SAN DIEGO – San Diego State men’s tennis fell in a 4-3 heartbreaker against No. 47 Harvard at the Hogan Tennis Center on Tuesday. The Aztecs captured the doubles point as well as victories on courts two and three, but it wasn’t enough to hold off the 47th-ranked Crimson.
The Aztecs fall to 6-9 on the season while Harvard improves to 10-6.
San Diego State secured the doubles point with wins on the top two courts. Eugenio Gonzalez Fitzmaurice and Imran Daniel Hazli took down Rohan Murali and Kolos Kincses 6-1 in the second spot before Aleksi Lofman and William Kleege clinched the point with a 6-3 win over Nathan Blokhin and Benjamin Privara on court one. Lars Johann and Brock Anderson trailed 4-3 against Masato Perera and James MacDonald in the third spot.
Then Aztecs dropped the first three matches of singles competition. Anderson fell 6-1, 6-2 to Mitchell Lee on court six while Finn Willman came up short 6-3, 6-1 to Perera and Johann was tripped up 7-5, 6-3 by Nathan Blokhin.
Gonzalez Fitzmaurice put the second point on the board for the Scarlet and Black, taking court three 6-4, 4-6, 6-3 over Melchior Delloye. Hazli notched the team’s third point, taking down Privara 4-6, 6-2, 7-5 on court two.
The match came down to the top court. After falling to Murali 7-6 (8-6) in the first set, Lofman took the second set 7-5, but ultimately came up short 6-3, giving Harvard a 4-3 victory.
Next up, the Aztecs kick off conference play as they host Air Force on Sunday at noon.
Doubles
1. Aleksi Lofman/William Kleege (SDSU) def. Nathan Blokhin/Benjamin Privara (Harvard) 6-3
2. Eugenio Gonzalez Fitzmaurice/Imran Daniel Hazli (SDSU) def. Rohan Murali/Kolos Kincses (Harvard) 6-1
3. Masato Perera/James MacDonald (Harvard) vs. Lars Johann/Brock Anderson (SDSU) DNF 4-3
Singles
1. Rohan Murali (Harvard) def. Aleksi Lofman (SDSU) 7-6 (8-6), 5-7, 6-3
2. Imran Daniel Hazli (SDSU) def. Benjamin Privara (Harvard) 4-6, 6-2, 7-5
3. Eugenio Gonzalez Fitzmaurice (SDSU) def. Melchior Delloye (Harvard) 6-4, 4-6, 6-3
4. Nathan Blokhin (Harvard) def. Lars Johann (SDSU) 7-5, 6-3
5. Masato Perera (Harvard) def. Finn Willman (SDSU) 6-3, 6-1
6. Mitchell Lee (Harvard) def. Brock Anderson (SDSU) 6-1, 6-2
Order of Finish: Doubles (2,1); Singles (6,5,4,3,2,1)