SAN DIEGO – The San Diego State men's tennis team will play just its fourth home match of the 2020 campaign on Thursday when it entertains San Diego Christian at Aztec Tennis Center, starting at 3 p.m. PT.
In addition, the entire SDSU roster will participate in the 131st annual Pacific Coast Men's Doubles Championships, scheduled for March 6-8 at La Jolla Beach and Tennis Club in La Jolla, Calif.
The Aztecs split two matches last weekend, posting a 4-0 whitewash of UC Davis at home on Feb. 28 before dropping a hard-fought 4-3 decision at UC Santa Barbara on March 1.
Against UCD, Fabian Roensdorf and Arnaud Restifo were double winners, with Restifo providing the clinching point at No. 4 singles after rallying for a three-set triumph. In addition, David Hough rolled to a straight-set triumph at No. 6 singles, helping the Scarlet and Black to its second consecutive shutout over the Aggies.
Hough recorded his third consecutive victory two days later at UCSB, but Martinez was the only other Aztec to win in singles play, as the Gauchos came back to capture four decisions after ceding the early doubles point.
For the season, Hough leads SDSU with 12 singles victories, including five in dual-match competition, while Restifo has four wins this spring.
Thursday's match will mark the Aztecs' first-ever meeting against San Diego Christian. The NAIA-affiliated Hawks are 4-5 in dual matches this year, winning three straight before falling to Indiana Wesleyan 5-4 in a neutral-site match on Tuesday in Surprise, Ariz.
SDCC has a former NCAA Division I player on its roster in senior David Samarzija, who competed as freshman at Nebraska in 2017.
San Diego State's weekend also includes five duos competing in the Pacific Coast Men's Doubles Championships. Although the tournament opens with select matches on Thursday, the bulk of the first-round action will be contested on Friday morning.
The Aztecs' Ignacio Martinez and Rafael Gonzalez Almazan will face Oklahoma State's fourth-seeded combo of Etienne Donnet and Mathieu Scaglia, while Arnaud Restifo and Fabian Roensdorf will battle Ball State's Parish Simmons and Thibault de Negri.
In addition, SDSU's Jan Kirchhoff and Aaro Pollanen will take on Lucas Guy and Koki Takabatake of Washington University in St. Louis, while David Hough and Daniel Traxler will lock horns with James Shaheen and Ricardo de Olmo Parrado from the same school.
Rounding out Aztec roster is the last remaining tandem of Jules Auffray and Alex Scemanenco, who will open against the unattached pairing of Nelson Alapi and Brett Buffington.
The second-oldest tennis event in the United States, the Pacific Coast Men's Doubles Championships feature tandems from several college programs, including nationally ranked teams in No. 1 USC, No. 13 Stanford, No. 21 Oklahoma State, No. 22 UCLA, No. 30 California and No. 35 Pepperdine.
In addition to the Aztecs and their aforementioned opponents, the field also features competitors from such schools as Boston College, Claremont-Mudd-Scripps, Pomona College, San Diego Christian, UC Irvine, UC San Diego and Villanova.
Past winners include such notables as Jack Kramer, Ted Schroeder, Bobby Riggs, Pancho Segura, Don Budge, Tony Trabert, Stan Smith, Bob Lutz, Arthur Ashe, Dennis Ralston, John McEnroe and many other world-class champions.
Following this weekend's event, San Diego State returns to action on Monday, March 16, when it plays host to No. 15 Harvard at Aztec Tennis Center. Match time is set for 2 p.m. PT.