SAN DIEGO – San Diego State men’s tennis welcomed Grand Canyon to the Aztec Tennis Center for a Thursday matchup, taking down the Lopes in a 4-3 thriller that was clinched on the top court.
The Aztecs improve to 8-9 overall and remain 1-1 in the Mountain West while Grand Canyon falls to 12-5.
It was a battle from the jump, with the Aztecs capturing the doubles point thanks to gritty tiebreak wins on courts one and two. Eugenio Gonzalez Fitzmaurice and Paul Janson were bested 6-4 by Andreas Loizaas and Paolo Rosati on court three, giving the Lopes an early advantage. Alexander Mandma and Denis Maijorov then took court one 7-6 (7-4) over Brice Patoux and Jonathan Da Silva before Liam Spiers and Marc Kleber clinched the point on court two, taking down Diordan Macababbad and Nikita Volonski 7-6 (7-2).
Maijorov was the first one off the court in singles play, cruising to a 6-2, 6-2 win on court five to extend the Aztecs’ lead.
The Lopes responded with three straight victories, taking courts six, two and four. Janson fell 6-3, 6-3 to Finbar McGarvey on the bottom court, Philipp Bosse came up short 6-4, 7-5 to Patoux in the second spot and Spiers was bested 1-6, 7-5, 6-4 by Rosati on court four.
Mandma captured a must-win match on court three to even the score 3-3, bouncing back from a first set loss to defeat Da Silva 6-7 (3-7), 6-3, 6-3.
The match came down to the top court matchup between Gonzalez Fitzmaurice and Volonski. The Aztec took the first set 6-2, but dropped the second in a tiebreaker, 6-7 (3-7). Despite finding himself down 4-1 in the third set, the junior rallied to a 6-4 win, clinching the second consecutive Aztec victory.
“The comeback started in doubles today,” said head coach Gene Carswell. “That definitely set the tone for this match to be a dog fight. It shows a lot of heart from those guys to fight their way back in the matches and get the doubles point. In singles, Alex and Eugenio were playing side-by-side at one and three, and they were really feeding off each other. The positive energy that was going on there was a great thing to witness and it led us to that team win.”
Next up, the Scarlet and Black return to conference play, hosting No. 42 Boise State at the Aztec Tennis Center on Sunday, beginning at noon.
Doubles
1. Alexander Mandma/Denis Maijorov (SDSU) def. Brice Patoux/Jonathan Da Silva (GCU) 7-6 (7-4)
2. Liam Spiers/Marc Kleber (SDSU) def. Diordan Macababbad/Nikita Volonski (GCU) 7-6 (7-2)
3. Andreas Loizaas/Paolo Rosati (GCU) def. Eugenio Gonzalez Fitzmaurice/Paul Janson (SDSU) 6-4
Singles
1. Eugenio Gonzalez Fitzmaurice (SDSU) def. Nikita Volonski (GCU) 6-2, 6-7 (3-7), 6-4
2. Brice Patoux (GCU) def. Philipp Bosse (SDSU) 6-4, 7-5
3. Alexander Mandma (SDSU) def. Jonathan Da Silva (GCU) 6-7 (3-7), 6-3, 6-3
4. Paolo Rosati (GCU) def. Liam Spiers (SDSU) 1-6, 7-5, 6-4
5. Denis Maijorov (SDSU) def. Andreas Loizaas (GCU) 6-2, 6-2
6. Finbar McGarvey (GCU) def. Paul Janson (SDSU) 6-3, 6-3
Order of finish: Doubles (3,1,2); Singles (5,6,2,4,3,1)