The No. 53 San Diego State men’s tennis team edged out the Fresno State University Bulldogs 4-3 this past Sunday at Sierra Racquet Club to win its second straight conference match this season.
The match started off with singles play, rather than doubles play, because of the possibility of rain in the area. The Bulldogs were the first to strike when freshman Ethan Lopez defeated SDSU freshman Jonas Meinzer in straight sets, 6-1, 6-3. Fresno State junior Sai Kartik Nakireddi also beat SDSU senior Hunter Nicholas in straight sets, 6-3, 6-4, to put them up 2-0 in the match.
The Aztecs won the next three matches to go up 3-2. Freshman Hendrik Jebens tallied the first point for SDSU with a victory against freshman John Darmstaedter, 1-6, 6-3, 6-3. No. 69 junior Thorsten Bertsch earned the second point for the Aztecs by triumphing over senior Fresno State Sam MacNeil, 6-1, 7-6.
Redshirt sophomore Freddy Gelbrich overcame losing the first set to Bulldog freshman Eric Komati and rallied to notch the third point for SDSU, 3-6, 6-3, 6-3. Unfortunately, senior Juan Florez was not able to win another set after taking the first over sophomore Nikolas Papic, 3-6, 6-4, 6-3, forcing the match to go to doubles play.
With the teams tied at 3-3, it came down to the doubles point to see who would ultimately win the match. SDSU’s No. 1 team of Bertsch and Nicholas downed the doubles team of MacNeil and freshman Alexandros Georgios Vakouftsis, 8-4.
However, the Bulldogs still put up a fight as the No. 2 team of Komati and Nakireddi outlasted Gelbrich and Jebens, 8-6, to force the No. 3 teams to duel for the deciding point of the match.
Not only did the duo of Florez and Meizner have the pressure of the outcome of the entire match on their shoulders and the fact that they were facing the same men that beat them in singles play, but it was also the first time the two took the court this season together. None of it fazed the No. 3 team of SDSU who sealed the victory for the Aztecs by downing Lopez and Papic, 8-5.
The Aztecs will remain on the road for another weekend as they travel to Las Vegas, NV, to face Brigham Young Unversity on Saturday, Feb. 15 and another Mountain West foe in University of Nevada, Las Vegas on Sunday, Feb. 16.
Photo by Kristian Carreon, Staff Photographer
