAN DIEGO – Sixth-seeded San Diego State posted a 4-2 triumph over No. 3 seed New Mexico in the first round of the 2018 Mountain West Men's Tennis Championship Thursday night in a three-hour marathon at Aztec Tennis Center.
With the victory, SDSU (6-19) avenged a tough 4-3 defeat to the Lobos on the same courts in regular-season play earlier this month and will battle No. 2 seed Fresno State in the semifinals on Friday afternoon at 3 p.m. PT.
In addition, the Scarlet and Black ended the Lobos' (15-11) season for the second year in a row after posting an identical score in the conference tournament opener in 2017.
The Aztecs foreshadowed the type of match that would unfold, engineering a stirring rally in doubles competition to grab a 1-0 lead. The evening started ominously, however, as the duo of David Hough and Arnaud Restifo were blanked by the UNM combo of Ricky Hernandez-Tong and Stepan Holis in the No. 3 position, 6-0.
Unfazed, SDSU fought back to level the round, as Raul de la Torre joined forces to dismiss the pairing of Sean Baklini and Dominic West in the No. 2 slot, 6-4. Meanwhile on court No. 1, the Aztecs' all-MW tandem of Sander Gjoels-Andersen and Rafael Gonzalez Almazan found themselves trailing by a 4-1 count against Bart Van Leijsen and Jorge Escutia before storming back to claim a 7-5 decision.
All six singles encounters were extended to three sets as the two teams traded proverbial punches. Stung by his doubles defeat, Van Leijsen stumbled out of the gates in his dual at the top of the ladder with SDSU's Ignacio Martinez, who ultimately lost steam before falling, 1-6, 6-1, 6-2.
Gonzalez Alamazan put the Aztecs momentarily back on top 2-1 after outlasting Holis in the fifth spot, 6-2, 2-6, 6-4, for his team-leading 18th win of the year. However, Lobos countered with a victory by Escutia, who upended Kirchhoff in the fourth position, 6-4, 4-6, 6-1, to knot the team scoreboard.
It was SDSU's turn to respond, and it did so in riveting fashion, as Restifo roared back to capture the final two sets in his battle with Hernandez-Tong on the No. 2 court, 5-7, 6-3, 6-2. Over at No. 6, de la Torre missed an opportunity to close out Baklini in two, but grabbed the lead in the third set and never looked back, securing the clinching point for the Aztecs by a count of 6-4, 5-7, 6-2.
With the outcome no longer in doubt, Gjoels-Andersen had his match at No. 3 suspended against West with a 6-5 lead in the third set after the players split the first two by an identical 6-2 tally.
QUOTABLE
"We knew it was going to be a battle," said SDSU head coach Gene Carswell. "It was tight the first time we played these guys when it was 4-3 and we had won the doubles point, so we knew there'd be no guarantees after winning (it) tonight. We just had to come out and play consistently (in singles). But I'm really proud of our players. There was just no stopping them."
UP NEXT
San Diego State's semifinal match vs. Fresno State on Friday will feature live stats and streaming video from the Mountain West Network, with links available on GoAztecs.com.
[6] San Diego State 4, [3] New Mexico 2
MW Championship – First Round
April 26, 2018
San Diego, Calif.
Aztec Tennis Center
Doubles
1. Sander Gjoels-Andersen/Rafael Gonzalez Almazan (SDSU) def. Bart Van Leijsen/Jorge Escutia (UNM), 7-5
2. Raul de la Torre/Jan Kirchhoff (SDSU) def. Sean Baklini/Dominic West (UNM), 6-4
3. Ricky Hernandez-Tong/Stepan Holis (UNM) def. David Hough/Arnaud Restifo (SDSU), 6-0
Order of finish: 3, 2, 1
SDSU wins doubles point
Singles
1. Bart Van Leijsen (UNM) def. Ignacio Martinez (SDSU), 1-6, 6-1, 6-2
2. Arnaud Restifo (SDSU) def. Ricky Hernandez-Tong (UNM), 5-7, 6-3, 6-2
3. Sander Gjoels-Andersen (SDSU) vs. Dominic West (UNM), 2-6, 6-2, 6-5 DNF
4. Jorge Escutia (UNM) def. Jan Kirchhoff (SDSU), 6-4, 4-6, 6-1
5. Rafael Gonzalez Alamazan (SDSU) def. Stepan Holis (UNM), 6-2, 2-6, 6-4
6. Raul de la Torre (SDSU) def. Sean Baklini (UNM), 6-4, 5-7, 6-2
Order of finish: 1, 5, 4, 2, 6*
* Match-clinching victory