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 Wildcat Invitational in Tucson, Ariz., and the Battle in the Bay Classic in San Francisco, Calif.
At the Wildcat Invite, where the singles brackets were named after Grand Slam professional tennis events, Nicholas Mitchell clinched a spot in the championship final of the U.S. Open draw with a come-from-behind victory over New Mexico State's Sebastian Herrera in three sets, 4-6, 6-4, 6-4.
With his result, the Aztec junior will square off against Lucas Severo of Mesa Community College for the bracket title on Sunday, starting no earlier than 9:30 a.m. Severo was a winner in the other semifinal match with a straight-set triumph over Peter Hariri of Ottawa University (Ariz.), 6-1, 7-6(7).
SDSU collected two additional wins in consolation action on Saturday at Ventana Canyon Golf and Racquet Club. In the Australian Open bracket, sophomore Jan Kirchhoff captured the South Compass draw championship after dispatching Boise State's Wyatt DeMulling, 6-3, 7-5, while junior Arnaud Restifo took home the North Compass draw consolation crown with a victory over Northern Arizona's Ruben Montano in a grueling super-tiebreaker, 4-6, 6-4, 17-15.
Conversely, junior Rafael Gonzalez Almazan fell short in his bid for North Compass draw title in the French Open bracket, dropping a 6-3, 6-3 decision to Nicholas Prieto of New Mexico.
In doubles competition, where the brackets earned the monikers of host Arizona's two mascots, Gonzalez Almazan and Kirchhoff split two encounters on the consolation side of the Wilber Wildcat draw, posting a 6-3 conquest of Brighan Young's David Ball and Vinicius Nogueira, before falling in a tiebreaker to Jack Heslin and Simon Stenlund of Boise State in the semifinals, 7-6(5).
In the semifinals of Wilma Wildcat draw, the Aztec pairing of Restifo and Mitchell had their title hopes cut short with a narrow 7-5 setback to another Boise State duo in Ryland McDermott and Simon Arca Costas.
San Diego State came up empty in three matches at the University of San Francisco's Battle in the Bay on Saturday. The doubles tandem of senior Sander Gjoels-Andersen and sophomore Ignacio Martinez fell victim to the Wake Forest duo of Alan Gadjiev and Morgan Dill by an 8-5 count in the round of 16.
Similarly, Martinez and Gjoels-Andersen were unable to rebound in the round of 16 singles consolation. Martinez was ousted by Jackson Cobb of Texas Tech, 6-1, 7-5, while Gjoels-Andersen was toppled by Sander Jong of TCU in a super-tiebreaker, 2-6, 6-1, 1-0(3).
Wildcat Invitational
Ventana Canyon Golf and Racquet Club
Tucson, Ariz.
SDSU Results Only
Australian Open Singles Draw
South Compass Bracket
Championship Final
Jan Kirchhoff (SDSU) def. Wyatt DeMulling (BSU), 6-3, 7-5
North Compass Bracket
Consolation Final
Arnaud Restifo (SDSU) def. Ruben Montano (NAU), 4-6, 6-4, 17-15
French Open Singles Draw
South Compass Bracket
Nicholas Prieto (UNM) def. Rafael Gonzalez Almazan (SDSU), 6-3, 6-3
US Open Draw
Singles – Semifinals
Nicholas Mitchell (SDSU) def. Sebastian Herrera (NMSU), 4-6, 6-4, 6-4
Wilber Wildcat Doubles Draw
Consolation Quarterfinals
Rafael Gonzalez Almazan /Jan Kirchhoff (SDSU) def. David Ball / Vinicius Nogueira (BYU), 6-3
Consolation Semifinals
Jack Heslin / Simon Stenlund (BSU) def. Rafael Gonzalez Almazan /Jan Kirchhoff (SDSU), 7-6(5)
Wilma Wildcat Doubles Draw
Semifinals
Ryland McDermott / Simon Arca Costas (BSU) def. Arnaud Restifo / Nicholas Mitchell (SDSU), 7-5
Battle in the Bay Classic
California Tennis Club
San Francisco, Calif.
SDSU Results Only
Doubles – Main Draw
Alan Gadjiev / Morgan Dill (WFU) def. Sander Gjoels-Andersen / Ignacio Martinez (SDSU), 8-5
Singles – Consolation Draw
Sander Jong (TCU) def. Sander Gjoels-Andersen (SDSU), 2-6, 6-1, 1-0(3)
Jackson Cobb (Texas Tech) def. Ignacio Martinez (SDSU), 6-1, 7-5