Aztecs Blanked at New Mexico, 4-0

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – Playing its final conference road match of the season, the San Diego State men's tennis team fell to host New Mexico, 4-0, on Sunday in a Mountain West clash at McKinnon Family Tennis Stadium.
 
With the setback, the Aztecs dropped their fifth in a row and remain winless in conference play at 0-4, slipping to 3-11 on the season. On the flip side, the Lobos kept their spotless MW record intact at 4-0, improving to 6-8 overall.
 
SDSU was stymied for much of the day, mustering just one victory at No. 3 doubles where the tandem of Aaron Pollanen and Rafael Gonzalez Almazan toppled the UNM duo of Stepan Holis and Alex Maggs, 6-4.
 
With the win, the Aztecs evened the round after Johannes Seeman and Victor Castro had their five-match winning streak snapped in a 6-3 defeat to 59th-ranked Dominic West and Sergio Molina at the No. 1 position.
 
However, SDSU was thwarted in its bid to claim the early lead, as the UNM pairing of Raul Dobai and Jake Trondson edged Ignacio Martinez and Judson Blair in a tiebreaker, 7-6(3), in the second slot.
 
Stung, the Aztecs were unable to generate any momentum in singles play, dropping all three completed matches.
 
First off the court was Blair, who was upended by Nicolas Prieto in the sixth position, 6-3, 6-2, while Castro was dispatched by West at No. 2, 6-4, 6-0.
 
Over on the No. 1 court, Seeman fought valiantly in the first set of his encounter with Dobai but ultimately lost steam in a straight-set defeat, 7-6(3), 6-2.
 
With the requisite four points secured for the Lobos' team victory, the remaining three matches were abandoned. Pollanen nursed a slim 6-5 lead in the second set against Molina at No. 4 after dropping the opener, 6-3.
 
At No. 3, Martinez found himself in a tight battle during the second set against Holis, where he trailed by a 4-3 count after falling in the first by an identical 6-3 count.
 
Meanwhile on court five, Gonzalez Almazan split his first two sets against Trondson, 6-3, 2-6.
 
San Diego State returns to the friendly confines of Aztec Tennis Center next week to open a five-match homestand, starting Friday, April 16, when it entertains Fresno State in a Mountain West showdown, starting at 2 p.m. PT.