April 25, 2008

FORT WORTH, Texas - The sixth-seeded San Diego State men's tennis team was thwarted in its bid for a second straight upset on Friday as No. 2 seed New Mexico handed the Aztecs a 4-0 defeat in the semifinals of the Mountain West Conference Championships at the Bayard H. Friedman Tennis Center on the campus of TCU. SDSU (13-12) yielded the doubles point for the second straight day, but unlike Thursday's comeback victory over Utah, the Scarlet and Black was unable to dent the scoreboard in singles play as the Lobos (20-7) captured the first three matches to clinch the win.

The Aztecs were forced to play catch-up early on in doubles competition after Danny Heidecker and Tim Schulz van Endert suffered an 8-2 setback against the brotherly tandem of Chris Parkes and Johnny Parkes at the No. 2 position. The same fate would soon befall Bartosz Golas and Juan Gomez on the No. 1 court as the SDSU duo dropped an 8-4 decision to Max Jones and Kamil Pajkowski, giving New Mexico a 1-0 lead. With the point secured, the match at No. 3 was halted with the Aztecs' Achim Ceban and Andre Feliz trailing, 7-6, to Graeme Kassautzki and Joe Wood.

As singles action unfolded, SDSU tried to muster up a rally for the second day in a row. However, the Lobos reeled off three straight victories to dowse the Scarlet and Black's title hopes. First off the court was Matan Shitrit, who unable to solve Johnny Parkes in a 6-1, 6-1 defeat at the No. 2 position, while Heidecker had his eight-match winning streak snapped after falling to Chris Parkes, 6-3, 6-3, in the fifth spot.

The Aztecs had their chances in three other encounters as Ceban forged a 6-4, 5-4 lead over Kassautzki at No. 3, while Feliz went out in front by a 6-0, 6-5 margin against Pajkowski in the sixth slot. Gomez also found himself in a tight battle on the No. 4 court where Miles Bugby held a 2-1 advantage over the SDSU sophomore early in the third set. All three contests were abandoned, however, after Golas succumbed to Jones at the top of the ladder, 6-3, 7-5, providing New Mexico with the fourth and deciding point.

San Diego State, ranked 60th in the latest ITA poll, will await word of a possible at-large selection to the NCAA tournament when the 64-team field is announced on Tuesday, April 29.

(2) NEW MEXICO 4, (6) SAN DIEGO STATE 0
MWC Semifinals
Bayard H. Friedman Tennis Center
Fort Worth, Texas

Doubles
1. Max Jones / Kamil Pajkowski (NM) def. Bartosz Golas / Juan Gomez (SDSU), 8-4
2. Chris Parkes / Johnny Parkes (NM) def. Danny Heidecker / Tim Schulz van Endert (SDSU), 8-2
3. Graeme Kassautzki / Joe Wood (NM) vs. Achim Ceban / Andre Feliz (SDSU), 7-6 DNF
New Mexico wins doubles point

Singles
1. #69 Max Jones (NM) def. Bartosz Golas (SDSU), 6-3, 7-5
2. Johnny Parkes (NM) def. Matan Shitrit (SDSU), 6-1, 6-1
3. Achim Ceban (SDSU) vs. Graeme Kassautzki (NM), 6-4, 5-4 DNF
4. Miles Bugby (NM) vs. Juan Gomez (SDSU), 6-2, 4-6, 2-1 DNF
5. Chris Parkes (NM) def. Danny Heidecker (SDSU), 6-3, 6-3
6. Andre Feliz (SDSU) vs. Kamil Pajkowski (NM), 6-0, 6-5 DNF

Order of finish
Doubles: 2, 1
Singles: 2, 5, 1*
*match-clinching victory