The Arizona men's tennis team fell to 8-10 on the season after a close, 4-3 loss to San Diego State University on Saturday.
Arizona got off to a strong start by winning a very closely contested doubles point. Seniors Naoki Takeda and Matt Dunn lost to SDSU's Hendrik Jebens and Sander Gioels-Andersen (6-3) on court three, but juniors Oliver Plaskett and Will Kneale quickly tied things up again by defeating Santiago Cevallos and Milen Iankiev by a score of 6-4. Senior Jason Jaruvang and sophomore Shoki Kasahara took the doubles point for Arizona by taking down Marko Goles-Babic and Freddy Gelbrich in an extremely close match (7-6) on court two.
Despite winning the doubles point, Arizona couldn't close out the mathc. Goles-Babic defeated Plaskett on court five in two sets to tie things up, but Takeda quickly re-took the lead for Arizona by besting Gelbrich (7-6,(5) 6-3) on court one.
Botha increased the Wildcat's lead to two with a 6-4, 6-4 victory over Jonas Meinzer on court six, but that would be the last good news for the Cats who fell in order on courts two, three and four. Jebens took down Jaruvang in two sets (6-4, 6-1) not long before Kneale lost a close, three set affair to SDSU's Ianakiev (7-6(2), 3-6, 6-3). SDSU took the fourth point of the match on court four when Gioels-Andersen defeated Busby in two sets (6-2, 6-4).
The Wildcats will have two weeks to recover before they take on their first conference opponents at home: Stanford on Friday, Mar. 25 and California on Sunday, Mar. 27.
Singles
1. Naoki Takeda (UA) def. Freddy Gelbrich (SDSU), 7-6 (5), 6-3
2. Hendrik Jebens (SDSU) def. Jason Jaruvang (UA) 6-4, 6-1
3. Milen Ianakiev (SDSU) def. Will Kneale (UA) 7-6 (2), 3-6, 6-3
4. Sander Gjoels-Andersen (SDSU) def. Harry Busby (UA) 6-2, 6-4
5. Marko Goles-Babic (SDSU) def. Oliver Plaskett (UA) 6-3, 7-5
6. Trent Botha (UA) def. Jonas Meinzer (SDSU) 6-4, 6-4
Order of Finish: 5,1,6,2,3,4
Doubles
1. Oliver Plaskett/Will Kneale (UA) def. Santiago Cevallos/Milen Ianakiev (SDSU) 6-4
2. Jason Jaruvang/Shoki Kasahara (UA) def. Marko Goles-Babic/Freddy Gelbrich (SDSU) 7-6 (4)
3. Hendrik Jebens/Sander Gjoels-Andersen (SDSU) def. Naoki Takeda/Matt Dunn (UA) 6-3
Order of Finish: 2,3,1
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