SAN DIEGO – San Diego State men’s tennis hosted Gonzaga at the Aztec Tennis Center on Wednesday. The Aztecs earned wins on three singles courts and one doubles court, but ultimately came up short 4-3 to the Zags.
San Diego State falls to 6-6 (0-1 Mountain West) and Gonzaga improves to 8-5.
The Zags jumped out to an early lead, capturing the doubles point and picking up the first singles victory. In doubles, Eugenio Gonzalez Fitzmaurice and Philipp Bosse gave the Aztecs the advantage with a commanding 6-1 win over Tom Dunlop and Gus Krauel on court three. Gonzaga’s Jay Fairclough and Nicholas Reeves evened things up, taking court two 6-3 over Marc Kleber and Liam Spiers. Playing in the top spot, Alexander Mandma and Mathieu Josserand fell 6-2 to Giovanni Branchetti and Kai-Luca Ampaw, putting the first point on the board for the Zags.
Bosse played on the top court once again in singles play, but could not push past Branchetti, who took the court 6-2, 6-1 to give Gonzaga a 2-0 lead.
The Aztecs turned things around, responding with three straight victories. Playing on court two, Gonzalez Fitzmaurice cruised to a 6-3, 6-2 win over Ampaw. Spiers added another for the Scarlet and Black, playing in the fourth spot for the first time this season. The senior took down Dunlap by a score of 6-4, 6-2. Mandma then gave the Aztecs a 3-2 lead after defeating Reeves 7-6 (7-4), 6-3 on the third court.
The match came down to the bottom two courts, which both went to three sets. Playing on court five, Kleber lost the first set 6-0 to Fairclough. Over on court six, Denis Maijorov took his first set 6-4 over Oscar Rashed. Kleber then bounced back with a 6-3 win while Maijorov dropped his second set 6-4. Fairclough took the match over Kleber with a 6-4 third set before Rashed clinched the match for Gonzaga, taking the third by a score of 6-3.
Next up, San Diego State hosts Idaho in a 10 a.m. matchup on Friday.
Doubles
1. Giovanni Branchetti/Kai-Luca Ampaw (Gonzaga) def. Alexander Mandma/Mathieu Josserand (SDSU) 6-2
2. Jay Fairclough/Nicholas Reeves (Gonzaga) def. Marc Kleber/Liam Spiers (SDSU) 6-3
3. Eugenio Gonzalez Fitzmaurice/Philipp Bosse (SDSU) def. Tom Dunlop/Gus Krauel (Gonzaga) 6-1
Singles
1. Giovanni Branchetti (Gonzaga) def. Philipp Bosse (SDSU) 6-2, 6-1
2. Eugenio Gonzalez Fitzmaurice (SDSU) def. Kai-Luca Ampaw (Gonzaga) 6-3, 6-2
3. Alexander Mandma (SDSU) def. Reeves (Gonzaga) 7-6 (7-4), 6-3
4. Liam Spiers (SDSU) def. Tom Dunlop (Gonzaga) 6-4, 6-2
5. Jay Fairclough (Gonzaga) def. Marc Kleber (SDSU) 6-0, 3-6, 6-4
6. Oscar Rashed (Gonzaga) def. Denis Maijorov (SDSU) 4-6, 6-4, 6-3
Order of finish: Doubles (3,2,1); Singles (1,2,4,3,5,6)