San Diego State men’s tennis has struggled to secure the doubles point this season, but on Thursday afternoon the doubles matches were the momentum boost the Aztecs needed to to secure a 4-0 victory over UC Davis at the Aztec Tennis Center.
This win comes off a two game road trip where the team lost their first match against Washington and won their second match against Portland.
Today’s game started off at two in the welcoming sun after the game date was moved due to threatening weather conditions over the upcoming weekend.
“I think we learned a little something when we were up in Seattle about how we want to play our matches” head coach Gene Carswell said. “I think we carried that into today’s match.”
To start out the doubles matches, the so-far-consistent pair of senior Sander Gjoels-Andersen and junior Rafael Gonzalez Almazan lost their match on court one (3-6).
To offset the early deficit the pair of sophomores Ignacio Martinez and Jan Kirchhoff along with pair junior Fabian Roensdorf and freshman Gavin Spencer won their matches on court two (6-3) and (6-4).
“They came out and did a very good job in the doubles today,” Carswell said. “It gave us a lot of momentum going into our singles.”
The singles victories came in quick succession right after.
Gjoels-Andersen won his match in two sets on court two (6-1, 6-3). Gjoels-Andersen appeared to be focused from the start, as he was looking to avenge his doubles loss.
On court three, Martinez easily took care of UC Davis’s Nil Giraldez in two sets (6-2, 6-4).
Almost concurrently after the other two wins Gonzalez won his match on court five (6-1, 7-5) to seal the win for the Aztecs.
The rest of the matches stopped right as Gonzalez won his match, which left Roensdorf, Kirchhoff, and Junior Arnaud Restifo packing in the middle of their matches.
Right after the conclusion of the match, the Aztecs started to pack up, as they were scheduled to play later in the day.
The Aztecs are set to compete in the 130th annual Pacific Coast Doubles Championships, where they are looking for dubs.
“Great competition down at La Jolla Beach and Tennis club for the Pac 12 doubles event, one of the best events that we’ll play in the country” Carswell said.
“Great conferences coming here, people from Pac 12, Big 12, Big 10, all over the country playing for this so the competition will be fantastic” Carswell added.
The doubles tournament is a perfect opportunity for the Aztecs to work and improve on their doubles game. This could be the breakthrough the Aztecs need to have more consistent doubles for the remainder of the season.
The next match for the Aztecs after the tournament is set on March 16, when they will be hosting University of San Diego.
