MALIBU, Calif. – San Diego State men's tennis player Jan Kirchhoff advanced to the semifinal round of the consolation singles bracket at the ITA Southwest Regional Championships with a pair of victories on Saturday at Ralphs-Straus Tennis Center on the campus of Pepperdine University.
The Aztec sophomore opened with a 6-3, 6-0 triumph over UC Irvine's Antoine Barthe in the round of 16, before edging Loyola Marymount's Max Kaiser in a super-tiebreaker, 2-6, 6-0, 11-9, in the quarterfinals. Earlier in the day, Kaiser dispatched UC Santa Barbara's Luka Vukmanovic in a super-tiebreaker as well, 6-3, 3-6, 10-8.
With his results, Kirchhoff will square off against another UCI opponent Sasha Krasnov on Sunday, beginning at 11:30 a.m. PT. On Saturday, Krasnov eliminated SDSU junior Rafael Gonzalez Almazan by a 6-2, 6-2 count in the round of 16 before prevailing over UC Santa Barbara's Joseph Rotheram in another straight-set decision, 7-6(3), 6-4.
Should Kirchhoff emerge victorious over Krasnov, the Berlin, Germany, native will battle the winner of the other semifinal match featuring Arizona State's Tom Wright against Cal Poly's Alexander Stater, starting no earlier than 2 p.m. on Sunday.
Following Sunday's competition, San Diego State will wrap up its fall tournament schedule when it competes in the Bulldog Classic, Nov. 2-4, in Fresno, Calif.
ITA Southwest Regional Championships
Oct. 20, 2018
Ralphs-Straus Tennis Center
Malibu, Calif.
SDSU Results Only
Singles – Consolation Round of 16
Jan Kirchhoff (SDSU) def. Antoine Barthe (UCI), 6-3, 6-0
Sasha Krasnov (UCI) def. Rafael Gonzalez Almazan (SDSU), 6-2, 6-2
Singles – Consolation Quarterfinals
Jan Kirchhoff (SDSU) def. Max Kaiser (LMU), 2-6, 6-0, 11-9
Jan Kirchhoff Wins Twice at ITA Southwest Regional
