LA JOLLA, Calif. – San Diego State's Rafael Gonzalez Almazan and Ignacio Martinez advanced to the round of 16 at the 131st Annual Pacific Coast Doubles Championships after combining for three victories on Friday at La Jolla Beach and Tennis Club.
With their results, the Aztec duo will square off against the UC Irvine pairing of Ali Amiri and Antoine Barthe on Saturday, starting at 10:30 a.m. PT.
Gonzalez Almazan and Martinez opened with an 8-5 upset of Oklahoma State's fourth-seeded combo of Etienne Donnet and Mathieu Scaglia before dispatching Ian Habbestad and Jake Williams of Claremont-Mudd-Scripps by an 8-4 count in the second round.
Getting stronger as the day progressed, the SDSU duo then faced minimal resistance in their round of 32 match, rolling past unattached Bruce Man-Son-Hing and Tyler Pham by an 8-1 tally.
SDSU's Jules Auffray and Alex Scemanenco also posted a pair of victories on Friday, starting with an 8-1 thumping of unattached Nelson Alapi and Brett Buffington before outlasting the USC coaching brain trust of Brett Masi and Kris Kwinta, 9-7.
However, Auffray and Scemanenco had the tables turned against them in the round of 32, falling by an identical 9-7 score to UCI's Amiri and Barthe.
In addition, David Hough and Daniel Traxler joined forces to defeat James Shaheen and Ricardo del Olmo Parrado of Washington University in St. Louis in the first round, 8-2, but could not advance in the bracket after suffering an 8-5 setback to brothers Dominic Barretto and Paul Barretto of California.
Elsewhere, Jan Kirchhoff and Aaro Pollanen emerged with an 8-3 triumph in their opener against another Washington University duo in James Kellogg and Koki Takabatake before dropping an 8-5 decision to the USC connection of Colter Smith and Tanner Smith.
Rounding out Friday's action for the Scarlet and Black were Arnaud Restifo and Fabian Roensdorf, who experienced a tough 9-7 setback at the hands of Ball State's Parrish Simmons and Thibault de Negri in the first round. However, the Aztec teammates remain alive in consolation play after logging an 8-4 decision over Rodolfo Bukich and German Ziella. They will face Garrett Kurtz and Ethan Schiffman on Saturday at 10:30 a.m.
Pacific Coast Doubles Championships
La Jolla Beach and Tennis Club
La Jolla, Calif.
March 6, 2020
SDSU Results Only
Round of 128
David Hough/Daniel Traxler (SDSU) def. James Shaheen/Ricardo del Olmo Parrado (WUSTL), 8-2
Jan Kirchhoff/Aaro Pollanen (SDSU) def. James Kellogg/Koki Takabatake (WUSTL), 8-3
Ignacio Martinez/Rafael Gonzalez Almazan (SDSU) def. Etienne Donnet/Mathieu Scaglia (OSU), 8-5
Jules Auffray/Alex Scemanenco (SDSU) def. Nelson Alapi/Brett Buffington (Unattached), 8-1
Parrish Simmons/Thibault de Negri (BALL) def. Arnaud Restifo/Fabian Roensdorf (SDSU), 9-7
Round of 64
Jules Auffray/Alex Scemanenco (SDSU) def. Brett Masi/Kris Kwinta (Unattached), 9-7
Ignacio Martinez/Rafael Gonzalez Almazan (SDSU) def. Ian Habbestad/Jake Williams (CMS), 8-4
Dominic Barretto/Paul Barretto (CAL) def. David Hough/Daniel Traxler (SDSU), 8-5
Colter Smith (USC)/Tanner Smith (Unattached) def. Jan Kirchhoff (SDSU), 8-5
Round of 32
Ignacio Martinez/Rafael Gonzalez Almazan (SDSU) def. Bruce Man-Son-Hing/Tyler Pham (Unattached), 8-1
Ali Amiri/Antoine Barthe (UCI) def. Jules Auffray/Alex Scemanenco (SDSU), 9-7
Consolation Third Round
Arnaud Restifo/Fabian Roensdorf (SDSU) def. Rodolfo Bukich/German Ziella (Unattached), 8-4
Aztec Duo Advances at Pacific Coast Doubles Tourney
