Jan. 23, 2007
SAN DIEGO - San Diego State, the 49th-ranked team in the nation, travels to Los Angeles to face No. 43 Southern California and fourth-ranked UCLA this week. The Aztecs (2-0) are set to take on the Trojans on Friday, Jan. 26, at 12:30 p.m. PST and then will face the Bruins on Tuesday, Jan. 30, at 1:30 p.m.
SDSU is coming off a successful weekend as it swept a season-opening doubleheader with a pair of 5-2 victories over UC Riverside and Concordia at Aztec Tennis Center. Ninth-ranked Christian Groh and Markus Dickhardt, the top doubles tandem in the West Region, got through the day unscathed with a 2-0 record as did San Diego State's other two doubles teams. In singles, Dickhardt and Achim Ceban blew through the competition each winning both of their respective matches, while the 28th-ranked Groh completed the day at 1-1.
The Trojans enter Friday's match with a 2-0 record after shutting out Loyola Marymount and Cal Poly on Jan. 20. USC overpowered the Lions and Mustangs so much so that the Trojans did not drop a single set in a winning effort. Individually, 91st-ranked Jason McNaughton is the lone USC player ranked in the FILA Collegiate Tennis Rankings singles poll. However, the Trojans return eight letterwinners off a team that defeated SDSU, 4-3, a year ago at Marks Tennis Stadium.
The Bruins got their season underway with a 7-0 victory over UC Irvine on Jan. 18. Similar to its crosstown rivals, Southern California, UCLA opened 2007 by not dropping a set to the Anteaters. Before playing host to SDSU, the Bruins will have a pair of matches in between as San Diego (Jan. 24) and Brigham Young (Jan. 26), both Aztec opponents this season, visit the Los Angeles Tennis Center. In the national rankings, UCLA boasts the No. 5 and No. 27 ranked singles players in Benjamin Kohlloeffel and Chris Surapol, respectively. Meanwhile in the doubles poll, the Bruins are well represented as Mathieu Dehaine and Jeremy Drean form the 18th-best duo in the country, while Kohlloeffel and Surapol come in at No. 44.
Following its two-match roadtrip, San Diego State returns to Montezuma Mesa to play host to Boise State on Feb. 4 at Aztec Tennis Center.