SAN DIEGO – San Diego State wrapped up its Mountain West schedule on a high note Saturday with a thrilling 4-3 victory over UNLV to highlight Senior Day festivities at Aztec Tennis Center.
Trailing 3-1, the Aztecs captured the final three singles encounters to raise their record to 5-13 on the year and 2-5 in conference play.
In addition, SDSU defeated the Rebels (11-11, 5-2 MW) for the fifth straight match and the 12th time in the last 13 meetings between the two schools.
"This was a great team effort, and I was very proud of the way we battled back," said Aztec head coach Gene Carswell. "This was a very special day for our senior class (Aaro Pollanen, Ignacio Martinez and Rafael Gonzalez Almazan) and I'm very happy we were able to send them out in style with a conference win against a good UNLV squad."
However, the prospects for victory initially appeared dim after the Rebels claimed the early doubles point. The tandem of Gonzalez Alamazan and Pollanen were the first to experience UNLV's wrath, dropping a 6-3 decision to Alex Kobelt and Milos Dabic in the No. 3 position, while the pairing of Johannes Seeman and Victor Castro suffered an identical fate in the No. 1 spot.
With the outcome of the round no longer in doubt. Martinez and Judson Blair had their clash on the second court abandoned after forging a 5-3 lead over the Rebels' Anton Ornberg and Jackson Atherton.
In singles competition, Blair put the Scarlet and Black on the board with a 6-4, 6-0 triumph over Tom Ciszewski in the No. 6 spot; however, UNLV responded with two straight victories to build a seemingly insurmountable 3-1 advantage.
Samuelsson pinned a 6-4, 6-3 defeat on Castro in the No. 2 position, while Pollanen was upended by Ornberg in the fourth slot, 6-3, 6-3.
Stung, the Aztecs began their climb back into contention, thanks to Gonzalez Almazan, who prevailed over Alenik in a gritty match on the No. 5 court, 7-5, 7-5, while Martinez overcame an early deficit in his encounter with Dabic at No. 3, turning on the afterburners for a three-set victory, 1-6, 6-4, 6-3.
That set the stage for a dramatic finish at the top of the ladder where Seeman was locked in a tight battle with Kobelt, the reigning MW Player of the Week. Seeman outlasted his Rebel adversary in an exhausting tiebreaker, 7-6(7) before dropping the second set, 2-6. Unfazed, the SDSU freshman was able to regroup and win the third set going away, 6-3.
"With two of our four singles wins coming from upper classmen and the other two by freshmen, it seemed as though there was a symbolic passing of the torch today," Carswell noted.
San Diego State closes out its 2021 campaign next week when it plays host to UC Santa Barbara on Wednesday, April 28, before travel west down Interstate 8 for a clash at crosstown San Diego on Saturday, May 1.
Aztecs Rally Past UNLV in 4-3 Thriller
