SAN DIEGO – Select San Diego State men's tennis players captured six of seven singles matches on Friday to highlight the opening wave of action at the team's own Aztec Fall Invitational.
David Hough (Traralgon, Australia), Alex Scemanenco (San Diego, Calif.) and Jules Auffray (Hyeres, France) each advanced to the semifinals of their respective singles brackets, while Daniel Traxler (Dallas, Texas) split his two encounters on the courts of Aztec Tennis Center.
In the Aztec Flight, Hough was particularly impressive in his two matches, rallying from an early deficit to overtake UC Irvine's Mateusz Smolicki in three sets, 1-6, 7-6(4), 6-3, before pinning a 7-5, 6-2 defeat on UCLA's Connor Rapp in the quarterfinals. With his results, the SDSU senior is scheduled to face Arizona's Nick Lagaev in the semifinals on Saturday no earlier than 12:30 p.m. PT.
In the State Flight, Scemanenco dispatched Grand Canyon's Maxim Kirsch by a 6-4, 6-2 count before winning by default in round two. As a result, the Aztec sophomore is slated for a matchup with San Diego's Marvin Schaber in the semifinals at 12:30 p.m.
In addition, Auffray punched his ticket to the semifinals after claiming the first set by a 7-5 tally against his quarterfinal opponent Bruce Man-Son-Hing of UC Irvine, who subsequently retired with an injury. Earlier, the Aztec freshman opened with a 6-2, 6-2 conquest of UC San Diego's Fraser Leslie. He is scheduled for a Saturday showdown vs. UC Irvine's Matthew Sah at 12:30 p.m.
Over in the Warrior Flight, Traxler was not as fortunate in his first-round engagement with Pepperdine's Evan Shamlian, dropping a narrow three-set decision, 1-6, 7-6, 7-5. However, the SDSU freshman stormed back with a vengeance in consolation play, turning on the afterburners in a 6-4, 6-0 victory over UC Irvine's Ali Amiri. He is next slated to face UCLA Bryce Pereira in the consolation semis on Saturday no earlier than 1 p.m.
Earlier in doubles play, Traxler and Auffray joined forces to defeat the UCSD tandem of Leslie and Cody Duong by a 6-4 count in Flight B, setting up a semifinal clash with UCI's Amiri and Aaron Bailey on Saturday at 9 a.m.
However, Hough and Scemanenco fell short by a 6-2 score in their Flight A battle with Grand Canyon's Leo Andreolli and Can Franke. As of press time, they are expected to play Arizona's Connor Olsen and Hiroki Sakagawa in the consolation quarterfinals on Saturday at 9 a.m.
Bracket play at the Aztec Fall Invitational runs through Sunday at Aztec Tennis Center. Admission is free.
The SDSU trio of Rafael Gonzalez Almazan (Madrid, Spain), Jan Kirchhoff (Berlin, Germany) and Aaro Pollanen (Helsinki, Finland) will also begin play on Saturday in the pre-qualifying singles draw of the Saint Francis Health System ITA All-American Championships in Tulsa, Oklahoma.
Aztec Fall Invitational
San Diego, Calif.
Aztec Tennis Center
Day One Results (SDSU only)
State Singles Flight
First Round
Alex Scemanenco (SDSU) def. Maxim Kirsch (GCU), 6-4, 6-2
Jules Auffray (SDSU def. Fraser Leslie (UCSD), 6-2, 6-2
Quarterfinals
Jules Auffray (SDSU) def. Bruce Man-Song-Hing (UCI), 7-5, ret. inj.
Alex Scemanenco (SDSU) advances by default
Aztec Singles Flight
First Round
David Hough (SDSU) def. Mateusz Smolicki (UCI), 1-6, 7-6(4), 6-3
Quarterfinals
David Hough (SDSU) def. Connor Rapp (UCLA), 7-5, 6-2
Warrior Singles Flight
First Round
Evan Shamlian (PEPP) def. Daniel Traxler (SDSU), 1-6, 7-6, 7-5
Consolation
Daniel Traxler (SDSU) def. Ali Amiri (UCI), 6-4, 6-0
Doubles Flight A
Leo Andreolli/Can Franke (GCU) def. David Hough/Alex Scemanenco (SDSU), 6-2
Doubles Flight B
Jules Auffray/Daniel Traxler (SDSU) def. Cody Duong/Fraser Leslie (UCSD), 6-4
Strong Showing for Men's Tennis at Aztec Fall Invite
