SAN DIEGO – San Diego State men's tennis incoming transfer Johannes Seeman captured his first pro level victory last week after winning the doubles championship at the International Tennis Federation's M15 Pärnu PAF Open, held Nov. 2-8, in his hometown of Pärnu, Estonia.
Pairing with former high school classmate Siim Troost, who is a sophomore at the University of Minnesota, the local duo defeated the veteran tandem of Russian Yan Sabanin and Estonian Vladimir Ivanov in the title match, 6-3, 3-6, 10-6.
The triumphant decision marked the third consecutive victory via super-tiebreaker for Seeman and Troost, who previously defeated the Finnish combo of Eero Vasa (Cornell Univ.) and Iiro Vasa in the quarterfinals, 6-2, 5-7, 10-5, before outlasting fellow compatriots and Davis Cup participants Daniil Glinka and Kenneth Raisma in the semifinals, 6-4, 5-7, 12-10.
Earlier, Seeman and Troost survived another tough battle in the opening round against Spain's David Pérez Sanz and Bosnian-born Eric Vanshelboim, winning by a count of 6-2, 7-6(6).
"The Aztec athletic administration, coaches and student-athletes are all thrilled for Johannes' recent success," said SDSU head coach Gene Carswell. "His future is very bright, and we are very excited for Johannes to capitalize on more opportunities likes this in both singles and doubles action at the professional and collegiate levels."
Seeman, who garnered all-Mountain West accolades in doubles last spring during his abbreviated freshman campaign at Fresno State, is set to join the Aztecs as a sophomore in January 2021.
Prior to college, Seeman was ranked among the top three players in Estonia throughout his junior career, climbing to as high as 477th in the ITF junior rankings.