SAN DIEGO, Calif. – The UC Irvine men's tennis team (1-4) fought back from a 3-1 deficit, but came up just short in a 4-3 loss to San Diego State Saturday at Aztec Tennis Center.

"It's always tough to lose a match you have chances to win, but I was proud of how we competed today," UCI head coach Mike Saunders said. "We played for each other which was inspiring to watch. SDSU fought equally as hard and both teams battled with class."

San Diego State (3-3) won the doubles point with a pair of 6-3 victories at No. 1 and No. 3. At the top of the lineup, junior Sebastian Heim and sophomore Mason Hansen fell to Sander Gjoels-Andersen and Marko Goles-Babic. Sophomore Vatsal Bajpai and freshman Bruce Man-Son-Hing also suffered a setback to Rafael Gonzalez/Joel Popov.

The Aztecs opened singles play with a win at No. 5, before sophomore Luis Lopez got the 'Eaters on the board as he toppled Anderson, 6-2, 6-3, at No. 3. San Diego State then went up 3-1 after Santiago Cevallos defeated Bajpai at the fourth spot.

Heim picked the Anteaters up with a hard-fought 6-4, 2-6, 6-3 triumph at the top spot. Man-Son-Hing followed suit as he dropped Gonzaelz, 6-4, 7-5, at No. 6. It all came down to court two where junior Luca Marquard was locked in a tight battle with Goles-Babic. Despite a strong effort from Marquard, he ended up falling 7-5, 4-6, 7-5.

"Bruce rallied to win a close seesaw match at six," Saunders said. "Today, he played with belief, determination and utilized his patterns better than ever.

"After losing a tough first set, Luca willed himself back in the second. The third could have gone either way, but SDSU came up with some incredibly clutch shots to close it out at 7-5."

UC Irvine will be back in action tomorrow (Sunday, Feb. 12) when it hosts Northern Arizona at Anteater Tennis Stadium. The match has been moved up an hour to 11 a.m.

"Tomorrow is a big test for us," Saunders added. "We need to be prepared to compete like we did today and execute slightly better."

San Diego State 4, UC Irvine 3

Singles
1. #95 Sebastian Heim (UCI) def. Milen Ianakiev (SDSU): 6-4, 2-6, 6-3
2. Marko Goles-Babic (SDSU) def. Luca Marquard (UCI): 7-5, 4-6, 7-5
3. Luis Lopez (UCI) def. Sander Anderson (SDSU): 6-2, 6-3
4. Santiago Cevallos (SDSU) def. Vatsal Bajpai (UCI): 6-2, 6-4
5. Joel Popov (SDSU) def. Mason Hansen (UCI): 6-2, 6-2
6. Bruce Man-Son-Hing (UCI) def. Rafael Gonzalez (SDSU): 6-4, 7-5

Order of finish: 5, 3, 4, 1, 6, 2*

 

Doubles
1. Anderson/Goles Babic (SDSU) def. Hansen/Heim (UCI): 6-3
2. Ianakiev/Cevallos (SDSU) vs. Lopez/Marquard (UCI): 5-3, unfinished
3. Gonzalez/Popov (SDSU) def. Bajpai/Man-Son-Hing (UCI): 6-3

Order of finish: 1, 3*