SAN DIEGO – After a nearly two-week hiatus, the San Diego State men's tennis team wraps up its non-conference slate on Saturday, March 26, when it plays host to the University of Portland, starting at 9 a.m. PT. Admission is free for all home matches at Aztec Tennis Center.
SDSU (4-7) split two encounters earlier this month, falling to Penn by a 6-1 count on March 12, before rebounding with a 4-1 triumph over Air Force in its Mountain West opener the following day.
Against the Falcons, the Scarlet and Black dropped the early doubles point but quickly seized the momentum with four straight wins in singles play to secure the team victory.
Individually, the Aztecs have been paced by Joe Tyler, a senior transfer from Iowa who leads the team with a 12-6 singles record this season, including a 6-2 mark in dual-match competition. The Corby, England, native has already collected two Mountain West Player of the Week certificates on Feb. 9 and March 2.
In addition, sophomore Judson Blair (11) and freshman Alexander Mandma (10) have reached the double-digit victory plateau for the year in singles play. Blair has seen the bulk of his action this spring in the No. 6 position, while Mandma has played exclusively in the fourth slot.
Not to be outdone, sophomore Johannes Seeman has won three straight since taking over the No. 3 spot on the Aztecs' ladder.
SDSU will be facing Portland for the second time this season after claiming a dramatic 4-3 victory in a neutral-site clash on Feb. 5 at Nordstrom Tennis Center on the University of Washington campus in Seattle.
The Aztecs completed their thrilling comeback with a trio of three-set wins in singles competition, punctuated by Mandma, who outlasted the Pilots' Nikolas Tvedt in a tiebreaker for the clinching point, 6-4, 3-6, 7-6(3).
Earlier in the day, SDSU rallied to capture the crucial doubles point as well, with the No. 3 tandem of Blair and Jules Auffray and edging Oscar Brown and Nicolas Ocana by a narrow 7-5 tally, which gave the Scarlet and Black a 1-0 lead.
Portland (4-7) dropped a 4-0 decision on Friday to 18th-ranked San Diego in a West Coast Conference match at Hogan Family Tennis Center on the USD campus. Prior to their defeat, the Pilots eked out a 4-3 road victory at Mountain West member Utah State on March 20, emerging triumphant when Ocana won a third-set tiebreaker in the No. 5 position.
Portland has been paced this spring by Sema Pankin and Julien Penzlin, who have amassed seven victories apiece in singles play, while Ocana has five dual-match wins to his credit. Pankin has played exclusively at the top of the Pilots' ladder, while Penzlin has seen the bulk of his action in the third slot. In addition, Ocana has alternated between the fifth and sixth spots.
In doubles competition, Pankin has teamed with Eleftherios Neos for an 11-4 record for the year, earning a No. 32 ranking in this week's ITA poll. The Portland tandem had their four-match winning streak at the No. 1 position snapped in Friday's setback at USD.
Following Saturday's encounter, San Diego State will enjoy another pause for Spring Break before returning to action the following week for a Mountain West road match at UNLV on Friday, April 8, starting at 11 a.m. PT. Two days later, the Aztecs will play host to Utah State on April 10, beginning at noon.