Courtesy of San Diego State Athletics –
LAS VEGAS – The San Diego State men’s tennis team continued play in the Mountain West Championships on Thursday with the Semifinals. The fourth-seeded Aztecs faced top-seeded Utah State, who had a bye in the First Round, at Darling Tennis Center in Las Vegas. SDSU won the doubles points but lost the first three singles matches as it fell behind 3-1. San Diego State did not look back from there, winning the last three singles matches for a 4-3 win. The Aztecs advance to the Championship match and get revenge on the No. 63-ranked Aggies for last week’s 4-0 defeat.
The Scarlet and Black improve to 16-6 on the year and send the 18-5 Aggies packing.
“It was a great college tennis match to be a part of this evening,” said Head Coach Gene Carswell following the big win. “We have a lot of respect for Utah State. They are well coached and their players have so much fight in them. Robin Parts did what he’s done all year long for us. It was great for him to earn the clinching point and advance us into the championship match.”
In doubles, Chikaya Sato and Bora Sengul (5-3) faced off against Mohammad Alkotop and David Martirosian on the third court. The Aztec pair struggled to get much going in a 6-1 defeat. Robin Parts and Alexander Mandma (9-6) played on the second court and faced Sergi Mico Fenollar and Bodin Zarkovic. The Aztecs earned a 6-4 win. Eugenio Gonzalez Fitzmaurice and Johannes Seeman (9-2) competed on the top court against Stijn Paardekooper and Nuno Pinheiro for the doubles point. The Aztec duo came out on top 6-4 to clinch the doubles point.
In singles, All-Mountain West honoree Sengul (7-7) played Paardekooper on court No. 2. Sengul fell in straight sets 6-0, 6-2.
Another All-Mountain West selection, Seeman (5-14) faced Zarkovic on the top court. After falling 6-3 in the first set, Seeman battled in the second set and forced a tiebreaker but came up short 7-6 (7-5).
Gonzalez Fitzmaurice (11-6) battled Mico Fenollar on the third court. The first set went to a tiebreaker, but it was the Aggie who emerged victorious 7-6 (7-4). Mico Fenollar also won the second set 6-3 as Utah State extended their lead to 3-1 and put the Aztecs on the brink of defeat.
The Scarlet and Black, however, did not give up so easily.
In his match, Sato (9-11) went up against Alkotop on court No. 4. Sato quickly won the first set 6-2 but dropped the second by the same score. In the deciding third set, the Aztec went all out and shut out his opponent 6-0 to keep SDSU alive.
Mandma (12-4) played on court No. 6 against Philipp Rein. Mandma came out on top in a pair of close sets, winning 7-5, 6-4 to even the score at three.
The deciding match happened on the fifth court, where Parts (16-0) faced Pinheiro. After Parts fell in the first set tiebreaker 7-6 (7-4), things looked grim for SDSU. He came back with a vengeance, winning 6-4, 6-2 in the ensuing sets to complete the Aztec comeback and move on to the Championship match.
Fourth-seeded San Diego State will face second-seeded No. 57 Boise State in the Championship at 5 p.m. on Friday evening. The Aztecs fell 4-3 to the Broncos earlier this season. SDSU is 3-5 in the Championship match all-time.
[4] San Diego State 4, [1] No. 63 Utah State 3
Darling Tennis Center – Las Vegas, Nev.
April 25, 2024
Singles Competition
1. Bodin Zarkovic (USU) def. Johannes Seeman (SDSU) 6-3, 7-6 (7-5)
2. Stijn Paardekooper (USU) def. Bora Sengul (SDSU) 6-0, 6-2
3. Sergi Mico Fenollar (USU) def. Eugenio Gonzalez Fitzmaurice (SDSU) 7-6 (7-4), 6-3
4. Chikaya Sato (SDSU) def. Mohammad Alkotop (USU) 6-2, 2-6, 6-0
5. Robin Parts (SDSU) def. Nuno Pinheiro (USU) 6-7 (4-7), 6-4, 6-2
6. Alexander Mandma (SDSU) def. Philipp Rein (USU) 7-5, 6-4
Doubles Competition
1. Johannes Seeman/Eugenio Gonzalez Fitzmaurice (SDSU) def. Stijn Paardekooper (USU) 6-4
2. Robin Parts/Alexander Mandma (SDSU) def. Sergi Mico Fenollar/Bodin Zarkovic (USU) 6-4
3. Mohammad Alkotop/David Martirosian (USU) def. Bora Sengul/Chikaya Sato (SDSU) 6-1
Order of finish: Doubles (3,2,1); Singles (2,1,3,4,6,5)
