SAN DIEGO – The San Diego State men's tennis team played its first match on The Mesa this season against San Francisco on Saturday. The Aztecs won the doubles point and the first four singles matches to clinch their first win of the season.
The Scarlet and Black improve to 1-1 with the win while San Francisco drops to 1-2 on the year. SDSU remains undefeated all time against the Dons at 4-0.
"It was a good team win today for our Aztecs," head coach Gene Carswell said after the match. "We battled back at number two, which made it possible to earn a hard-fought doubles point. We got two key wins at the top of the lineup, which were instrumental in setting up Andre Saleh at number six to clinch the match 4-0."
SDSU started out by earning the doubles point, taking two of the three matches. In the top slot, the Aztecs were represented by Johannes Seeman and Eugenio Gonzalez Fitzmaurice. The duo, who are the reigning Mountain West Player and Freshman of the Week, respectively, won 6-4 against Nikola Kuraica and Davide Cortimiglia. Bora Sengul and Alexander Mandma earned a tight 7-5 victory over Johan Garpered and Moritz Hoffmann on the second court to clinch the doubles point. Playing in the No. 3 spot, Chikaya Sato and Mathieu Josserand fell 6-3 to Luka Kalenic and Stevie Gould.
With the doubles point secured, San Diego State put the hammer down, winning the first four singles matches.
In the No. 2 spot, Sato bounced back from a loss against Arkansas by beating Cortimiglia in straight sets 6-2, 6-2 for his first dual win with San Diego State. After sweeping his season opening match, Seeman, the top player in the Aztec lineup, remained undefeated, with another straight set win 6-2, 6-4, over Gould.
Playing in the No. 6 spot, Saleh earned the clinching point for SDSU in his first action of the spring campaign. He swept Kalenic with a consistent 6-3, 6-3 performance. On the fourth court, Mandma made it four straight for the Scarlet and Black with its fourth straight sets win of the day, topping Garpered 6-3, 6-4.
With the victory clinched, the Aztecs dropped a pair of tight singles matches. At the No. 5 spot in the lineup, Gonzalez Fitzmaurice lost the first set 6-4, claimed the second by the same score to force a deciding third set but could not complete the comeback, falling 10-6.
Finally, Sengul and Hoffmann were evenly matched on the third court. Sengul fought his way to a 7-6 (5) first set victory. He was bested 7-5 in the second. The final set was a back-and-forth affair with Sengul running out of steam and was bested 13-11.
San Diego State will look to build on today's win in their next match on Saturday, Feb. 11, against Santa Clara at the Aztec Tennis Center.
San Diego State 5, San Francisco 2
Aztec Tennis Center – San Diego, Calif.
January 21, 2023
Singles Competition
1. Johannes Seeman (SDSU) def. Stevie Gould (USF) 6-2, 6-4
2. Chikaya Sato (SDSU) def. Davide Cortimiglia (USF) 6-2, 6-2
3. Moritz Hoffmann (USF) def. Bora Sengul (SDSU) 6-7 (5), 7-5, 13-11
4. Alexander Mandma (SDSU) def. Johan Garpered (USF) 6-3, 6-4
5. Nikola Kuraica (USF) def. Eugenio Gonzalez Fitzmaurice (SDSU) 6-4, 4-6, 10-6
6. Andre Saleh (SDSU) def. Luka Kalenic (USF) 6-3, 6-3
Doubles Competition
1. Johannes Seeman/Eugenio Gonzalez Fitzmaurice (SDSU) def. Nikola Kuraica/Davide Cortimiglia (USF) 6-4
2. Bora Sengul/Alexander Mandma (SDSU) def. Johan Garpered/Moritz Hoffmann (USF) 7-5
3. Luka Kalenic/Stevie Gould (USF) def. Chikaya Sato/Mathieu Josserand (SDSU) 6-3
Order of finish: Doubles (3,1,2); Singles (2,1,6,4,5,3)