A five-game winning streak came to an end as San Diego State (7-2) was beaten by Loyola Marymount (5-3), losing 4-3 at the Aztec tennis court.
It was an intense battle, beginning with the Lions taking the lead in doubles.
The match started off with Chickaya Sato and Johanesse Seeman on court one, besting their opponents Sebastian Nottaft and Authur Pantino, 6-4.
On court two, the pairing of Alexander Mandma and Bora Sengul won the first three sets but fell short of their opponents in a surprising comeback, ultimately losing 6-4.
Similarly, on court three, Eugine Gonzalez Fitzmaurice and Andre Seleh matched up against Yasmine Smiej and Max Wuefling. They fought hard but could not secure the win over the Lions, ending the match 6-4.
In singles, Seeman faced Smiej on court one. With a near-perfect performance, he put SDSU on the board with a 6-1, 6-0 victory.
On court four, Gonzalez Fitzmaurice rattled his opponent, Ranavio, in the first set, gaining a 6-3 victory, and then closed him out in the second set 6-4.
On court five, Madma matched up against Wuelfing and earned San Diego State’s third point, winning straight sets 6-4 and 6-2.
Sengul battled Pantino on the second court, where he competed for the Aztecs’ fourth point. He fought hard but was ultimately overcome by the Lions, losing both sets 6-4.
At this point in the match, San Diego State was up 3-2, and they needed one more victory in singles to take the match.
On court six, Liam Spiers went up against Alex Pardo Parra in a vigorous first set, winning 7-6 in a tiebreaker. He could not duplicate this victory in the next two, losing both 6 and 1.
The last match-up of the night was Sato vs Nottaft on court three, where things heated up. After being down 4-0 at the start of the first set, Sato overcame and secured a 6-4 victory. However, Nattaft came back fighting and won with the same score in the second set.
In their final matchup, Sato started strong, winning the first three games. However, in a surprising turnaround, the Loyola Marymount tennis player came back to take a 4-3 lead. Sato pulled ahead and tied things up in the following few sets, leaving the score at 5-5, but was ultimately beaten in the next two games, where Nattaft left with a 7-5 win.
Nattaft’s point put the Lions ahead 4-3, and the Lions left with the victory.
The Aztecs’ next match is in La Jolla, California, where they will play in the Pacific Coast Doubles this weekend, March 1-3.
