Feb. 14, 2008
SAN DIEGO -
SDSU Men's Tennis Weekly Release in PDF Format
SDSU MEN'S TENNIS GEARS UP FOR TWO MATCHES THIS WEEK IN ARIZONA
* The San Diego State men's tennis team resumes its spring schedule this week when it travels to Tucson, Ariz., to face a pair of nationally ranked squads in Minnesota and Arizona. The 47th-ranked Aztecs (1-2) will tangle with the No. 57 Golden Gophers in a neutral-site clash on Saturday, Feb. 16, before trying to tame the 69th-ranked Wildcats on Monday, Feb. 18. Saturday's match is scheduled to get underway at 1:30 p.m. MST, while Monday's tilt is slated for a noon start.
SDSU will be making its second trip to the Grand Canyon State in 10 days, following the Aztecs' 7-0 loss to Arizona State on Feb. 6 in Tempe. The doubles team of Achim Ceban and Juan Gomez posted the Scarlet and Black's lone victory of the match at the No. 1 position before the Sun Devils swept all six singles encounters from the flu-ravaged Aztecs.
Minnesota (1-4) will be looking to snap a two-match losing streak after dropping a pair of 4-3 nail-biters to Oklahoma and Drake last weekend. Meanwhile, Arizona (6-1) rebounded from a loss to 23rd-ranked Rice with a 6-1 upset over then-No. 42 Texas A&M-Corpus Christi on Feb. 9.
SERIES HISTORY VS. MINNESOTA
* Saturday's match with the Golden Gophers will be just the second meeting between the two schools. The Aztecs claimed a 6-3 victory way back in 1981 at the old SDSU Courts, handing Minnesota one of five losses it suffered en route to a share of the Big Ten championship that season.
The Gophers will be playing on outdoor courts for the first time this spring when they engage the Aztecs. All five of Minnesota's dual matches thus far in 2008 have been played indoors at the Baseline Tennis Center on the Minneapolis campus.
SCOUTING THE GOLDEN GOPHERS
* Minnesota is led by Germany native Raoul Schwark, who owns a 13-6 overall record and received a No. 46 ranking in the ITA preseason singles poll. The Gopher senior broke a three-match losing streak with an upset victory at the No. 1 position over 16th-ranked Dalibor Pavic of Drake on Feb. 10. Sophomore Dino Bilankov also has 13 wins to his credit and is undefeated in five starts to open the spring season. Rounding out the top of Minnesota's singles ladder is freshman Sebastian Gallego, who sports an 8-8 overall record and has won two of his last three matches.
At the controls for the Gophers is second-year head coach Geoff Young, who led his squad to 15-10 mark and a berth in the NCAA tournament during his rookie campaign in 2007.
SERIES HISTORY VS. ARIZONA
* The Aztecs and Wildcats have faced one another six times since the 1989 season with each team capturing three victories. SDSU came away with a 5-2 triumph in the most recent encounter between the two schools on March 12, 2007, at Aztec Tennis Center. In that contest, the Scarlet and Black claimed a hard-fought doubles point before taking four of six singles matches in straight sets for the win.
SCOUTING THE WILDCATS
* Individually, the Wildcats are led by senior Claudio Christen, who garnered a No. 37 ranking in the initial ITA singles poll of the season. The Lucerne, Switzerland, product boasts a 13-4 overall record, including a 5-1 mark in dual matches at the No. 1 position. Christen has also been formidable in doubles, earning a No. 7 ranking with fellow classmate Bruno Alcala on the strength of the duo's title run at the Racquet Club Collegiate Invitational last October in Fayetteville, Ark. Meanwhile, freshman Jay Goldman has also been impressive, compiling a 15-4 overall record, including a 7-0 mark in dual matches while playing predominately at the No. 2 singles spot.
The head coach for Arizona is third-year boss Tad Berkowitz, who was the Western Athletic Conference's player of the year while at New Mexico in 1996.
LOOKING AHEAD
* Following Monday's showdown with Arizona, SDSU returns to the friendly confines of Aztec Tennis Center, where it will open its home slate with a dual against Memphis on Sunday, Feb. 24. First serve is set for noon PST. SDSU was scheduled to face Fresno State in its 2008 home opener on Feb. 3; however, persistent rains in the area forced the postponement of the match.
CARSWELL IN CHARGE
* Gene Carswell is in his 10th season at San Diego State and fifth as head coach of the Scarlet and Black. In four-plus seasons at the helm, the Aztecs' mentor has guided SDSU to three straight Mountain West Conference regular-season titles, while compiling an overall record of 60-33 (.645) in the process. In each of the past three years, the native San Diegan has taken home MWC coach of the year accolades, leading San Diego State to a 17-0 league mark during that stretch. Prior to his present duties, Carswell was an Aztec assistant for five years from 1998-2003, earning a pair of ITA regional assistant coach of the year honors in 2001 and 2003.
REDONDO RETURNS
* Head coach Gene Carswell welcomed back one of the program's best last September when he announced the hiring of former Aztec star Ryan Redondo as the team's new assistant coach.
A native of Carlsbad, Calif., Redondo returns to Montezuma Mesa after competing on the USTA, ITF and ATP professional tours. He also spent time during the past year coaching privately in nearby Rancho Sante Fe, Calif., while completing his degree in religion at San Diego State.
One of the most prolific players in Aztec history, Redondo garnered All-America accolades in 2002 and 2003 and still holds the school record with 59 career doubles victories, along with partner Oliver Maiberger.
After spending one year at Pepperdine, Redondo transferred to SDSU in time for the 2001-02 campaign and made an immediate impact as he and Maiberger combined to win the National Collegiate Indoor Championship, the program's lone national championship. Later that season, the Aztec duo also reached the quarterfinal round at the NCAA Doubles Championship.
The following year in 2002-03, Redondo and Maiberger posted a remarkable 31-8 record, including 21 wins against ranked opponents. The tandem finished the season ranked No. 2 in the country after winning four matches in four days to reach the NCAA doubles finals where they lost to the Illinois pairing of Brian Wilson and Rajeev Ram.
GOLAS GOLDEN
* Bartosz Golas was the named Mountain West Conference men's tennis player of the week for the period ending Jan. 22. The Aztec junior garnered the conference's initial weekly award of the 2008 season and also the first of his career.
A native of Munich, Germany, Golas went a combined 6-1 in both singles and doubles, Jan. 18-20, in his first action for SDSU after redshirting in 2007. At the National Collegiate Tennis Classic in Indian Wells, Calif., Golas joined forces with fellow teammate Achim Ceban to capture the main draw doubles championship, defeating three sets of opponents, including tandems from 32nd-ranked Rice and No. 9 UCLA. Golas also posted a victory in singles play, upending Peter Zimmer of Arizona in the opening round, 6-4, 4-6, 6-4, before falling to UCLA's Jeremy Drean in another three-set battle, 6-4, 2-6, 6-4, during the quarterfinals.
Following the tournament's completion, SDSU opened its dual-match season against UC Riverside as Golas helped the Aztecs to their third-straight opening-day victory with a 7-0 shutout of the Highlanders. Golas was the first one off the court in both his matches at the No. 1 position, pairing again with Ceban to defeat Joe Cartledge and John Park, 8-4, in doubles action before dispatching Cartledge in straight sets, 6-1, 6-2, in singles play.