SDSU MEN'S TENNIS BLANKED BY NO. 25 OREGON 4-0

Aztecs drop third straight match to ranked opponent

Source:  goaztecs.com

Photo:  Marko-Goles Babic (left) and Milen Ianakiev posted an upset of Oregon's 42nd-ranked doubles team on Thursday.  Courtesy goaztecs.com

March 16, 2017 (San Diego) - San Diego State opened the seventh annual San Diego Spring Break Tournament on a sour note Thursday, dropping a 4-0 decision to No. 25 Oregon at Aztec Tennis Center. SDSU was blanked for the third straight match, all by top 30 opponents, falling to 5-8 on the year, while the Ducks won their fourth in a row to raise their record to 12-2 overall.

One of the few bright spots for the Aztecs on the afternoon was provided by the senior doubles tandem of Marko Goles-Babic and Milen Ianakiev, who upset Oregon’s 42nd-ranked duo of Jayson Amos and Armando Soemarno by a 6-4 tally in the No. 1 position. However, the Ducks claimed the point shortly thereafter as the pairing of Thomas Laurent and Cormac Clissold knocked off the SDSU combo of junior Santiago Cevallos and sophomore Sander Gjoels-Andersen by an identical 6-4 count at No. 2.  Earlier, the Aztec freshman tandem of Joel Popov and Rafael Gonzalez Almazan fell short to Simon Stevens and Akihiro Tanaka in the third position, 6-2.

Trailing 1-0, the Scarlet and Black was unable to counter Oregon’s strong play in singles, dropping three encounters in straight sets. Goles-Babic engaged Laurent at center court, but fell victim to the nation’s 40th-ranked player, 6-2, 6-0. Moments later, Popov was dismissed by Clissold in the fifth spot, 6-4, 6-0, while Amos pinned an identical 6-4, 6-0 defeat on Cevallos at No. 4 to secure the requisite fourth point.

Three matches were in progress when the dual was halted, including Gjoels-Andersen, who captured the first set against Tanaka, 6-3, before falling behind in the second 4-3. In his second singles appearance of the spring, sophomore Raul de la Torre trailed the Ducks’ Ty Gentry, 6-3, 2-0, while Ianakiev dropped a tough opening set to Stevens at No. 2, 7-5.

San Diego State will square off against Harvard in the second round of the San Diego Spring Break Tournament on Friday at Aztec Tennis Center, starting at 2 p.m. PT. The Crimson lost to Iowa, 4-2, in the first match on Thursday.

No. 25 Oregon 4, San Diego State 0

March 16, 2017

Aztec Tennis Center

San Diego, Calif.

Doubles

1. Marko Goles-Babic/Milen Ianakiev (SDSU) def. #42 Jayson Amos/Armando Soemarno (UO), 6-4

2. Thomas Laurent/Cormac Clissold (OSU) def. Santiago Cevallos/Sander Gjoels-Andersen (SDSU), 6-4

3. Simon Stevens/Akihiro Tanaka (OSU) def. Rafael Gonzalez Almazan/Joel Popov (SDSU), 6-2

Order of finish: 3, 1, 2

Oregon wins doubles point

Singles

1. #40 Thomas Laurent (UO) def. Marko Goles-Babic (SDSU), 6-2, 6-0

2. Simon Stevens (UO) vs. Milen Ianakiev (SDSU), 7-5, 1-0, DNF

3. Akihiro Tanaka (UO) vs. Sander Gjoels-Andersen (SDSU), 3-6, 4-3, DNF

4. Jayson Amos (UO) def. Santiago Cevallos (SDSU), 6-4, 6-0

5. Cormac Clissold (UO) def. Joel Popov (SDSU), 6-4, 6-0

6. Ty Gentry (UO) vs. Raul de la Torre (SDSU), 6-3, 2-0, DNF

Order of finish: 1, 5, 4*

* - Match-clinching victory