May 27, 2006

STANFORD, Calif. - The 13th-ranked San Diego State doubles team of senior Benedikt Stronk (Berlin, Germany) and junior Markus Dickhardt (Marburg, Germany) saw their pursuit of a national title come to a disappointing conclusion on Saturday, falling in a tough three-set match to Middle Tennessee's No. 6 pairing of Marco Born and Andreas Siljestrom, 3-6, 6-3, 6-4, in the quarterfinal round of the NCAA Doubles Championships in Stanford, Calif. The defeat marked the first loss of the season for the Aztec duo in eight matches against ranked opponents.

Stronk and Dickhardt, who captured All-America honors following their victory in the round of 16 on Friday, finished the year with a 16-5 record and now rank sixth on SDSU's all-time doubles list in winning percentage (.772). Last month, the tandem was also named to the all-Mountain West Conference doubles team, and each received all-MWC singles accolades as well.