SAN DIEGO – The San Diego State men's tennis team recorded its first victory of the 2020 campaign in convincing fashion Saturday, stepping off campus to defeat UC San Diego, 6-1, in a non-conference dual match at The Santaluz Club.
The Aztecs captured the early doubles point and took five of six singles encounters in straight sets to even their record at 1-1 on the young season.
Joining forces for the second straight match, the tandem of Rafael Gonzalez Almazan and Jan Kirchhoff set the tone for the day with a 6-2 conquest of Zach Ermert and Marc Isaia in the No. 1 position, while the newly minted duo of David Hough and Ignacio Martinez soon followed with a 6-4 triumph over Sahm Irvine and Phillip Lan in the third spot, which gave the Scarlet and Black a 1-0 lead on the team scoreboard.
Consequently, the match on the No. 2 court was halted, with the Aztec pairing of Arnaud Restifo and Fabian Roensdorf maintaining 5-4 lead over Cody Duong and Neil Tengbumroong.
SDSU kept the momentum rolling in singles play, claiming the first three decisions to secure the requisite four points for the team victory.
Hough snapped a personal four-match slide decisively with a 6-2, 6-0 pasting of Isaia in the No. 3 slot, while Roensdorf put the brakes on a three-match skid of his own, breezing past Irvine at the top of the ladder, 6-1, 6-1. Shortly thereafter, Gonzalez Almazan took care of business in his first singles match of the calendar year, toppling Lan by a 6-3, 6-2 count at No. 6.
The Tritons avoided the sweep after Tengbumroong got past Martinez, 6-3, 6-2, in the fourth position; however, the Aztecs tacked on two more wins to account for the final margin.
Restifo emerged triumphant with a 6-4, 6-1 defeat of Duong at No. 3, while Kirchhoff survived some early difficulty against at No. 2 before dispatching Ermert, 7-6(4), 6-1, as both SDSU competitors broke their respective three-match losing streaks as well.
San Diego State will be back in action on Saturday, Jan. 25, when it treks up the freeway to battle 11th-ranked UCLA as part of the ITA Kickoff Weekend, starting at noon PT. The Aztecs will then remain at Los Angeles Tennis Center to face either UCF or San Diego on Sunday, Jan. 26.
San Diego State 6, UC San Diego 1
Jan. 18, 2020
San Diego, Calif.
The Santaluz Club
Doubles
1. Rafael Gonzalez Almazan/Jan Kirchhoff (SDSU) def. Zach Ermert/Marc Isaia (UCSD), 6-2
2. Arnaud Restifo/Fabian Roensdorf (SDSU) vs. Cody Duong/Neil Tengbumroong (UCSD), 5-4 DNF
3. David Hough/Ignacio Martinez (SDSU) def. Sahm Irvine/Phillip Lan (UCSD), 6-4
Order of finish: 1, 3
SDSU wins doubles point
Singles
1. Fabian Roensdorf (SDSU) def. Sahm Irvine (UCSD), 6-1, 6-1
2. Jan Kirchhoff (SDSU) def. Zach Ermert (UCSD), 7-6(4), 6-1
3. David Hough (SDSU) def. Marc Isaia (UCSD), 6-2, 6-0
4. Neil Tengbumroong (UCSD) def. Ignacio Martinez (SDSU), 6-2, 6-4
5. Arnaud Restifo (SDSU) def. Cody Duong (UCSD), 6-4, 6-1
6. Rafael Gonzalez Almazan (SDSU) def. Phillip Lan (UCSD), 6-3, 6-2
Order of finish: 3, 1, 6*, 4, 5, 2
* Match-clinching victory