April 3, 2008
SAN DIEGO -
SDSU Men's Tennis Weekly Release in PDF Format
SDSU MEN'S TENNIS OPENS MWC PLAY WITH THREE MATCHES THIS WEEKEND
* With its 2008 non-conference schedule in the books, the 48th-ranked San Diego State men's tennis team begins its quest for a fourth consecutive Mountain West Conference regular-season championship this weekend when it opens league play, April 4-6, in Albuquerque, N.M. The Aztecs will take on Air Force in their conference lid-lifter on Friday beginning at 9:30 a.m. MDT, followed by a Saturday showdown with Utah at the same morning start time. SDSU then caps off its first round of MWC action on Sunday when it tangles with No. 54 New Mexico starting at 1:30 p.m. MDT. All three matches will be contested at the Lobo Tennis Club on the UNM campus.
SDSU (11-6) has won two straight and six of its last seven, including a 5-2 victory over Hawai'i at Fairbanks Ranch Country Club in nearby Rancho Santa Fe on Wednesday. Freshmen Andre Feliz, Danny Heidecker and junior Bartosz Golas paced the Scarlet and Black as each posted victories in both doubles and singles action.
The Aztecs have been beasts of the MWC regular season in recent years, winning 17 straight matches from 2005-07 en route to three consecutive league titles. SDSU was last defeated in a regular-season conference dual on April, 11, 2004, when New Mexico used a doubles sweep to escape with a 4-3 win.
SCOUTING THE FALCONS
* Air Force (10-11, 0-3 MWC) has already completed one round of conference play, suffering three consecutive 7-0 shutouts at the hands of Brigham Young, UNLV and TCU last weekend in Las Vegas, Nev. The Falcons are led by sophomore Brett Rodgers, who has collected 14 victories in singles competition this season playing predominately at the No. 1 position, followed closely by fellow clasmate Austin Francis, who has 13 wins to his credit while seeing the majority of action at the No. 2 spot. Rodgers has also occupied the top spot in Air Force's doubles lineup, teaming with freshman Taylor Soster for a 15-10 overall record.
At the controls for Air Force is the venerable Rich Gugat, who is in his 33rd year as head coach of the Falcons. Gugat's squads reeled off 23 straight 20-win seasons from 1977-1999.
SERIES HISTORY VS. AIR FORCE
* The Aztecs have won 20 straight matches against the Falcons, last losing by a 6-3 count back in 1989. Last season, SDSU battled wind and rain on the Academy courts to record its second straight 7-0 whitewash over Air Force.
SCOUTING THE UTES
* Utah (8-8) broke a three-match losing streak in its last outing on March 26 with a hard-fought 4-3 triumph over then-No. 60 UC Irvine in Salt Lake City. After sweeping doubles competition, the Utes eked out three victories in singles play to escape with the win. Leading the Utah charge is senior Zach Ganger, who boasts a 19-8 overall record, including a 9-5 mark in dual matches at the No. 1 position. Ganger has also excelled in doubles action, posting a 16-6 record with three different partners. Ganger and freshman John Taylor received a No. 57 national ranking in the latest ITA poll on the strength of the duo's semifinal appearance in the Wilson/ITA Mountain Regional Championships last October.
Head coach F.D. Robbins, who is in his 22nd season season at the helm for the Utes, also played for Utah as a collegian, receiving All-America distinction on two occasions. In 1970, Robbins reached the quarterfinals of NCAA singles championship.
SERIES HISTORY VS. UTAH
* The Aztecs have won the last eight meetings against the Utes to open up a 13-11 advantage in the all-time series dating back to 1989. In last season's dual, Utah led 3-2 after capturing the doubles point and two singles matches. SDSU squelched any designs of a Ute upset, however, as Robert Sabo and Juan Gomez each prevailed in the three sets to give the Scarlet and Black a hard-fought 4-3 victory on neutral courts at the Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, Colo.
SCOUTING THE LOBOS
* New Mexico (13-6) has been on a roll of late, winning six straight and nine of its last 11 matches. The Lobos' only two losses during that span were to Texas Tech, which is currently ranked 18th in the latest ITA team poll. Individually, New Mexico boasts the 41st-ranked singles player in senior Max Jones, who has compiled a 13-9 record this season, with six of his nine losses coming to ranked opponents. Jones has proven even more formidable in doubles, teaming exclusively with fellow classmate Kamil Pajkowski to fashion a 21-4 mark at the No. 1 spot.
Head coach Alan Dils, who is in his 12th season guiding the Lobos, was a successful collegiate player at UNM, winning the 1987 Western Athletic Conference doubles title and finishing as the WAC's singles runner-up in 1989.
SERIES HISTORY VS. NEW MEXICO
* The Aztecs hold a 14-10 lead in the all-time series since 1989. SDSU has won three straight meetings between the two schools, including a 6-1 triumph last season at Aztec Tennis Center. After capturing a closely contested doubles point, the Scarlet and Black claimed five of six singles matches to win going away. The Lobos' last victory against the Aztecs came in 2004 when UNM pulled off a dramatic 4-3 win in the championship final of the MWC tournament.
LOOKING AHEAD
* Following this weekend's slate, SDSU closes out the regular season, April 10-12, when it travels to Provo, Utah, for the final three conference matches of the regular season. The Aztecs will square off against Brigham Young, TCU and UNLV on consecutive days at BYU's home facility. San Diego State will then have nearly two weeks off to prepare for the MWC championships, April 24-26, in Fort Worth, Texas.
NEUTRAL-COURT SUCCESS
* The Aztecs are 37-15 (.712 percent) in neutral-site matches since 2002, including a 3-1 mark this season. SDSU opened the 2008 campaign with a 7-0 blanking of UC Riverside at Indian Wells Tennis Garden on Jan. 20, followed by a 5-2 victory over Minnesota, in Tucson, Ariz., on Feb. 16. The Scarlet and Black also dusted off Idaho, 7-0, at Boise State's home venue on March 7. The Aztecs were poised to make it four straight when it led Harvard, 3-1, in Santa Barbara on March 29. However, the Crimson closed the match with three straight wins in singles competition to hand the Aztecs a bitter 4-3 defeat. Since 1989, SDSU has only had three seasons (1994, 1997, 2001) in which it posted a losing record on neutral courts.
YOUTH SHALL BE SERVED IN `08
* After losing four seniors off its 2007 roster, including Mountain West Conference player of the year Markus Dickhardt and all-MWC performer Christian Groh, San Diego State has taken on a decidedly youthful appearance this season. The Aztecs possess just one junior on this year's squad to go along with five sophomores and four freshmen (one redshirt). While growing pains are to be expected, success has not eluded this youthful bunch either. After garnering MWC freshman of the year honors in 2007, Achim Ceban teamed with Bartosz Golas to capture the doubles crown at the National Collegiate Tennis Classic in January at Indian Wells Tennis Garden. Ceban also reached the singles final at the NCTC, while Golas was named MWC player of week for his efforts in both the tournament and the season opener against UC Riverside.
NEW STARS ON THE HORIZON
* Freshman Andre Feliz is enjoying a tremendous rookie campaign thus far in 2008, leading the Scarlet and Black with a 14-8 overall record in singles play, including an 12-5 mark in dual matches. Fellow classmate Danny Heidecker has also come on strong of late, winning six in a row and 10 of 11 to raise his overall record to 13-6 and 11-4 in duals. Another freshman, Tim Schulz van Endert, has also been hot in doubles action, capturing 10 of his last 11 matches playing alongside sophomores Achim Ceban and Jordan Colman. Colman, meanwhile, was triumphant in his first-ever Division I singles match on March 7, when he knocked off Idaho's Andrew Hobbs, 6-3, 6-3. The transfer from Cabrillo College has also won his last three doubles matches at the No. 3 spot, teaming with Ceban and Schulz van Endert.
LOOKING FOR THE RIGHT COMBINATION
* When Andre Feliz and Danny Heidecker joined forces against UC Santa Barbara on March 29, it marked the 17th different doubles tandem utilized by head coach Gene Carswell this season. However, that figure should not seem surprising. After all, SDSU employed 21 different pairings last year, even with a veteran cast.
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 70-37 (.654) 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.