The San Diego State men’s tennis team needed to be at its best to pull off an upset against No. 36 USD on Saturday.

But it wasn’t meant to be.

Junior Markus Dickhardt didn’t feel well, senior Benedikt Stronk was sore and junior Christian Groh was sick.

“I didn’t feel very good today to be honest,” Dickhardt said. “It wasn’t close to my potential. I didn’t play my best tennis, and I don’t think (Stronk) played his best tennis.”

At the end, SDSU (6-6) didn’t feel very well as a team, falling to USD 5-2 at the West Courts.

Dickhardt and Stronk – the Aztecs’ top two players – lost both their singles and doubles matches in the afternoon.

Stronk said his body felt stiff the whole week leading up to the match.

“I’m very disappointed with the loss today,” head coach Gene Carswell said. “I definitely feel it was a team we could beat today. I thought we had some opportunities. I think if we played them 10 times, we would win two of the top three positions (most of the time).”

Despite the difficult and frustrating loss, Carswell feels encouraged because SDSU has improved throughout the year at the No. 5 and No. 6 positions.

“These guys are talented,” Carswell said. “It’s a matter of molding them into players that can sustain three sets.”

The No. 6 spot again picked up the slack, as sophomore Robert Sabo defeated USD’s Jonas Mouly (6-2, 2-6, 6-3).

“The things we are doing (as a team) are going to put him in a very good position at the end of the year,” Carswell said.

Despite being sick, Groh won both his singles and his doubles matches. Carswell said he was impressed.

“(That) was something we could learn a little bit from,” Carswell said. “We aren’t always going to be 100 percent. Tennis is not a game of perfection; you aren’t going to win every point.”

Or, in the case of Saturday, many points.