San Diego State
No. 58 Cal Poly Takes Lead, Can't Hold on Against San Diego State
2/7/2016 12:00:00 AM | Men's Tennis
SAN LUIS OBISPO, Calif. – The 58th-ranked Cal Poly men's tennis team saw its two-match winning streak snapped on Sunday afternoon by 38th-ranked San Diego State, 4-2 at Mustang Courts. Cal Poly secured the doubles point early, but was unable to maintain the momentum before falling to the Aztecs who collected four of the six singles points.
The Cal Poly junior duo of Corey Pang and Ben Donovan ousted SDSU's Freddy Gelbrich and Hendrik Jebens, 6-4 at No. 1, but the Aztecs knotted the score at one apiece after Milen Ianakiev and Santiago Cevallos beat junior Garrett Auproux and sophomore Tim Tan at No. 2, 6-3.
For the second straight matchup, the Cal Poly sophomore duo of Dan Cardiff and Karl Enander won from the third doubles position, 6-2 over Jonas Meinzer and Sander Gjoels-Andersen to capture the doubles point for the Mustangs.
San Diego State, however, fought its way back after falling behind early behind the singles portion of Sunday's matchup. Meinzer defeated Cal Poly freshman Rafael Lenhard in straight sets at No. 6, 6-4, 6-3 and Cornelius Kolb ousted Mustang sophomore Axel Damiens at No. 5, 2-6, 6-1, 6-1 for the 2-1 match advantage.
Jebens beat Cal Poly's Auproux at No. 2, 6-3, 7-6, for the 3-1 lead, and after Cal Poly freshman Josh Ortlip's (pictured) come-from-behind, three-set defeat of SDSU's Gjoels-Andersen at No. 4, 3-6, 6-4, 6-1, the Aztecs needed only one more win to cement the triumph.
SDSU's Ianakiev outlasted Cal Poly's Pang at No. 3 singles, 6-2, 4-6, 7-6 to claim the match for the Aztecs. Donovan's matchup at No. 1 with Gelbrich (who was ahead, 7-6, 2-6, 3-0) was halted after Ianakiev's victory.
Cal Poly has now faced four Top-60 ranked opponents this season – including two matches the season-opening ITA Kick-Off Weekend – and lost all four matches.
Cal Poly (2-4) travels to south to face Loyola Marymount at noon PT Sunday, Feb. 14 as the spring tennis schedule continues for the Mustangs.
