April 27, 2018
SAN DIEGO -- Sixth-seeded San Diego State came up short in its bid for a second straight upset at the Mountain West Championship, falling to No. 2 seed Fresno State, 4-0, in Friday afternoon's semifinal at Aztec Tennis Center.
The result comes less than 24 hours after SDSU defeated third-seeded New Mexico in the quarterfinal round.
The Aztecs found itself behind the proverbial eight-ball after ceding the early doubles point despite posting a victory at the top position. The all-MW duo of Sander Gjoels-Andersen and Rafael Gonzalez Almazan opened with a 6-3 triumph over the Bulldogs' No. 1 duo of Zdenek Derkas and Cem Erturk.
SDSU (6-20) was not able to sustain the momentum, however, as the pairing of Raul de la Torre and Jan Kirchhoff fell victim to Xander Veys and Cagatay Soke by a 6-3 count in the No. 2 slot, while the combo of David Hough and Arnaud Restifo suffered a 6-4 setback at the hands of Youssef Hassan and Mantas Bugailiskis on the No. 3 court.
Stung, the Aztecs attempted to the right the ship in singles play, extending two encounters to three sets, but Fresno State (19-11) sealed the match with a trio of wins before the Scarlet and Black could record a point.
First off the court was Veys, who knocked off SDSU's Ignacio Martinez by a 6-2, 6-2 tally in the No. 1 spot, while Erturk soon followed with a 6-1, 6-4 victory over Kirchhoff in the fourth position. Moments later, Jeremy Moser provided the clinching point after pinning a 6-4, 6-0 defeat on de la Torre at No. 6.
With the outcome no longer in doubt, three matches were suspended, including the battle on court two, where Restifo enjoyed a 3-0 lead in the third set over Bugailiskis, while Gonzalez Almazan was up 1-0 in the third set as well against Soke in the fifth slot.
[2] Fresno State 4, [6] San Diego State 0
Mountain West Championship -- Semifinal
April 27, 2018
Aztec Tennis Center
San Diego, Calif.
Doubles
1. Sander Gjoels Andersen/Rafael Gonzalez (SDSU) def. Zdenek Derkas/Cem Erturk (FS), 6-3
2. Xander Veys/Cagatay Soke (FS) def. Jan Kirchoff/Raul de la Torre (SDSU), 6-3
3. Youssef Hassan/Mantas Bugailiskis (FS) def. Arnaud Restifo/ David Hough (SDSU), 6-4
Order of finish: 1, 2, 3
Fresno State wins doubles point
Singles
1. Xander Veys (FS) def. Ignacio Martinez (SDSU), 6-2, 6-2
2. Mantas Bugailiskis (FS) vs. Arnaud Restifo (SDSU), 4-6, 6-0, 3-0, DNF
3. Sander Gjoels-Andersen (SDSU) vs. Zdenek Derkas (FS), 6-4, 5-4, DNF
4. Cem Erturk (FS) def. Jan Kirchoff (SDSU), 6-1, 6-4
5. Rafael Gonzalez Almazan (SDSU) vs. Cagatay Soke (FS), 4-6, 6-3, 1-0, DNF
6. Jeremy Moser (FS) def. Raul de la Torre (SDSU), 6-4, 6-0
Order of finish: 1, 4, 6*
* Match-clinching victory