LA JOLLA, Calif. – Chikaya Sato and Johannes Seeman of the San Diego State men's tennis team led the team with three wins on the first day of the Pacific Coast Doubles Championships to advance to the Round of 16. The nine players on the SDSU roster split up into five doubles teams that won eight of their combined twelve matches including all five Round of 128 matchups on Friday.
Fresh off Thursday's win over the nation's No. 25 ranked doubles team, Seeman and Sato teamed up once again to similar success. They played independent players Mason Hansen and Marc Isaia in the Round of 128 and won 5-3, 4-1. The duo faced another pair of independent players in the Round of 64 and won 4-2, 4-1 against Derek Miller and Warren Wood. Facing their first collegiate opponents, the pair of Aztecs trounced William Kasten and Matthew Campbell, of Boston College, to advance to the Round of 16. This marks the second consecutive season that Seeman has made the Round of 16 in this tournament, following last year's success with Victor Castro.
The first Scarlet and Black pairing to take the courts on Friday morning was Alexander Mandma and Bora Sengul. They drew UC San Diego's Joseph Teh and Diogo Tinoco in the Round of 128 and won 5-3, 4-1. They kept their momentum going in the Round of 64 when they took down independent players Scott Lippitt and Trent Miller by the score of 4-1, 4-2. They were halted in the Round of 32 when they ran into UC Santa Barbara's Kai Brady and Alexander Watanabe Eriksson, who bested the SDSU duo in the third set tiebreaker 5-1, 1-4, 7-5.
Liam Spiers and Lenny Melzer saw their first action of the spring as they took down Parker McBride and Aaron Moylan, of California Lutheran, 5-1, 1-4, 7-5 to advance to the Round of 64. They would go no further, however, as they were dropped by independent Constantinos Djakouris and Portland State Viking Sam De Vries in a hard-fought battle 5-4 (7-2), 1-4, 7-1.
Eugenio Gonzalez Fitzmaurice and Mathieu Josserand went up against independents Tare Mariga and German Ziella in the Round of 128 and cruised to a 4-1, 5-3 win. They faced tougher competition in the Round of 64, where they fell to USC's team of Bradley Frye and Peter Makk 5-3, 4-2.
Left without a teammate to partner with, Andre Saleh paired up with independent Brendan Barr. The pairing defeated UC Irvine's Bjorn Hoffmann and independent Paul Barretto 5-3, 4-2 in the Round of 128. They ran out of steam against UC Davis' Luke Bollinger and Coleton Hootman, losing a close match by the score of 5-1, 1-4, 7-5.
The Pacific Coast Doubles Championships continue tomorrow, Saturday, March 4. Seeman and Sato will take on California's Sidd Banthia and Carl Emil Overbeck at 11:30 a.m. PT with the winner advancing to the quarterfinals to face the winner of UCSB's Luka Mrsic and Phillip Jordan and independents Hudson Rivera and Chase Thompson at 2:00 p.m. PT.
Follow all the action: https://bit.ly/3IEIOeR
Pacific Coast Doubles Championships
La Jolla, Calif.
La Jolla Beach & Tennis Club
San Diego State's Day One Results
Alexander Mandma/Bora Sengul (SDSU) def. Joseph Teh/Diogo Tinoco (UCSD) 5-3, 4-1
Alexander Mandma/Bora Sengul (SDSU) def. Scott Lippitt/Trent Miller (Indep.) 4-1, 4-2
Kai Brady/Alexander Watanabe Eriksson (UCSB) def. Alexander Mandma/Bora Sengul (SDSU) 5-1, 1-4, 7-5
Liam Spiers/Lenny Melzer (SDSU) def. Parker McBride/Aaron Moylan (California Lutheran) 4-2, 1-4, 9-7
Constantinos Djakouris/Sam De Vries (Indep./Portland State) def. Liam Spiers/Lenny Melzer (SDSU) 5-4 (7-2), 1-4, 7-1
Johannes Seeman/Chikaya Sato (SDSU) def. Mason Hansen/Marc Isaia (Indep.) 5-3, 4-1
Johannes Seeman/Chikaya Sato (SDSU) def. Derek Miller/Warren Wood (Indep.) 4-2, 4-1
Johannes Seeman/Chikaya Sato (SDSU) def. William Kasten/Matthew Campbell (Boston College) 4-0, 4-1
Eugenio Gonzalez Fitzmaurice/Mathieu Josserand (SDSU) def. Tare Mariga/German Ziella (Indep.) 4-1, 5-3
Bradley Frye/Peter Makk (USC) def. Eugenio Gonzalez Fitzmaurice/Mathieu Josserand (SDSU) 5-3, 4-2
Andre Saleh/Brendan Baar (SDSU/Indep.) def. Bjorn Hoffmann/Paul Barretto (UCI/Indep.) 5-3, 4-2
Luke Bollinger/Coleton Hootman (UC Davis) def. Andre Saleh/Brendan Baar (SDSU/Indep.) 5-1, 1-4, 7-5