New Mexico Beats SDSU In Men's Tennis Semifinals

April 28, 2012
MW Conference

2012 MW Tennis Championships Central

SAN DIEGO - The third-seeded and 66th-ranked New Mexico men's tennis team defeated second-seeded San Diego State, 4-1, on Saturday afternoon at Aztec Tennis Center to advance to the Mountain West Men's Tournament championship match.

The Lobos earned the doubles point with wins at the No. 2 and No. 3 positions, respectively. The New Mexico tandem of Conor Berg and Ben Dunbar defeated Derek Siddiqui and Thorsten Bertsch (8-1) at the second spot, while UNM's Carl Ho and James Hignett notched an 8-6 victory over Rickey Baylon and Hunter Nicholas, 8-6, at the No. 3 position.

Sam Iftikhar notched a 6-4, 6-0 victory over Nicholas at the No. 5 position to give the Lobos a 2-0 lead in the dual. Phil Anderson downed Bertsch (6-3, 6-4) at No. 3 to put New Mexico ahead 3-0, but Siddiqui responded by downing Dunbar, 6-4, 6-2, to give the Aztecs their first point of the match.

Berg notched a come-from-behind win over Nicholas (4-6, 6-1, 6-3) at the fourth singles position to secure the match in the Lobos' favor.

New Mexico will take on top-seeded Boise State in the tournament final at 10 a.m. PT on Saturday.

Third-Seeded New Mexico 4, Second-Seeded San Diego State 1
Aztec Tennis Center | San Diego, Calif.

Doubles
1. Jadon Phillips/Phil Anderson (UNM) led Javier Pulgar/Freddy Gelbrich (SDSU), 6-4, unfinished
2. Ben Dunbar/Conor Berg (UNM) def. Derek Siddiqui/Thorsten Bertsch (SDSU), 8-1
3. Carl Ho/James Hignett (UNM) def. Hunter Nicholas/Rickey Baylon (SDSU), 8-6

Singles
1. Javier Pulgar (SDSU) vs. Jadon Phillips (UNM), 4-6, 6-3, 3-0, unfinished
2. Derek Siddiqui (SDSU) def. Ben Dunbar (UNM), 6-4, 6-2
3. Phil Anderson (UNM) def. Thorsten Bertsch (SDSU), 6-3, 6-4
4. Conor Berg (UNM) def. Freddy Gelbrich (SDSU), 4-6, 6-1, 6-3
5. Sam Iftikhar (UNM) def. Hunter Nicholas (SDSU), 6-4, 6-0
6. Rickey Baylon (SDSU) vs. Carl Ho, 6-3, 4-5, unfinished

Order of finish
Doubles: 2,3
Singles: 5,3,2,4