SAN DIEGO – San Diego State men’s tennis secured its first conference win on Friday, taking down UNLV at the Aztec Tennis Center. After capturing the doubles point, the Scarlet and Black picked up wins on courts two, five and six in singles competition to earn a 4-2 victory.
The Aztecs improve to 7-9 overall and 1-1 in the Mountain West while the Rebels fall to 6-1 on the season and 0-1 in the conference.
San Diego State got on the board first, taking the doubles point with wins on courts two and three. Liam Spiers and Marc Kleber defeated Thomas Navarro and Roberto Hernandez 6-1 on court two before Eugenio Gonzalez Fitzmaurice and Paul Janson clinched the point with a 6-4 win over Vitaliy Horovoy and Joel Gibson on the third court. Alexander Mandma and Denis Maijorov’s court one matchup against Illia Maksymchuk and Ilia Snitari was left unfinished with the Aztecs leading 5-4.
The Rebels responded, earning the first two wins in singles competition. Playing in the top spot, Philipp Bosse was bested 7-5, 6-1 by Snitari and Spiers fell 6-1, 6-1 to Horovoy on court four.
The two freshmen in San Diego State’s lineup secured victories to bring the Aztecs within one. Janson took down Hernandez 6-2, 6-2 on the bottom court and Maijorov took court five by a score of 6-4, 7-5 over Gibson.
Gonzalez Fitzmaurice was the clincher for the Aztecs, earning a 6-3, 6-4 win over Maksymchuk in the second spot.
"We got off on the right foot in doubles, and that was a huge step for us," said Head Coach Gene Carswell. "It was a great job by our young guys again. To get this win while still not being at full strength shows that the future is bright."
Next up, San Diego State welcomes Grand Canyon to the Aztec Tennis Center at 11 a.m. on April 3 for the team’s final non-conference match of the season.
Doubles
1. Alexander Mandma/Denis Maijorov (SDSU) vs. Illia Maksymchuk/Ilia Snitari (UNLV) DNF 5-4
2. Liam Spiers/Marc Kleber (SDSU) def. Thomas Navarro/Roberto Hernandez (UNLV) 6-1
3. Eugenio Gonzalez Fitzmaurice/Paul Janson (SDSU) def. Vitaliy Horovoy/Joel Gibson (UNLV) 6-4
Singles
1. Ilia Snitari (UNLV) def. Philipp Bosse (SDSU) 7-5, 6-1
2. Eugenio Gonzalez Fitzmaurice (SDSU) def. Illia Maksymchuk (UNLV) 6-3, 6-4
3. Thomas Navarro (UNLV) vs. Alexander Mandma (SDSU) 4-6, 6-0, 3-1
4. Vitaliy Horovoy (UNLV) def. Liam Spiers (SDSU) 6-1, 6-1
5. Denis Maijorov (SDSU) def. Joel Gibson (UNLV) 6-4, 7-5
6. Paul Janson (SDSU) def. Roberto Hernandez (UNLV) 6-2, 6-2
Order of finish: Doubles (2,3); Singles (1,4,6,5,2)