SAN DIEGO – Imran Daniel Hazli, Lars Johann and Brock Anderson led San Diego State men’s tennis in its home opener vs. Loyola Marymount on Sunday, but the Aztecs were unable to outlast the Lions, falling in a 4-3 thriller. After dropping the doubles point, the Aztecs rallied from behind in singles, with the match coming down to the sixth court, which was decided in a tiebreaker.
In doubles competition, LMU took the top court first, where William Kleege and Denis Maijrov came up short 6-2 against Cesar Cruz and Emil Kindhult. Aleksi Lofman and Brock Anderson responded with a win on court three, taking down Darius Tamaddon and Cyrus Ahmad 7-5. Court two was neck-and-neck, but Max Wuelfing and Alex Padro Parra ultimately clinched the point for the Lions with a 7-6 (7-4) win over Lars Johann and Imran Daniel Hazli.
Despite playing without their No. 3, Finn Willman, who was scratched due to illness, San Diego State quickly evened the score, with Anderson taking the first point in singles competition after a 6-2, 6-0 victory over Parra on court five. LMU then regained the lead when Wuelfing defeated Lofman 6-1, 6-4 in the second spot.
Hazli brought the score to 2-2 with a win on the top court. After the Aztec captured a tight first set by a score of 7-6 (8-6), Cruz retired due to injury.
Playing in the fourth spot, Eugenio Gonzalez Fitzmaurice was bested 6-4, 6-4 by Ahmad.
Johann put another point on the board for San Diego State, earning a 6-7, 6-4, 6-2 victory over Kindhult on the third court.
The match came down to a battle on court six between Kuba Hrynkiewicz and Maijorov. The Lion took the first set 6-3, but the Aztec responded with a 6-2 win in the second. The final set went to a tiebreaker, with Maijorov coming up just short 7-6 (10-8) to Hrynkiewicz.
“It was a tough loss today,” said Head Coach Gene Carswell. “We missed an opportunity to pull off a big comeback after being down early in doubles play. We found our way across the finish line with a 7-5 win at the third doubles spot, but came up short on courts one and two. Two tiebreakers ended up being the difference today. We need to compete better across the board. Our guys know what needs to be done, and we will grow from this experience.”
The Aztecs move to 1-5 on the season and will return to action on Feb. 6 to take on Arkansas on the road, followed by a Feb. 8 matchup against Tulsa.