SAN DIEGO – The San Diego State men's tennis team continued its busy weekend schedule at two separate tournaments with its roster split between its own Aztec Fall Invitational and the Saint Francis Health System ITA All-American Championships in Tulsa, Oklahoma.
In singles action on SDSU home courts, Jules Auffray (Hyeres, France) earned a spot in the championship match of the State Flight after rallying for a three-set victory in the semifinals over UC Irvine's Matthew Sah, 4-6, 6-3, 6-0. With his decision, the Aztec freshman will battle San Diego's Marvin Schaber for the bracket title on Sunday, beginning at 10 a.m. PT. In the other semifinal encounter, Schaber was a 6-1, 6-1 winner over SDSU sophomore Alex Scemenanco (San Diego, Calif.).
In the Aztec Flight, David Hough (Traralgon, Australia) had his run through the main draw halted after suffering a 6-3, 6-2 setback at the hands of Arizona's Nick Lagaev in the semifinals. As a result, the Aztec senior is scheduled to face UCLA's Eric Hahn in the third-place match on Sunday at 10 a.m. Earlier, Hahn was eliminated in the other semifinal by Nico Borter of USD, 6-1, 6-3.
Over in the Warrior Flight, Daniel Traxler (Dallas, Texas) advanced to the consolation finals after outlasting Grand Canyon's David Weber in a super-tiebreaker, 6-3, 1-6, 10-5. With his victory, the SDSU freshman will square off against UCLA's Bryce Pereira on Sunday at 10 a.m. as well. Pereira also prevailed in a super-tiebreaker over Grand Canyon's Julian Mueller in the other semifinal, 3-6, 6-3, 10-3.
Earlier in doubles play, Hough and Scemanenco posted a 6-3 victory over Arizona's Connor Olsen and Hiroki Sakagawa in the quarterfinals of Flight A, but had their progress stymied after falling victim to the Loyola Marymount tandem of Austin Di Guilio and Ethan Prost by a 6-1 count in the semis.
Over in Flight B, Auffray and Traxler were upended in the semifinals by the UC Irvine duo of Ali Amiri and Aaron Bailey, 6-2, but regrouped to capture their third-place match, defeating the independent pairing of San Diego Christian's Nick Nienhaus and Pepperdine's Pawel Jankowiak by the identical 6-2 score.
Meanwhile, the Aztecs were not able to duplicate the same success at the Saint Francis Health System ITA All-American Championships, dropping all three contested matches at Michael D. Case Tennis Center.
In the round of 256, senior Rafael Gonzalez Almazan (Madrid, Spain) came up short in a 6-4, 6-3 loss to Cleveland State's Luke Phillips, while junior Aaro Pollanen (Helsinki, Finland) earned a walkover against ChunHan Tsai of Southern Miss.
However in the subsequent round, Pollanan experienced a narrow loss to Wichita State's Elio, 6-4, 6-7(8), 6-4, while junior Jan Kirchoff (Berlin, Germany, who previously received a bye, was toppled by South Carolina's Thomas Brown, 6-4, 6-1.
The Aztecs will begin consolation play in Tulsa on Sunday.
Aztec Fall Invitational
San Diego, Calif.
Aztec Tennis Center
Day Two Results (SDSU only)
State Singles Flight
Semifinals
Jules Auffray (SDSU) def. Matthew Sah (UCI), 4-6, 6-3, 6-0
Marvin Schaber (USD) def. Alex Scemanenco (SDSU), 6-1, 6-1
Aztec Singles Flight
Semifinals
Nick Lagaev (UA) def. David Hough (SDSU), 6-3, 6-3
Warrior Singles Flight
Consolation Semifinals
Daniel Traxler (SDSU) def. David Weber (GCU), 6-3, 1-6, 10-5
Doubles Flight A Consolation
Quarterfinals
David Hough/Alex Scemanenco (SDSU) def. Connor Olsen/Hiroki Sakagawa (UA), 6-3
Semifinals
Austin Di Guilio/Ethan Prost (LMU) def. David Hough/Alex Scemanenco (SDSU), 6-1
Doubles Flight B Main Draw
Semifinals
Ali Amiri/Aaron Bailey (UCI) def. Jules Auffray/Daniel Traxler (SDSU), 6-2
Third Place
Jules Auffray/Daniel Traxler (SDSU) def. Nick Nienhaus/Pawel Jankowiak (UNAT), 6-2
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Saint Francis Health System ITA All-American Chaampionships
Tulsa, Okla.
Michael D. Case Tennis Center
Pre-Qualifying Draw (SDSU results only)
Singles Round of 256
Luke Phillips (CSU) def. Rafael Gonzalez Almazan (SDSU), 6-4, 6-3
Aaro Pollanen (SDSU) def. ChunHan Tsai (USM), w/o
Singles Round of 128
Thomas Brown (SC) def. Jan Kirchhoff (SDSU), 6-4, 6-1
Elio Lago (WSU) def. Aaro Pollanen (SDSU), 6-4, 6-7(8), 6-4