SDSU MEN'S TENNIS FALLS TO NO. 26 MEMPHIS

Printer-friendly versionPrinter-friendly version Share this

 

Source:  goaztecs.com

Photo:  Milen Ianakiev squared off against the 78th-ranked singles player on Saturday in the Aztecs' duel vs. Memphis.  Courtesy goaztecs.com

March 11, 2017 (Stillwater, Okla.) - The San Diego State men’s tennis opened its weekend excursion to the nation’s heartland Saturday, falling to No. 26 Memphis in a neutral-site dual match at Greenwood Tennis Center on the campus of Oklahoma State University. With the loss, the Aztecs slip to 5-6 on the season, while the Tigers raise their record to 11-3 overall.

SDSU occupied the wrong side of the scoreboard in doubles competition, with the No. 2 pairing of junior Santiago Cevallos and sophomore Sander Gjoels-Andersen suffering a 6-1 defeat at the hands of Felix Rauch and Ryan Peniston. Over on the No. 1 court, the Aztec tandem of seniors Marko Goles-Babic and Milen Ianakiev experienced a similar fate against Kai Lemke and Andrew Watson in a 6-3 setback. Meanwhile, the freshman duo of Joel Popov and Rafael Gonzalez Almazan trailed 5-2 in their No. 3 encounter with Matt Story and Jan Pallares before the round was halted.

SDSU found success elusive in singles play as well, with Memphis posting three consecutive victories to claim the dual. Cevallos came up short to Chris Patzanovsky, 6-3, 6-3, at No. 4, while Gjoels-Andersen fell victim to Lemke, 6-2, 6-4, in the third position. Moments later, Aztec freshman David Hough was dealt a straight-sets defeat by Rauch in the sixth spot, 6-4, 6-3, giving the Tigers their fourth straight triumph over SDSU in as many meetings.

Three matches were left unfinished when singles play was stopped. At No. 5, Popov lost a tiebreaker in the first set against Pallares and only trailed 3-2 in the second, while Goles-Babic found himself in a tight battle with Peniston at No. 1 with an incomplete score of 6-4, 5-4. Over on court two, Ianakiev captured the first set in a 7-6 nail-biter against Watson, who entered this week as the 78th-ranked singles player, but the match was abandoned early in the second set.

San Diego State will remain in Stillwater on Sunday for a showdown with No. 4 Oklahoma State, beginning at noon CT/10 a.m. PT.  Live stats will be available on GoAztecs.com.

Memphis 4, San Diego State 0

March 11, 2017

Greenwood Tennis Center

San Diego, Calif.

Doubles

1. Kai Lemke/Andrew Watson (MEM) def. Marko Goles-Babic/Milen Ianakiev (SDSU), 6-3

2. Felix Rauch/Ryan Peniston (MEM) def. Santiago Cevallos/Sander Gjoels-Andersen (SDSU), 6-1

3. Matt Story/Jan Pallares (MEM) vs. Rafael Gonzalez Almazan/Joel Popov (SDSU), 5-2, DNF

Order of finish: 2,1

Memphis wins doubles point

Singles

1. Ryan Peniston (MEM) vs.  Marko Goles-Babic (SDSU), 6-4, 5-4, DNF

2. #78 Andrew Watson (MEM) vs. Milen Ianakiev (SDSU), 6-7, 2-1, DNF

3. Kai Lemke (MEM) def. Sander Gjoels-Andersen (SDSU), 6-2, 6-4

4. Chris Patzanovsky (MEM) def. Santiago Cevallos (SDSU), 6-3, 6-3

5. Jan Pallares (MEM) vs. Joel Popov (SDSU), 7-6, 3-2, DNF

6. Felix Rauch (MEM) def. David Hough (SDSU), 6-4, 6-3

Order of finish: 4, 3, 6*

* - Match-clinching victory


Error message

Support community news in the public interest! As nonprofit news, we rely on donations from the public to fund our reporting -- not special interests. Please donate to sustain East County Magazine's local reporting and/or wildfire alerts at https://www.eastcountymedia.org/donate to help us keep people safe and informed across our region.