Feb. 27, 2016 SAN DIEGO, Calif. -- The No. 24 Toreros men's tennis team (6-5) beat the No. 65 San Diego State Aztecs (3-5) 4-0 in front of an energetic crowd at the Skip and Cindy Hogan Tennis Center on Saturday.
"It's always an emotional match." Head Coach Ryan Keckley said of the fans' and players' energy. "It was really our first home match of the season and we had 250-plus people here today supporting our guys. It's great to have our community come out and support these great tennis players."
The No. 24 Toreros showed their strength early with No. 33 Uros Petronijevic making his presence felt in both singles and doubles. For his doubles match the senior was paired with junior Filip Vittek for the first time this season. The duo made quick work of the Aztecs' No. 1 singles pairing defeating Freddy Gelbrich and Marko Goles-Babic 6-1.
In the No. 3 spot Romain Kalaydjian and Alex Araouzos made their doubles debut with a 6-4 win against Hendrik Jebens and Sander Gjoels-Andersen. Jordan Angus and Josh Page also made their first appearance as a doubles pair however their match was abandoned with the score tied 5-5 against Santiago Cevallos and Milen Ianakiev.
The changes came as part of Keckley's plan to give the Toreros more energy after losing six consecutive doubles points.
"We needed new energy. We needed new combinations. Chemistry was a major factor in the change." Keckley said.
In singles No. 33 Petronijevic dealt No. 89 Gelbrich a swift 6-2, 6-0 defeat in the top spot. Vittek's played also carried over into singles where he controlled his match wire to wire in a 6-2, 6-2 win over Goles-Babic.
"Uros came into that match with a lot of confidence. Getting up 2-0 on a good team like San Diego State is incredibly important. I felt like we controlled the momentum the majority of the match. Uros and Filip really established themselves as the leaders of this group today."
Sophomore Alex Araouzos continues to leave his mark on the team after being inserted into the No. 6 spot last weekend. Known by his teammates as Moose, Araouzos clinched the USD victory after defeating Jonas Meinzer 6-2, 6-3.
Three matches were left unfinished after the impressive USD performance. No. 38 Angus was in a close 4-5 second set against Jebens in the No. 2 spot after the Torero took the first set 6-2. In the four spot Kalaydjian trailed Ianakiev 6-4, 4-3 and in the five spot Page was also trailing Cornelius Kolb 7-6 (5), 2-1.
USD will be back on their home court on Tuesday against the No. 30 Rice Owls. It will be the tenth consecutive ranked opponent for the Toreros. USD beat the Owl last season in a tightly contested 4-3 meeting however Rice leads the all-time series 7-6.
San Diego State University vs San Diego
Feb 27, 2016 at San Diego, CA
(Skip and Cindy Hogan Tennis Center)
#24 San Diego 4, #65 San Diego State University 0
Singles competition
1. #33 Uros Petronijevic (USD) def. #89 Freddy Gelbrich (SDSU) 6-2, 6-0
2. #38 Jordan Angus (USD) vs. Hendrik Jebens (SDSU) 6-2, 4-5, unfinished
3. Filip Vittek (USD) def. Marko Goles-Babic (SDSU) 6-2, 6-2
4. Romain Kalaydjian (USD) vs. Milen Ianakiev (SDSU) 4-6, 3-4, unfinished
5. Joshua Page (USD) vs. Cornelius Kolb (SDSU) 6-7 (5-7), 1-4, unfinished
6. Alexandros Araouzos (USD) def. Jonas Meinzer (SDSU) 6-2, 6-3
Order finished (1,3,6)
Doubles competition
- Uros Petronijevic/Filip Vittek (USD) def. Freddy Gelbrich/Marko Goles-Babic (SDSU) 6-1
- Jordan Angus/Joshua Page (USD) vs. Santiago Cevallos/Milen Ianakiev (SDSU) 5-5, unfinished
- Romain Kalaydjian/Alexandros Araouzos (USD) def. Hendrik Jebens/S. Gjoels-Andersen (SDSU) 6-4
Order finished (1,3)
