SAN DIEGO – San Diego State wrapped up its weekend slate in the San Diego Spring Classic with a dramatic 4-3 victory over Memphis Sunday evening at Aztec Tennis Center.
Jan Kirchhoff supplied the clinching point with a three-set triumph at No. 3 singles to help SDSU win its second straight and move to 7-6 on the season. Meanwhile, the Tigers slip to 10-9 overall with the loss.
The Aztecs shuffled their doubles lineup and the results paid off handsomely with a sweep in two completed matches. Sander Gjoels-Andersen joined forces with Ignacio Martinez for the first time since last October and promptly pinned a 6-3 defeat on the duo of Oscar Cutting and David Stevenson in the No. 1 spot.
In addition, Rafael Gonzalez Almazan and Nicholas Mitchell emerged victorious in their first pairing of the season after knocking off Matt Story and Jeremy Taylor by a 6-3 count on court No. 3.
With the doubles point safely in tow, Kirchhoff and Fabian Roensdorf had their encounter at No. 2 suspended after forging a 5-4 lead over Jan Pallares and Patrick Sydow.
Pallares put Memphis on the board and evened the score at 1-1 after dispatching Roensdorf, 6-1, 6-1, in the No. 2 position to earn the first singles decision. However, Gonzalez Almazan quickly defeated his Tiger adversary Turner Voges at No. 6 by a 6-3, 6-2 tally, setting a pattern for the remainder of the dual, as the two sides traded proverbial punches.
Cutting got past Arnaud Restifo in the fifth position, 7-5, 6-3, before Gjoles-Andersen put SDSU back in front 3-2 after dismissing Chris Patzanovsky at the top of the ladder, 7-5, 6-4.
Memphis extended the match thanks to the efforts of Story, who outlasted Martinez in three sets in the No. 4 slot, 6-3, 1-6, 7-5.
With the team score knotted at 3-3 all eyes turned to the No. 3 court, where Kirchhoff rallied from an early to deficit to beat Taylor, 4-6, 6-4, 6-1, as his Aztec teammates erupted in jubilation.
UP NEXT
San Diego State will have little time off to savor its victory before Eastern Washington invades Aztec Tennis Center for another non-conference dual match on Tuesday, March 26, starting at 2 p.m. PT. Admission to all SDSU home tennis matches is free.
San Diego State 4, Memphis 3
March 24, 2019
San Diego, Calif.
Aztec Tennis Center
Doubles
1. Sander Gjoels-Andersen/Ignacio Martinez (SDSU) def. Oscar Cutting/David Stevenson (MEM), 6-2
2. Jan Kirchhoff/Fabian Roensdorf (SDSU) vs. Jan Pallares/Patrick Sydow (MEM), 5-4, DNF
3. Rafael Gonzalez Almazan/Nicholas Mitchell (SDSU) def. Matt Story/Jeremy Taylor (MEM), 6-3
Order of finish: 1, 3
SDSU wins doubles point
Singles
1. Sander Gjoels-Andersen (SDSU) def. Chris Patzanovsky (MEM), 7-5, 6-4
2. Jan Pallares (MEM) def. Fabian Roensdorf (SDSU), 6-1, 6-1
3. Jan Kirchhoff (SDSU) def. Jeremy Taylor (MEM), 4-6, 6-4, 6-1
4. Matt Story (MEM) def. Ignacio Martinez (SDSU), 6-3, 1-6, 7-5
5. Oscar Cutting (MEM) def. Arnaud Restifo (SDSU), 7-5, 6-3
6. Rafael Gonzalez Almazan (SDSU) def. Turner Voges (MEM), 6-3, 6-2
Order of finish: 2, 6, 5, 1, 4, 3*
* Match-clinching victory