Kelly Calligan, Assistant Photo Editor

The San Diego State men’s tennis team finished what it started this weekend.

After beating Mountain West Conference opponents Utah and Air Force to begin MWC play on Saturday, SDSU beat No. 61 UNLV, 5-2, on Sunday in Las Vegas.

The Aztecs’ league record now stands at 3-0, good enough for sole possession of first place.

And SDSU couldn’t have done it without its doubles teams pulling off upsets for the third straight match.

“We play good doubles,” head coach Gene Carswell said. “We’ve got guys who can (compete at that level). So it wasn’t a big surprise. They continue to be disciplined and didn’t get away from their style of play.

“They did what they knew how to do.”

What junior Markus Dickhardt and senior Benedikt Stronk did was pair up to beat three straight tandems at No. 1 during the weekend.

“We did well,” Dickhardt said. “The lobs were pretty good (Sunday). The big win was against UNLV. Playing there is tough.”

The Aztecs’ singles players in the bottom positions helped secure the victory.

“We won two matches (in the bottom three positions),” Dickhardt said. “And if that doesn’t happen we probably don’t win the match.”

Continuing the strong play at the bottom was junior Anthony Gomez, who had his coming out party at No. 5 singles. Gomez had been struggling throughout the season, but came back in the third set to win in singles.

“If someone had a breakout performance, it was probably (Gomez),” Carswell said. “He’s had some tough matches (in the past). He used his tools very effectively to win.”

Added Gomez: “For sure (Sunday) was a big win for me. I told myself I was going to relax. I was definitely more aggressive at the net than in the past.”

Gomez feels he has the tools to continue to succeed and just needs to believe in his skills.

“I think it’s a matter of time,” Gomez said. “I’ve been beating myself more so than anything. It was more of a mental win (against UNLV).”

Meanwhile, junior Christian Groh extended his streak to seven straight singles victories.

SDSU will return home to face Pepperdine at 2 p.m. on Saturday at the Aztec Tennis Center, as the Aztecs will try to extend their current four-match winning streak.