SAN DIEGO – San Diego State men’s tennis welcomed UC Davis and UC Riverside to the Aztec Tennis Center for a Thursday afternoon doubleheader, which the Aztecs swept with a 4-1 victory over the Aggies and a 4-0 shutout of the Highlanders.
San Diego State improves to a 4-8 record while UC Davis falls to 5-6 and UC Riverside to 2-14.
“Today was a day of a lot of tennis, so it was really important for us to do things effectively and efficiently,” said head coach Gene Carswell. “I’m really happy with the direction our doubles play is going, which bodes well for us taking on the Pacific Coast Doubles tournament this weekend. I think we’re doing some good things on the singles side as well. There’s still plenty of things for our group to work on and plenty of areas for us to get better. I’m looking forward to continuing to get healthy, because we’re not at 100% right now. Hopefully as we continue through the spring, we’re going to keep getting healthier with the goal of peaking at the end of the season.”
It was a strong showing in doubles competition from the Aztecs, who captured the point in both matches. In the noon contest against the Aggies, Brock Anderson and Denis Maijorov earned a 6-2 win over Nadaul Cheam and Dylan Paterson on court three before William Kleege and Aleksi Lofman clinched the point with a 6-3 win in their top court matchup against Lucas Bollinger and Kurt Miller. Eugenio Gonzalez Fitzmaurice and Imran Daniel Hazli were ahead 5-4 in their unfinished match against Kaveh Taheri and Perry DiGiulio in the second spot.
To kick off singles competition, freshman Finn Willman recorded his first collegiate victory, taking court four 6-1, 6-2 over Eduardo Gonzalez. Maijorov then extended the lead for the Aztecs after taking down Miller 6-3, 6-1 in the sixth spot.
The Aggies responded with a win on court two where Taheri downed Hazli 7-5, 7-5.
Anderson clinched the first win of the day for San Diego State, defeating Cheam 6-2, 7-5 on court five.
Lofman led Bollinger 7-6, 6-7, [8-4] on the top court while Gonzalez Fitzmaurice had a 2-6, 7-5, 2-1 advantage over DiGiulio when the match was called.
The Aztecs returned to the courts to face UC Riverside later in the afternoon where they jumped out to an early lead after taking the doubles point for the second time. Kleege and Lofman earned their fourth consecutive win on the top court, taking down Andrew Lavine and Noris Nedelcovici 6-2. Lucas Ibarrondo Suarez and Lucas Mszyca bested Anderson and Maijorov 6-3 in the third spot before Gonzalez Fitzmaurice and Hazli captured the first point of the match with a 6-3 victory over Ivaylo Simeonov and Jovan Pedroza.
San Diego State went on to grab wins on the top three courts in singles competition to complete the sweep over the Highlanders. Lofman was the first to put his match away, cruising to a 6-0, 6-2 victory over Suarez on court one. Willman then posted his second win of the day, taking court three 6-2, 6-1 over Simeonov. Gonzalez Fitzmaurice was the clincher, solidifying the Aztecs’ second win with a 6-3, 6-4 victory against Lavine in the second spot.
Kleege led Pedroza 6-3, 6-4 on court six while Anderson was behind 7-6 (7-5), 3-3 against Mszyca on the fourth court and Maijorov was battling a 6-4, 6-6 deficit against Chang on court five.
Next up, the Aztecs will compete in the Pacific Coast Doubles Championships at the La Jolla Beach and Tennis Club this week. Their next dual match is on March 6 at Cal Poly.
San Diego State 4, UC Davis 1
Doubles
1. William KIeege/Aleksi Lofman (SDSU) def. Lucas Bollinger/Kurt Miller (UCD) 6-3
2. Eugenio Gonzalez Fitzmaurice/Imran Daniel Hazli (SDSU) vs. Kaveh Taheri/Perry DiGiulio (UCD) DNF 5-4
3. Brock Anderson/Denis Maijorov (SDSU) def. Nadaul Cheam/Dylan Paterson (UCD) 6-2
Singles
1. Aleksi Lofman (SDSU) vs. Lucas Bollinger (UCD) DNF 7-6, 6-6, [8-4]
2. Kaveh Taheri (UCD) def. Imran Daniel Hazli (SDSU) 7-5, 7-5
3. Eugenio Gonzalez Fitzmaurice (SDSU) vs. Perry DiGiulio (UCD) DNF 2-6, 7-5, 2-1
4. Finn Willman (SDSU) def. Eduardo Gonzalez (UCD) 6-1, 6-2
5. Brock Anderson (SDSU) def. Nadaul Cheam (UCD) 6-2, 7-5
6. Denis Maijorov (SDSU) def. Kurt Miller (UCD) 6-3, 6-1
Order of finish: Doubles: (3,1) Singles: (4,6,2,5)
San Diego State 4, UC Riverside 0
Doubles
1. William KIeege/Aleksi Lofman (SDSU) def. Andrew Lavine/Noris Nedelcovici (UCR) 6-2
2. Eugenio Gonzalez Fitzmaurice/Imran Daniel Hazli (SDSU) def. Ivaylo Simeonov/Jovan Pedroza (UCR) 6-3
3. Lucas Ibarrondo Suarez/Lucas Mszyca (UCR) def. Brock Anderson/Denis Maijorov (SDSU) 6-3
Singles
1. Aleksi Lofman (SDSU) def. Lucas Ibarrondo Suarez (UCR) 6-0, 6-2
2. Eugenio Gonzalez Fitzmaurice (SDSU) def. Andrew Lavine (UCR) 6-3, 6-4
3. Finn Willman (SDSU) def. Ivaylo Simeonov (UCR) 6-2, 6-1
4. Lucas Mszyca (UCR) vs. Brock Anderson (SDSU) DNF 7-6 (7-5), 3-3
5. Michael Chang (UCR) vs. Denis Maijorov (SDSU) DNF 6-4, 6-6
6. William Kleege (SDSU) vs. Jovan Pedroza (UCR) DNF 6-3, 5-4
Order of finish: Doubles: (1,3,2) Singles: (1,3,2)