Feb. 13, 2006
SAN DIEGO -
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SDSU MEN"S TENNIS HITS THE ROAD TO BATTLE EIGHTH-RANKED UCLA ON TUESDAY
* After eight days off, the San Diego State men's tennis team travels north on Tuesday for a Valentine's Day clash with defending national champion and eighth-ranked UCLA, scheduled to begin at 1:30 p.m. at the Los Angeles Tennis Center.
The Aztecs-Bruins tilt will be the first action for the scarlet and black since a doubleheader sweep over Cal Poly and UC San Diego at Aztec Tennis Center on Feb. 5. UCLA, meanwhile, will be facing its fourth opponent in 12 days on Tuesday.
SDSU (3-1), ranked 48th in the latest ITA poll, is off to its best start since 1999 when the Aztecs opened with six straight wins en route to a 15-6 record and a berth in the NCAA tournament.
Following its skirmish with the Bruins, SDSU will return to The Mesa for a pair of home matches to close out the month, squaring off against East Tennessee State on Feb. 25, then playing host to the University of the Pacific on Feb. 27. Both matches are slated for a noon start at Aztec Tennis Center.
SCOUTING THE BRUINS
* After starting the year 4-0, UCLA has dropped its last two matches, suffering a pair of close losses to highly ranked opposition. On Feb. 4, the Bruins were upended, 4-3, at No. 12 Stanford, while last Friday, UCLA was defeated at home for the first time in 28 contests, falling to fourth-ranked Pepperdine by the same 4-3 margin.
The Bruins are led by redshirt junior Benjamin Kohlloeffel who is currently ranked third in the nation in the ITA singles poll. Kohlloeffel boasts a 22-3 record and has captured three singles titles during fall tournament play this year.
On the doubles side of the ledger, UCLA possesses the 36th-ranked tandem in Chris Surapol and Jeremy Drean.
SERIES HISTORY
* History has not been kind to the scarlet and black in its series with the Bruins. Dating back to the 1998 season, SDSU is 0-10 against UCLA.
Of the 10 meetings, eight have taken place at the Los Angeles Tennis Center. The other two matches took place on neutral courts at the National Team Indoor Championships. In the eight matches at UCLA, the Bruins managed to outscore the Aztecs, 44-8. In the 10 total losses, SDSU has been outscored, 52-8.
The last dual match between the two schools took place a year ago with the second-ranked Bruins claiming a 7-0 victory in Los Angeles.
Select members of each squad also faced one another in fall tournament play at the Wilson/ITA West Region Championships in Malibu, Calif., back in October.
In the round of 32, sophomore Robert Sabo upset UCLA's fifth-seeded Philipp Gruendler, 3-6, 7-5, 6-4. Chris Groh, Markus Dickhardt and Stephan Timu were not as fortunate, however, as each fell in straight sets to their Bruin adversaries.
In the lone doubles match between the schools, the Aztec tandem of Groh and Stephan Timu reached match on point two occasions against the Bruins' duo of Mathieu Dehaine and Aaron Yovan, but fell in a heartbreaker, 9-7, in the quarterfinal round.
THE LAST TIME OUT
* Benedikt Stronk and Markus Dickhardt teamed up for a pair of victories in doubles competition, while each recorded a win in singles play to lift San Diego State to a doubleheader sweep over Cal Poly, 5-2, and UC San Diego, 7-0, at Aztec Tennis Center on Feb. 5.
Against Cal Poly, Dickhardt defeated No. 55 John Nguyen at No. 1 singles, 7-6, 6-1, after combining with Stronk to defeat Nguyen and Brett Van Linge, 8-5, at the top doubles position.
In the nightcap versus UCSD, Stronk and Dickhardt improved their doubles record to 4-0 on the season after notching an 8-6 win over the Tritons' Brent Molden and Eric Rubens, who entered the match ranked second nationally according to the ITA Division II poll. Stronk later kept his perfect singles record in tact as well, with a straight-set defeat of UCSD's Erik Oijala, 6-1, 6-4.
Chris Groh was another big winner on the day for the scarlet and black, sweeping both of his doubles matches to along with a two straight-set triumphs in singles play.
Meanwhile, junior Anthony Gomez and senior Eugenio Romero both emerged victorious in their first action of the dual-match season.
Gomez was extended to three sets before dispatching Cal Poly's Darryn Young, 6-7, 6-3, 6-4, while Romero downed UCSD's Ramesh Thondapu, 6-3, 6-3.
NEW FACE ON THE MESA
* The SDSU men's tennis team recently received a valuable addition to its staff when Brandon Fallon was named as the Aztecs' new assistant coach. Fallon arrives on The Mesa after spending the past two years as a teaching professional at Advantage Tennis Academy in Irvine, Calif.
Fallon was also a highly successful collegiate player at Cal Poly from 1998-2001 after transferring from UNLV following his freshman year. He was a second-team all-Big West doubles selection for three straight years from 1999-2001 and also posted a 17-5 dual-match record at No. 1 singles in 2001.
Fallon served as the Mustangs' team captain in 2000-01, and after graduation, he remained at his alma mater as an assistant for one season before joining the ITF Futures Tour.
During his stint on tour, Fallon recorded a victory over Amer Delic, who was the 2003 NCAA singles champion.