SAN DIEGO – The San Diego State men's tennis team battled the UNLV Rebels at the Aztec Tennis Center on Thursday, April 6. The Aztecs won the doubles point and two singles matches while sending two more to a third set but fell just shy in a 4-3 final.
The Scarlet and Black fall to 1-11 this season and 0-2 in conference play, while UNLV improves to 10-8 overall with a 2-1 conference record.
"We had plenty of opportunities today," Head Coach Gene Carswell said following today's action. "Unfortunately, we didn't capitalize and allowed our opponent to get back in the match. Just like any sport, when you allow a competitor a chance to get back in the match, they are going to take it."
In doubles, on the second court, Alexander Mandma and Bora Sengul faced Aaron Bailey and Dusan Rsovac. The SDSU duo coasted to a 6-2 win. On the top court, the team of Johannes Seeman and Chikaya Sato won 6-3 over Maxim Verboven and Milos Dabic. On the third court, Lenny Melzer made his dual play debut with Andre Saleh against Jackson Atherton and Anton Ornberg. The Aztecs trailed 4-3 when the team clinched the doubles point.
On the top singles court, Seeman (5-5) went up against Verboven. Coming off a win against Boise State on Sunday, Seeman fell in straight sets 6-3, 6-4.
Mandma (2-5) played on the No. 4 court and cruised to a 6-3, 6-1 victory over Milos Dabic to retake the lead at 2-1.
Playing on the No. 2 court, Sato (3-7) drew Ornberg. Sato earned his first win since January in a 6-4, 6-3 decision. It put the Aztecs one win away from a team victory with a 3-1 lead.
On the sixth court, Liam Spiers (0-1) made his dual play singles debut in a match against Thomas Navarro. Both sets were close but ended up going to the Rebel 7-6, 7-6.
Sengul (0-8) faced Bailey on the third court. He fell in the first set 6-3 but bounced back to take the second by the same score. In the third, he was bested 6-3 to even the overall score at three.
Eugenio Gonzalez Fitzmaurice (1-6) played on the No. 5 court and fell 7-6 in a tight first set. He bounced back to take the second 6-3 but dropped the third 6-4 to clinch the match for Boise State.
San Diego State is flying to Logan, Utah, to face Utah State this Saturday, April 8, at Noon MT/11 a.m. PT.
UNLV 4, San Diego State 3
Aztec Tennis Center – San Diego, Calif.
April 6, 2023
Singles Competition
1. Maxim Verboven (UNLV) def. Johannes Seeman (SDSU) 6-3, 6-4
2. Chikaya Sato (SDSU) def. Anton Ornberg (UNLV) 6-4, 6-3
3. Aaron Bailey (UNLV) def. Bora Sengul (SDSU) 6-3, 3-6, 6-3
4. Alexander Mandma (SDSU) def. Milos Dabic (UNLV) 6-3, 6-1
5. Dusan Rsovac (UNLV) def. Eugenio Gonzalez Fitzmaurice (SDSU) 7-6, 3-6, 6-4
6. Thomas Navarro (UNLV) def. Liam Spiers (SDSU) 7-6, 7-6
Doubles Competition
1. Johannes Seeman/Chikaya Sato (SDSU) def. Maxim Verboven/Milos Dabic (UNLV) 6-3
2. Alexander Mandma/Bora Sengul (SDSU) def. Aaron Bailey/Dusan Rsovac (UNLV) 6-2
3. Jackson Atherton/Anton Ornberg (UNLV) led Lenny Melzer/Andre Saleh (SDSU) 4-3
Order of finish: Doubles (2,1); Singles (1,4,2,6,3,5)