LAS VEGAS – The San Diego State doubles tandem of Victor Castro and Alexander Mändma posted two impressive victories on Saturday to highlight the second wave of action for the Aztec men's tennis team at the Larry Easley Memorial Classic at Fertitta Tennis Center on the campus of UNLV.
In the quarterfinal round, Castro and Mändma, who received the No. 4 seed for the weekend, defeated UNLV's Christopher Bulus and Milos Dabic in a 9-7 thriller before knocking off the tournament's No. 1-seeded pairing of Hendrick Inno and Colter Smith from Cal Poly in the semifinals by an 8-6 count.
With their decisions, Castro and Mändma will battle Gonzaga's Matt Hollingworth and Sasha Trkulja for the doubles crown on Sunday. Hollingworth and Trkulja punched their ticket to the finals after posting an identical 8-6 triumph over Grand Canyon's Jakub Novak and Mariano Argote in their semifinal matchup.
In a reshuffled Flight 1 consolation singles bracket, Castro rallied past Gonzaga's Oliver Andersson in a hard-fought super-tiebreaker, 3-6, 6-3, 12-10 . However, Mändma was not as fortune in his encounter with Cal Poly's Gary Vardanyan, who outlasted the Aztec freshman in another super-tiebreaker, 7-5, 2-6, 10-4.
Alex Scemanenco, who posted two wins on Friday in the Flight 2 main draw, captured the first set in his semifinal battle with Gonzaga's Pablo Gomez-Galvan by a 6-3 tally. However, the SDSU junior retired from the match with an ailing shoulder after trailing just 3-2 in the second set.
The Aztecs' remaining player, Judson Blair collected his second victory of the weekend with a 6-0, 6-2 conquest of UNLV's Jack Hambrook in an extra singles match.
Earlier, Blair teamed with Scemanenco to register an 8-3 triumph over the mixed pairing of Cal Poly's Alexis Delisle and Grand Canyon's Grzegorz Rudnicki in an added doubles clash.
The Easley Memorial Classic concludes on Sunday with doubles and singles finals, starting at 10 a.m. PT.
2021 Larry Easley Memorial Classic
Day Two Results (SDSU only)
Fertitta Tennis Complex, Las Vegas, Nev.
Flight One Singles – Consolation Bracket
Victor Castro (SDSU) def. Oliver Andersson (Gonzaga), 3-6, 6-3, 12-10
Gary Vardanyan (Cal Poly) def. Alexander Mändma (SDSU), 7-5, 2-6, 10-4
Flight Two Singles – Semifinal Round
Pablo Gomez-Galvan (Gonzaga) def. Alex Scemanenco (SDSU), 3-6, 3-2, retired inj.
Flight Two Singles – Consolation Bracket
Judson Blair (SDSU) def. Jack Hambrook (UNLV), 6-0, 6-2
Quarterfinal Round Doubles
(4) Alexander Mändma/Victor Castro (SDSU) def. Christopher Bulus/Milos Dabic (UNLV), 9-7
Semifinal Round Doubles
(4) Alexander Mändma/Victor Castro (SDSU) def. (1) Hendrick Inno/Colter Smith (Cal Poly), 8-6
Extra Doubles Match
Judson Blair/Alex Scemanenco (SDSU) def. Alexis Delisle (Cal Poly)/Grzegorz Rudnicki (Grand Canyon), 8-3