SAN DIEGO – San Diego State men’s tennis was well represented at the San Diego Open ATP Challenger, which wrapped up on March 2 at the Barnes Tennis Center. Current Aztec Alexander Mandma and alum Johannes Seeman (’24) competed in the event.
Making his first ATP Challenger appearance, Mandma faced off against Patrick Maloney, a former player for the University of Michigan.
The first set was back-and-forth. Down 4-3, Mandma had break chances to even the score, but was unable to convert. Maloney closed out the first set 6-3 and carried the momentum to ultimately secure the match 6-3, 6-0.
“It was a great moment for Alex to play in his first ATP Challenger level event,” said Head Coach Gene Carswell. “For him to see that he can compete at this level of competition is a confidence booster and invaluable experience for his tennis future.”
Seeman, who spent four seasons on The Mesa and graduated in 2024, paired up in doubles play with the University of Arizona’s Colton Smith, who is the third-ranked collegiate singles player in the nation. The duo took on Jody Maginley and Alfredo Perez in the round of 16.
Seeman and Smith battled neck and neck against Maginley and Perez. After holding set point in the first set, but failing to capitalize and coming up short 7-6 (7-4), the pair rallied to a 6-4 second set win. It came down to a third set super buster, where Seeman and Smith fell 11-9.
Maginley and Perez went on to advance through to the semifinal before being upended.
“It was an extremely competitive and close matchup,” said Carswell. “You can’t get a much closer match than that one.”
Mandma, a senior out of Tallinn, Estonia continues to be a key player for the 2025 Aztecs. Playing primarily in the No. 4 and 5 spots, Mandma is 4-1 in singles play on the season. He earned his most recent win over Pomona-Pitzer’s Ethan Lee by a score of 7-5, 6-1, playing on court two for the first time this season. Paired up with fellow senior Mathieu Josserand in doubles, the duo is 5-3 on the top court for San Diego State.
In his four years as an Aztec, Seeman garnered All-Mountain West Doubles Team honors (2020, 2021, 2023), Singles Team honors (2021, 2022, 2023, 2024) and three Mountain West Player of the Week accolades. In his senior season, Seeman played on the top court in 20 out of 23 dual matches, ending his career with a win over Nevada’s Matheo Coupu (3-6, 6-4, 6-3) in the Mountain West Championships quarterfinal and a doubles victory over Utah State’s Paardekooper/Pinheiro (6-4) in the semifinal.