Fresno State captures first-ever Mountain West Championship

Saturday, April 27

Fresno, Calif.

1 p.m. PT

Fresno State

San Diego State

Fresno State captures first-ever Mountain West Championship

4/27/2019 8:31:00 PM | Men's Tennis

Box Score Photo Gallery Luke Shields Interview Angus Bradshaw Interview

By: Taylor Martinez / Communications Assistant

FRESNO, Calif. – The No. 3-seeded Fresno State men's tennis team took home the first Mountain West Championship in program history, defeating No. 4 San Diego State 4-2 at the Spalding G. Wathen Tennis Center on Saturday afternoon. The Bulldogs defeated No. 6 Nevada 4-0 in the quarterfinals and upset No. 2 Utah State 4-2 in the semifinals to make it to the championship match.

Fresno State punches its ticket to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2012, now they'll await the announcement of their first round opponent. The NCAA Men's Tennis Championship Selection Show will stream live on NCAA.com at 3 p.m. PT on Monday.

"It's been a journey," head coach Luke Shields said. "We finished last in the conference my first year at Fresno State and now we are champions. There were a lot of ups and downs to get to this point, it was emotional. Cagatay (Soke) and Cem (Erturk) have been solid for us over the last two years, and they were clutch for us today when we needed them. Yesterday, we had Mantas (Bugailiskis) step and today we had different players step up. This was a team effort. We have a great coaching staff and we have a great support staff, we couldn't have done it without them. This program has been about loyalty from day one, and these players believed in the process. The Red Wave helped us through this championship, they gave us the energy we needed to win."

HOW IT HAPPENED
Doubles – Both teams hadn't dropped a doubles point in the tournament going into the championship match. All-MW doubles team Sander Andersen and Ignacio Martinez set the tone with a win at the No. 1 position 6-3. The Aztecs clinched the doubles point with a 6-4 win at the No. 2 position to take a 1-0 lead into singles play.

Singles – SDSU took a 2-0 lead over Fresno State with a 6-0, 6-0 victory from Jan Kirchoff at the No. 2 position. Senior Jeremy Moser rallied back for the Bulldogs, defeating Martinez 6-1, 6-2 at the No. 4 position. Cem Erturk knotted the match 2-2, after he bested Arnaud Restifo in a close match at the No. 5 position 6-4, 6-4.

Cagatay Soke gave the Bulldogs their first lead of the match, topping Rafael Gonzalez 6-1, 7-5 at the No. 6 position.

All-MW Singles selection Angus Bradshaw stepped up for Fresno State in a huge way, defeating his opponent in a three-set battle at the No. 3 position, clinching the match for the Bulldogs.

The match at the No. 1 position was left unfinished.

RESULTS:
Tennis Match Results San Diego State vs Fresno State
4/27/2019 at Fresno, Calif. (Spalding G. Wathen Tennis Center)
Fresno State 4, San Diego State 2

Singles competition
1. Zdenek Derkas (FS) vs. Sander Andersen (SDSU) 5-7, 1-5, unfinished
2. Jan Kirchhoff (SDSU) def. Mantas Bugailiskis (FS) 6-0, 6-0
3. Angus Bradshaw (FS) def. Fabian Roensdorf (SDSU) 0-6, 6-4, 6-2
4. Jeremy Moser (FS) def. Ignacio Martinez (SDSU) 6-1, 6-2
5. Cem Erturk (FS) def. Arnaud Restifo (SDSU) 6-4, 6-4
6. Cagatay Soke (FS) def. Rafael Gonzalez (SDSU) 6-1, 7-5

Doubles competition
1. Sander Andersen/Ignacio Martinez (SDSU) def. Zdenek Derkas/Patrik Pech (FS) 6-3
2. Rafael Gonzalez/Jan Kirchhoff (SDSU) def. Mantas Bugailiskis/Cem Erturk (FS) 6-4
3. Angus Bradshaw/Cagatay Soke (FS) vs. Arnaud Restifo/Fabian Roensdorf (SDSU) 5-6, unfinished

Match Notes: San Diego State 15-10 Fresno State 18-10
Order of finish: Doubles (1,2); Singles (2,4,5,6,3)
2019 Mountain West Men's Tennis Championship Championship Match: #3 seed Fresno State vs. #4 seed San Diego State

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