April 24, 2007
SAN DIEGO -
San Diego State Men's Tennis Weekly Release in PDF Format
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Top-Seeded Aztecs Earn First-Round Bye, Will Face Winner of New Mexico-Brigham Young in Semifinals of MWC Championships
The 2007 Mountain West Conference regular season champion and top-seeded Aztecs (16-7; 6-0 MWC) travel to the Air Force Academy where they will receive a first-round bye and play the winner of fourth-seeded New Mexico (14-8; 3-3) and No. 5 seed Brigham Young (11-13; 2-4) in the semifinals of the MWC Championships on Friday, April 27, at 10 a.m. MDT.
No. 47 San Diego State ended the regular season with a 1-1 record after winning three in a row at the site of the championships, April 5-7. Two days after returning from Colorado, SDSU traveled to UCLA where the 10th-ranked Bruins dealt the Aztecs a 7-0 defeat. Five days later, San Diego State played host to San Diego and won going away, 6-1, to head into the league tournament with a victory.
Should the Aztecs emerge victorious from their semifinal match, they would end up playing in the final set for 2 p.m. On the other side of the bracket in the quarterfinal round is No. 3 seed UNLV vs. sixth-seeded Utah and No. 2 seed TCU vs. the host and seventh-seeded Air Force.
At the Top of the Mountain
For the third straight season and the seventh time in the eight-year history of the Mountain West Conference, San Diego State has claimed the league's regular season crown. The 2007 edition of the Aztecs finished the conference slate with a perfect 6-0 record for a third consecutive season and for the fourth time overall. In the history of the MWC, San Diego State has compiled a ridiculous record of 35-5 and has won the tournament title three times.
Mountain West Tourney History
SDSU is 10-5 all-time in the MWC tennis championships, capturing tournament titles in 2002, 2003 and 2005. The Aztecs also have tournament runner-up finishes in 2000, 2004 and 2006.
Aztecs Under Carswell
In his fourth year at the helm of the SDSU men's tennis program, Gene Carswell's teams have fared well in the MWC Championships. In his three previous years, Carswell has guided the Aztecs to a 5-2 record and has never dropped the first match of the tournament as head coach.
San Diego State-Brigham Young: The Series
The Aztecs are 14-3 vs. the Cougars in matches played since 1996. SDSU has owned the series of late having won nine in a row. The last four matches have been close with three of the Aztecs' wins coming by 4-3 scores and the other coming by a 4-2 count. Earlier this year in Colorado Springs, SDSU rallied from a 3-1 deficit to record the 4-3 victory. The Aztecs are 3-1 all-time vs. BYU in the tournament, posting wins in 2000, 2002 and 2005. San Diego State's only loss came in 2001. The last time SDSU and BYU saw each other in the postseason was in 2005, when the Aztecs beat the Cougars 4-2 to earn the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA tournament.
Scouting the Cougars
After leaving San Diego having lost four straight at the end of March, No. 74 Brigham Young finished the season strong, posting wins in three of its last four outings. Their only blemish during that period came at the hands of San Diego State. Prior to the loss to SDSU, the Cougars were able to defeat Air Force before coming home to beat Utah and and Utah State in Provo. BYU is led by nationally ranked James Ludlow, who is on a season-best four-match singles winnning streak. Included in his streak is an impressive victory over the Utes' No. 52 Zach Ganger, 6-2, 6-4.
San Diego State-New Mexico: The Series
SDSU is 9-7 against New Mexico in matches played since the 1996 season. Recently, the Aztecs have won the last three in a series that has been fairly tight. Two of SDSU's three wins have come by 5-2 counts, but the Aztecs bucked the trend by claiming a 6-1 win earlier this year at Aztec Tennis Center. In MWC tournament history, SDSU is 1-3 vs. New Mexico, losing in the finals in 2000 and 2004 and in the third-place match in 2001. The Aztecs' lone win vs. the Lobos in the postseason came in 2003 en route to the tournament crown.
Scouting New Mexico
No. 55 New Mexico comes into the tournament having split its last six matches. Following its trip to San Diego, the Lobos traveled to Fort Worth, Texas, and suffered a pair of defeats to UNLV (4-3) and TCU (4-2). UNM's last win came on April 14 against Air Force, 7-0, in between losses to the aforementioned opponents. The Lobos are led by their No. 1 singles player in Max Jones. The junior has struggled as of late, recording 2-6 record. It should be noted that of the eight opponents, seven of them are currently ranked in the ITA singles poll and no lower than No. 109.