Feb. 8, 2007
SAN DIEGO -
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SDSU Men's Tennis Looks to Snap Two-Match Skid at Defending National Champion Pepperdine
The 49th-ranked San Diego State men's tennis team (2-2) looks to snap its two-match losing streak on Saturday, Feb. 10, when it travels to Malibu, Calif., for a showdown with the No. 10 and 2006 defending national champion Pepperdine Waves (4-1). Start time is set for 1 p.m. PST at Ralphs-Straus Tennis Center and the match will mark the third straight against a nationally ranked opponent for the Aztecs.
SDSU will be looking to get into the win column for the first time since Jan. 20, when it swept UC Riverside and Concordia (Calif.) in a season-opening doubleheader. The past two matches have seen the Aztecs drop a 7-0 decision to No. 43 Southern California and a tight 4-3 effort against 17th-ranked Boise State.
Following its road trip north, the Aztecs will not be in action until they travel to the Pacific Northwest for a pair of matches in Seattle, Wash. SDSU will first take on Oregon on Feb. 24 and then play at Washington the next day to round out the trip.
San Diego State-Pepperdine: The Series
San Diego State has not been very successful against Pepperdine having posted a 2-7 record since the 1996 season. However, five of the last six encounters have been decided by three points or less. Currently, the Waves have won two straight in the series, both by 5-2 scores. The last time the Aztecs came out on the winning end was in 2003 when they were 4-3 victors. In matches at Pepperdine, San Diego State is 2-5 with wins coming in the second round of the 2000 NCAA Tournament and in 2003.
UCLA Match Rescheduled
Sandwiched between the USC and Boise State matches was a road contest at UCLA that was rained out. The two schools have since rescheduled with both teams agreeing to play on April 10 at 1:30 p.m. at the Los Angeles Tennis Center. The Bruins are currently ranked third in the country.
Tough Stretch
The Aztecs find themselves in the middle of a tough stretch that extends into the middle of March. SDSU opened the stretch by facing a Southern California team that was ranked 43rd at the time and is now ranked No. 15 in the latest FILA Collegiate Rankings. Next up was a date with fourth-ranked UCLA, but rain forced the rescheduling of the match. Last Sunday, the Aztecs faced No. 17 Boise State and they follow it with this Saturday's contest at 10th-ranked Pepperdine. After facing the Waves, SDSU will go up against a 5-2 Oregon team, No. 17 Washington, UC Irvine, No. 72 Arizona, 73rd-ranked UC Santa Barbara and No. 22 North Carolina all in succession.
Achim on The Mesa
Freshman Achim Ceban is in the midst of a great first season on Montezuma Mesa. The Moscow, Russia, native is 3-1 in dual-match action with a perfect 3-0 mark at No. 4 singles. On the year, Ceban is 10-5 in singles action having already claimed the 2006 Balloon Fiesta Classic in Albuquerque, N.M., back in October. In doubles, he is a combined 2-2 in the spring with a 2-1 mark with sophomore Billy Timu. The two wins with Timu tie them with ninth-ranked Markus Dickhardt and Christian Groh for most doubles wins by a tandem this season.
A Look Back at Match No. 4: Boise State
San Diego State dropped a narrow 4-3 decision to No. 17 Boise State on Feb. 4 at Aztec Tennis Center. SDSU fell to 2-2 with the loss, while the Broncos upped their record to 6-0.
Boise State jumped out to an early 1-0 lead after sweeping all three doubles matches. The Aztecs used a different doubles lineup for a third consecutive match due to the health of Christian Groh, who makes up one-half of the ninth-ranked tandem with Markus Dickhardt.
In singles play, the 28th-ranked Groh found himself in his familiar position at the top of the lineup, but was downed by No. 15 Luke Shields, 6-3, 6-4, giving the Broncos a 2-0 advantage.
Later, Dickhardt fell victim to BSU's other ranked player in 94th-ranked Clancy Shields at No. 2. The senior from Germany lost the first set 6-4 and was down 5-0 in the second before making a comeback. After winning three consecutive games to pull within two, Clancy Shields held serve, put the match away, 6-4, 6-3, and gave the visitors a 3-0 cushion.
Not one minute later on court No. 3, Anthony Gomez got the Aztecs on the board with his straight-set victory over Piotr Dilaj, 6-3, 6-4, pulling SDSU to within two team points with three matches still in progress.
Unfortunately for San Diego State, the Broncos' Brent Werbeck fought off Robert Sabo at No. 6, 6-2, 7-6(5), to clinch the victory for BSU. The Aztecs received three-set wins from Achim Ceban and Juan Gomez at Nos. 4-5 to provide the final score.