SAN LUIS OBISPO, Calif. – Despite a valiant comeback effort in singles, the San Diego State men's tennis team ended its weekend road trip on a sour note Sunday, falling to host Cal Poly by a 4-2 count at Mustang Tennis Complex.
With the setback, the Aztecs suffered their fourth straight defeat, dropping to 2-4 overall, while the Mustangs won their fourth in a row, improving to 5-1 on the season.
SDSU found itself trailing 2-0 after yielding a hotly contested doubles point as well as the first singles match, where Joe Tyler saw his personal four-match winning streak halted in a 6-0, 6-3 loss to Noah Berry at the top of the ladder.
The Aztecs dented the scoreboard moments later when Victor Castro dispatched Fernando Fonseca in straight sets in the No. 3 slot, 6-3, 6-2. However, Cal Poly kept the visitors at bay after Gary Vardanyan pinned a 6-4, 6-2 defeat on Judson Blair in the No. 6 position, giving the host school a 3-1 advantage. Nevertheless, Blair typified SDSU's mettle on this day, nearly overcoming a 5-0 deficit in the first set before running out of steam.
Likewise, Roni Rikkonen weathered some early adversity of his own to record his first victory of the spring with a three-set triumph over Hendrik Inno in the fifth spot, 1-6, 6-3, 6-4. After stumbling in the first set, the Aztec sophomore maintained his composure, helping the Scarlet and Black trim the deficit to 3-2 on the team scoreboard.
Over on the No. 2 court, Johannes Seeman found himself in a tight battle with Joe Leather, as SDSU fought to stay alive. The Aztec sophomore regrouped to capture the second set 6-3 after falling in the opener by an identical. Seeman later overcame a 5-4 deficit in the third set to force a tiebreaker, but Leather prevailed, 7-6(2), to claim the requisite fourth point and secure Cal Poly's victory.
With Sunday's outcome no longer in doubt, the No. 4 singles match pitting SDSU's Jules Auffray and Colter Smith was abandoned in a second-set tiebreaker with the scored knotted at 6-6. Previously, Smith captured a 7-6 tiebreaker in the first set.
Earlier in doubles, the Aztecs found themselves on the wrong side of the scoreboard in two completed matches. SDSU's No. 1 tandem of Castro and Tyler was dealt a 6-4 setback by Inno and Leather, while Auffray and Seeman were edged by Berry and Fonseca in the No. 3 position.
With Cal Poly having clinched the doubles point, the No. 2 match was suspended, as the Aztecs' Blair and Alexander Mandma found themselves in a 5-5 deadlock with Smith and Bastiaan Weststrate. Mandma endured a sore foot in the encounter and was later scratched in singles.
San Diego State will have nearly two weeks to prepare for a home doubleheader on Saturday, Feb. 26, when it plays host to Gonzaga and Pomona-Pitzer at Aztec Tennis Center.
Cal Poly 4, San Diego State 2
Mustang Tennis Complex—San Luis Obispo, Calif.
Feb. 13, 2022
Doubles
1. Hendrik Inno/Joseph Leather (LMU) def. Victor Castro/Joe Tyler (SDSU) 6-4
2. Judson Blair/Alexander Mandma (SDSU) vs. Colter Smith/Bastiaan Weststrate (CP) 5-5 DNF
3. Noah Berry/Fernando Fonseca (LMU) def. Jules Auffray/Johannes Seeman (SDSU) 7-5
Order of finish: 1, 3
Cal Poly wins doubles point
Singles
1. Noah Berry (CP) def. Joe Tyler (SDSU) 6-0, 6-3
2. Joseph Leather (CP) def. Johannes Seeman (SDSU) 6-3, 3-6, 7-6
3. Victor Castro (SDSU) def. Fernando Fonseca (CP) 6-3, 6-2
4. Colter Smith (CP) vs. Jules Auffray (SDSU), 6-7, 6-6 DNF
5. Roni Rikkonen (SDSU) def. Hendrik Inno (CP) 1-6, 6-3, 6-4
6. Gary Vardanyan (CP) def. Judson Blair (SDSU) 6-4, 6-2
Order of finish: 1, 3, 6, 5, 2*
*- match-clinching victory