SMU senior Krystian Pfeiffer won a thrilling three-set marathon against No. 77 ranked Nick Fustar of Fresno State, securing a 4-3 victory for No. 20 SMU over conference foe, No. 48 Fresno State.
Pfeiffer won the first set 7-5, but fell to Fustar in set two after the Bulldog junior pulled out a 6-4 win. With the match tied 3-3, the only remaining match at Haggar Tennis Stadium Sunday afternoon went the distance as Pfeiffer pulled out his sixth dual match win of the 2002 season, winning the third and decisive set 6-1 in dominating fashion.
Pfeiffer's win was his fourth win in the his past seven outings over a top 100 player. Friday against South Alabama, Pfeiffer defeated the nation's No. 13 ranked singles player Kosta Zinchanka.
On Sunday, SMU fell behind early dropping the doubles point giving Fresno State a 1-0 lead.
The Mustangs came back providing strong singles play in front of a crowd of 412 on hand for the match. No. 2 singles player Johan Brunstrom won in convincing fashion defeating the Bulldogs' Stefan Suta 6-2, 6-1. Sophomore Lukas Senczyszyn won at No. 4 singles in straight sets, 6-1, 6-2, while redshirt freshman Gwinyai Chingoka won in straight sets as well at No. 5 singles with a 6-4, 6-2 win.
SMU's win was its first conference match and conference win of the season, while it improved the Mustangs record to 4-5 on the year. SMU returns to the courts Thursday, Feb. 28 when it hosts Furman at Haggar Tennis Stadium. The match is slated for a 2:00 p.m. start.
Final Score: No. 20 SMU 4, No. 48 Fresno State 3
Singles
No. 1 Krystian Pfeiffer (SMU) def. Nick Fustar (FSU), 7-5, 4-6, 6-1
No. 2 Johan Brunstrom (SMU) def. Stefan Suta (FSU), 6-1, 6-1
No. 3 Hector Almada (FSU) def. Alexis Rudzinski (SMU), 6-1, 6-3
No. 4 Lukasz Senczyszyn (SMU) def. Alex Krohn (FSU), 6-1, 6-2
No. 5 Gwinyai Chingoka (SMU) def. Dustin Ilic (FSU), 6-4, 6-2
No. 6 Greg Shearer (FSU) def. Ryan Mauck (SMU), 6-3, 6-1
Doubles
No. 1 Fustar/Ilic (FSU) def. Brunstrom/Cohn (SMU), 9-8
No. 2 Pfeiffer/Mauck (SMU) def. Krohn/Shearer (FSU), 8-1
No. 3 Almada/Suta (FSU) def. Senczyszyn/Chingoka (SMU), 9-8
