March 14, 2007
SAN DIEGO -
San Diego State Men's Tennis Weekly Release in PDF Format
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Streaking Aztecs to Play Host to 11th-ranked North Carolina and Yale
San Diego State, winners of three straight, will welcome a pair of non-conference foes in No. 11 North Carolina and Yale to Aztec Tennis Center later this week. SDSU will take on the Tar Heels (11-0) on Saturday, March 17, at noon PDT, while the Bulldogs (3-5) make the trip to San Diego for a dual on Monday, March 19, at 1:30 p.m.
After losing five straight, the Aztecs have rebounded nicely by winning their last three to even their record at 5-5. The Scarlet and Black's most recent decision was by far its most compete as it defeated 75th-ranked Arizona, 6-1, this past Monday at home.
Following this week's matches, SDSU will wrap up its longest homestand of the season with a contest against Princeton at Fairbanks Ranch Country Club in Rancho Santa Fe, Calif., on March 21 at 1:30 p.m., before heading to the Aloha State for showdowns against Hawai'i and California.
San Diego State-North Carolina: The Series
North Carolina leads the all-time series with San Diego State, 1-0. The lone meeting occurred last year at Aztec Tennis Center when the Tar Heels left San Diego with a 6-1 decision. UNC swept all three doubles matches en route to the doubles point and found itself up 6-0 before Benedikt Stronk defeated Brad Pomeroy, 6-4, 7-5, at No. 2 to prevent SDSU from being shutout.
Scouting North Carolina
The Tar Heels find themselves ranked No. 11 in the latest FILA Collegiate Tennis Rankings released March 13. North Carolina is undefeated at 11-0 and is fresh off a 4-3 road victory over San Diego on March 12. Of its 11 wins, seven of them have come by way of shutout and an additional two have come by 6-1 scores. Individually, UNC is led by 40th-ranked Benjamin Carlotti, who is 7-4 in dual matches will all 11 decisions coming at the top of the order. However, Stefan Hardy leads the team in dual victories with a record of 10-1, including a 9-1 mark at No. 2. In doubles, North Carolina is particularly tough as its three primary teams are a combined 24-5.
San Diego State-Yale: The Series
San Diego State leads the all-time series with Yale, 8-2, since 1996. Recently, the Aztecs have dominated the Bulldogs by winning the last four meetings, including a 6-1 thrashing last year. In 2006, SDSU wasted little time as it swept doubles play and quickly pocketed three singles victories to secure the win. Yale's only win came at No. 5 with every other match already decided.
Scouting Yale
Yale, in the midst of a five-match California road trip, sports a 3-5 record with a contest against UC Santa Barbara in Indian Wells, Calif., on Saturday, March 16, before facing SDSU. Overall, the Bulldogs have lost three straight after starting the year 3-2. In its most recent match at Pepperdine, Yale lost the doubles point, but tied the score at 1 after Connor Dawson beat Oliver Hyams at No. 6. Unfortunately for the Bulldogs, the Waves rattled off five conseucitve wins to close out the match and secured their 10th victory of 2006-07. Individually, Brandon Wai leads the team with an 8-2 record at the No. 1 singles position and teams with Rory Green atop the doubles ladder.
Dickhardt Continues to Roll
Senior Markus Dickhardt continues to win at the top of San Diego State's singles order. The German has won six straight, including four in a row at No. 1 singles. He is 8-2 in dual matches with identical 4-1 records at first and second singles and is currently ranked No. 67 in the national poll. He is also thriving in doubles with partner Juan Gomez. The two have won three straight and are 4-1 at No. 3. In addition to his singles ranking, Dickhardt and Christian Groh are rated the 12th-best tandem in America.
A. and J. Gomez
The Gomez pair of Anthony and Juan (no relation) are two other Aztecs who have played well of late. Both have won three straight singles and have been instrumental in doubles play. Anthony has teamed with Achim Ceban lately and have gone on to post a 2-0 record at first doubles, while Juan and Dickhardt have combined to win three in a row and post a 4-1 record at No. 3.
What Doubles Struggles?
During San Diego State's five-match losing streak, the Aztecs had a hard time winning the doubles point. In fact, SDSU lost 12 of 15 doubles matches during its 0-5 run compared to winning five of six in its first two contests, which were coincidentally Aztec victories. San Diego State broke an 0-for-9 slump when they broke out the brooms against Oregon, but suffered the same fate against the Huskies. However, things have turned around as the Aztecs have claimed the doubles point in three straight matches, which were also SDSU victories. During the streak, the Scarlet and Black emerged victorious in six of the nine total matches. Overall, San Diego State is 5-1 in matches where it wins the ever-important doubles point.