NAPA, Calif. – The San Diego State men's tennis team played five matches on the first day of the Silverado Invitational at the Silverado Resort and Spa in Napa, Calif., and won them all. Juniors Bora Sengul and Andre Saleh and sophomores Mathieu Josserand and Alexander Mandma competed against players from California, Saint Mary's, and San Francisco in the event.
Luka Kalenic of San Francisco, who was defeated by Sengul last week, faced off against Mandma on Friday. The Tallinn, Estonia native, blanked Kalenic in the first set, then coasted to a 6-0, 6-2 victory.
Sengul, in a much closer match, also faced one of the Dons, defeating Nikola Kuraica 7-5, 7-6 (0).
Saleh faced off against another familiar foe, and another San Franciscan, Johan Garperped. The transfer from Nebraska, who before this semester, hadn't played a match in two years, fell in the first set but battled back to win a tiebreaker in set two, before closing it out in the third set to win 3-6, 7-5 (5), 6-2, after Eugenio Gonzalez Fitzmaurice took care of business against Garpered last week.
The lone Aztec to face a singles opponent from a school other than San Francisco was Josserand. He drew Aiden Watt of Saint Mary's and cruised to a 6-1, 6-1.
In doubles, Sengul and Mandma teamed up to face Cal's Alex Chang and John Kim. The Scarlet and Black duo were victorious in a dominant 8-2 win.
The Silverado Invitational rolls on tomorrow, Saturday, September 24.