Sept. 20, 2007
SAN DIEGO - San Diego State men's tennis coach Gene Carswell welcomed back one of the program's best to Montezuma Mesa on Thursday when he announced the hiring of former Aztec All-American Ryan Redondo as the team's new assistant coach.
Redondo, a three-year letterwinner (2002-04) and two-time All-American (2002-03), is one of the most heralded players in Aztec history. The Carlsbad, Calif., native teamed with Oliver Maiberger to reach the 2003 NCAA Doubles Finals.
"We are extremely happy and privileged to welcome Ryan back to the Aztec family," Carswell said. "We will benefit greatly from his wealth of collegiate and professional experience.
"As a coaching staff, we are looking forward to taking this team to new heights this season and beyond."
Redondo returns to The Mesa after spending the last two-plus years playing on the USTA, ITF and ATP professional tours. He also spent time during the past year coaching privately in the Rancho Sante Fe, Calif., area as well as completing his degree in religion at San Diego State.
"I'm very excited to be back at San Diego State coaching a talented group of players," Redondo said. "It's an honor to work with Coach Carswell who has taught me so much on and off the court. There is nobody in the country I would want to work with more than him."
As an Aztec, Redondo collected many accolades. In 2002, his first season after transferring from Pepperdine, Redondo teamed with Maiberger to reach the quarterfinals of the NCAA Doubles Championship and helped the team win the National Collegiate Indoor Championship, the program's lone national championship.
During the 2002-03 campaign, Redondo and Maiberger posted a remarkable 31-8 record, including 21 wins against ranked opponents. The duo finished the season ranked No. 2 in the country after winning four matches in four days to reach the NCAA Doubles Finals where they lost to Illinois' Brian Wilson and Rajeev Ram.
The five-time All-Mountain West Conference selection and Maiberger still stand as the program's record holders with 59 career doubles victories.