April 27, 2007

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. - The top-seeded San Diego State men's tennis team dropped a 4-3 decision to fifth-seeded Brigham Young in the semifinals of the Mountain West Conference Championships Friday morning at the Air Force Academy. Despite receiving a first-round bye and winning the doubles point, the Aztecs could not withstand the Cougars' effort in singles play as they fall to 16-8 overall.

The day started well for 47th-ranked SDSU as it claimed the doubles point after wins at the second and third positions. Achim Ceban and Billy Timu pocketed a hard-fought 9-8(6) decision over Chip Hand and Jonathan Sanchez at No. 2, while teammates Anthony Gomez and Robert Sabo emerged with an 8-5 victory over Cassidy Mears and Cale Planck to give the Aztecs an early 1-0 lead.

The Cougars tied the match when Kaufhold downed Anthony Gomez, 6-4, 6-3, at No. 3, but Juan Gomez responded with a victory as he defeated Mears in straight sets, 6-4, 6-3, at No. 5 singles, recapturing the lead for San Diego State. Shortly thereafter, both teams were deadlocked at 2-2 once Christian Groh lost his match at second singles to Hand, 6-3, 6-4, making the contest a best-of-three series.

With a spot in Saturday's final hanging in balance, the Cougars' Ludlow and Sanchez provided the final blow to seal the Aztecs fate as they were both three-set winners at first and fourth singles, respectively. Robert Sabo provided the final score with his 7-6(5), 6-2 triumph over Planck at the bottom of the ladder.

SDSU will await word whether it receives an at-large NCAA Tournament bid on Tuesday, May 1, when team brackets will be announced.

#74 Brigham Young 4, #47 San Diego State 3
MWC Championships (AFA Outdoor Tennis Facility; Colorado Springs, Colo.)
Doubles
1. James Ludlow/Dominik Kaufhold (BYU) def. #22 Markus Dickhardt/Christian Groh (SDSU), 8-3
2. Achim Ceban/Billy Timu (SDSU) def. Chip Hand/Jonathan Sanchez (BYU), 9-8(6)
3. Anthony Gomez/Robert Sabo (SDSU) def. Cassidy Mears/Cale Planck (BYU), 8-5
San Diego State wins doubles point

Singles
1. #109 James Ludlow (BYU) def. #38 Markus Dickhardt (SDSU), 0-6, 6-2, 6-3
2. Chip Hand (BYU) def. Christian Groh (SDSU), 6-3, 6-4
3. Dominik Kaufhold (BYU) def. Anthony Gomez (SDSU), 6-4, 6-3
4. Jonathan Sanchez (BYU) def. Achim Ceban (SDSU), 6-4, 4-6, 6-1
5. Juan Gomez (SDSU) def. Cassidy Mears (BYU), 6-4, 6-3
6. Robert Sabo (SDSU) def. Cale Planck (BYU), 7-6(5), 6-2