SAN DIEGO – San Diego State snapped a two-match losing streak Sunday with a 4-3 victory over San Francisco in a non-conference clash at Aztec Tennis Center.
With the win, SDSU wraps up its season-opening homestand with a 3-3 record, while the Dons (1-5) drop their fifth in a row.
For just the second time this season, the Aztecs captured the early doubles point, but it wasn't easy, as the Scarlet and Black needed to win a tiebreaker on the No. 3 court, where the tandem of Jan Kirchhoff and Ignacio Martinez outlasted the pairing of Nitzan Ricklis and Romeo Jivraj, 7-6(2).
Earlier, USF claimed the first decision, as the combo of Oz Daniel and Phuc Huynh dispatched the Aztec duo of Nicholas Mitchell and Gavin Spencer by a 6-2 score in the No. 2 position before SDSU teammates Sander Gjoels-Andersen and Rafael Gonzalez Almazan pinned a 6-3 defeat on the Dons' Paul Giraud and Ryan Marker in the No. 1 spot.
Singles competition was almost as grueling, with three of six encounters needing three sets to determine the winner.
After Fabian Roensdorf was toppled by Marker in the No. slot, 6-0, 6-3, Arnaud Restifo came through with a huge win at No. 6, where he put the brakes on a personal five-match losing skid with a straight-set triumph over Daniel, 7-5, 6-4, which put the Aztecs back in front for good.
Moments later, SDSU extended its advantage to 3-1, thanks to Gonzalez Almazan, who vanquished Huynh at No. 5, 6-3, 4-6, 6-3.
The Dons temporarily disrupted the Aztecs' momentum at No. 2, where Giraud prevailed in a nail-biter of Gjoels-Andersen, 7-6(7), 7-6(2).
However, the Aztecs stood their ground on court No. 5, as Kirchhoff provided the clinching point with a victory over Jivraj in the fourth position, 6-1, 3-6, 6-3.
With the day's outcome no longer in question, USF accounted for the final score at No. 3, where Ricklis pulled away from Martinez in the third set to win going away, 6-4, 6-7(8), 6-0.
UP NEXT
San Diego State will travel to the Evergreen State next weekend, where it will face Washington on Friday, Feb. 22, before remaining in Seattle for a neutral-site match vs. Portland on Saturday, Feb. 23.
San Diego State 4, San Francisco 3
Feb. 17, 2019
San Diego, Calif.
Aztec Tennis Center
Doubles
1. Sander Gjoels-Andersen/Rafael Gonzalez Almazan (SDSU) def. Paul Giraud/Ryan Marker (USF), 6-3
2. Oz Daniel/Phuc Huynh (USF) def. Nicholas Mitchell/Gavin Spencer (SDSU), 6-2
3. Jan Kirchhoff/Ignacio Martinez (SDSU) def. Nitzan Ricklis/Romeo Jivraj (USF), 7-6(2)
Order of finish: 2, 1, 3
SDSU wins doubles point
Singles
1. Ryan Marker (USF) def. Fabian Roensdorf (SDSU), 6-0, 6-3
2. Paul Giraud (USF) def. Sander Gjoels-Andersen (SDSU), 7-6(7), 7-6(2)
3. Nitzan Ricklis (USF) def. Ignacio Martinez (SDSU), 6-4, 6-7(8), 6-0
4. Jan Kirchhoff (SDSU) def. Romeo Jivraj (USF), 6-1, 3-6, 6-3
5. Rafael Gonzalez Almazan (SDSU) def. Phuc Huynh (USF), 6-3, 4-6, 6-3
6. Arnaud Restifo (SDSU) def. Oz Daniel (USF), 7-5, 6-4
Order of finish: 1, 6, 5, 2, 4*, 3
* Match-clinching victory