March 27, 2008
SAN DIEGO -
SDSU Men's Tennis Weekly Release in PDF Format
SDSU MEN'S TENNIS HEADS NORTH FOR A PAIR OF MATCHES THIS WEEK
* Winners of four straight and five of six, the 48th-ranked San Diego State men's tennis team returns to action this week when it heads north for a pair of matches against Harvard and UC Santa Barbara, March 28-29, in Santa Barbara, Calif. The Aztecs will square off against the 47th-ranked Crimson in a neutral-site clash on Friday before a Saturday showdown with the No. 64 host Gauchos. Both duals are scheduled for a 1 p.m. PDT start at the UCSB Recreation Center Courts.
SDSU (9-5) has won a season-high four matches in a row, including a 6-1 road conquest of cross-town rival San Diego on March 19. In this year's city showdown, the Aztec tandem of Bartosz Golas and Juan Gomez knocked off the Toreros' 44th-ranked duo of Chris Coetzee and Thomas Liversage, while in singles play, Matan Shitrit posted an upset victory over Liversage, who entered the match with a No. 45 ranking. Coupled with its win over USD and a 5-2 decision over Princeton on March 17, the Scarlet and Black jumped 11 spots into the 48th position in the latest ITA poll released March 25.
SCOUTING THE CRIMSON
* Harvard (7-4), which is in the midst of a four-match road swing through the Golden State, lost a 4-3 nail-biter to UCSB in its last outing on March 25. Prior to that defeat, the Crimson had won three straight, including a 4-3 triumph at then-No. 54 Clemson on March 10.
Leading the Harvard attack is junior Chris Clayton, who is ranked No. 110 in the latest ITA singles poll on the strength of an 18-7 record overall, including a 6-3 mark in dual matches. Clayton has shared the top two spots on the Crimson's singles ladder with senior Aswin Kumar, who has also impressed with a 17-7 record on the season, including a 10-2 mark in dual-match competition. Kumar has excelled in doubles competition as well, teaming with junior Sasha Ermakov to collect eight wins in 10 spring matches at the No. 1 position.
At the helm for Harvard is the venerable Dave Fish, who is in his 32nd year as head coach of the Crimson. Fish's squads have made 18 appearances in the NCAA tournament, including 10 straight from 1990-1999.
SERIES HISTORY VS. HARVARD
* The Aztecs have won the last three meetings to even the all-time series at 3-3 dating back to 1989. Friday's clash will be the first between the two teams since March 28, 2006, when SDSU posted a 4-2 triumph at Aztec Tennis Center. With rain a virtual certainty on that day, singles matches were contested first in hopes that an official winner would result without the need of a doubles point. The Scarlet and Black made the switch pay off as it captured four of the six encounters for the victory.
The SDSU holds a 26-6 advantage against Ivy League schools since 1989, including a 2-0 mark this season when it edged Yale, 4-3, on March 15, followed by a 5-2 defeat of Princeton two days later on St. Patrick's Day. The Aztecs possess an eight-match winning streak against Ivy League, last losing in 2005 when Brown came away with a 4-2 victory at the Blue-Gray Classic in Montgomery, Ala.
SCOUTING THE GAUCHOS
* UC Santa Barbara (8-4) has caught fire recently, winning its last five duals, including the aforementioned 4-3 decision against Harvard on March 25. The Gauchos have also pocketed recent wins against two other Ivy League institutions in Dartmouth and Yale.
Senior Philip Therp and junior Bijan Hejazi have both seen action in the No. 1 and 2 singles spots for UCSB this spring. Therp has compiled a 7-5 record in dual matches, while Hejazi is 5-7. Rounding out the top half of the Gauchos' singles ladder is senior Jack Hui, who had his five-match winning streak ended by Harvard's Dan Nguyen in the No. 3 spot on Tuesday. Hui was a teammate of former Aztec Anthony Gomez when the two led the College of the Desert to the California Community Colleges championship in 2005.
Head coach Marty Davis, who is in his eighth season at the controls for UCSB, was a three-time All-American as a collegian at California from 1977-80, helping the Golden Bears to four top-10 finishes. Davis has three Big West Conference coach of the year accolades to his credit, winning the award in 2002, 2003 and 2006.
SERIES HISTORY VS. UC SANTA BARBARA
* The Aztecs and Gauchos are quite familiar with one another, having met on 17 occasions since 1989. SDSU has won three straight to open up a 10-7 lead in the series during that span, including a 6-1 romp in Santa Barbara last season.
The Aztecs are 2-0 against Big West Conference schools this season, posting 7-0 shutouts over UC Riverside (Jan. 20) and Cal Poly (March 13) and currently enjoy a 39-19 advantage against the Big West dating back to 1989.
LOOKING AHEAD
* Following this weekend's slate, SDSU returns to Montezuma Mesa for its final home match of the 2008 campaign when it entertains the University of Hawai'i on April 2, beginning at 1:30 p.m. PDT. The clash with the Warriors will also draw the proverbial curtain down on the Aztecs' non-conference schedule as the Scarlet and Black opens MWC play, April 4-6, in Albuquerque, N.M. SDSU will play three matches on consecutive days when it squares off against Air Force, Utah and New Mexico.
NEUTRAL-COURT SUCCESS
* The Aztecs are 37-14 (.720 percent) in neutral-site matches since 2002, including a 3-0 mark this season. SDSU opened the 2008 campaign with a 7-0 blanking of UC Riverside at Indian Wells Tennis Garden on Jan. 20, followed by a 5-2 victory over Minnesota, in Tucson, Ariz., on Feb. 16. The Scarlet and and Black also dusted off Idaho, 7-0, at Boise State's home venue on March 7. Since 1989, SDSU has only had three seasons (1994, 1997, 2001) in which it posted a losing record on neutral courts.
YOUTH SHALL BE SERVED IN `08
* After losing four seniors off its 2007 roster, including Mountain West Conference player of the year Markus Dickhardt and all-MWC performer Christian Groh, San Diego State has taken on a decidedly youthful appearance this season. The Aztecs possess just one junior on this year's squad to go along with five sophomores and four freshmen (one redshirt). While growing pains are to be expected, success has not eluded this youthful bunch either. After garnering MWC freshman of the year honors in 2007, Achim Ceban teamed with Bartosz Golas to capture the doubles crown at the National Collegiate Tennis Classic in January at Indian Wells Tennis Garden. Ceban also reached the singles final at the NCTC, while Golas was named MWC player of week for his efforts in both the tournament and the season opener against UC Riverside.
NEW STARS ON THE HORIZON
* Freshman Andre Feliz is enjoying a tremendous rookie campaign thus far in 2008, leading the Scarlet and Black with an 13-6 overall record in singles play, including an 11-3 mark in dual matches. Fellow classmate Danny Heidecker has also come on strong of late, capturing seven out of his last eight encounters en route to a 10-6 mark. Another freshman, Tim Schulz van Endert, has been even hotter in doubles action, fashioning an eight-match winning streak playing alongside sophomores Achim Ceban and Jordan Colman. Colman, meanwhile, was triumphant in his first-ever Division I singles match on March 7, when he knocked off Idaho's Andrew Hobbs, 6-3, 6-3. The transfer from Cabrillo College has also won his last three doubles matches at the No. 3 spot, teaming with Ceban and Schulz van Endert.
LOOKING FOR THE RIGHT COMBINATION
* When Jordan Colman and Tim Schulz van Endert joined forces against Idaho on March 7, it marked the 16th different doubles tandem utilized by head coach Gene Carswell this season. However, that figure should not seem surprising. After all, SDSU employed 21 different pairings last year, even with a veteran cast.
CARSWELL IN CHARGE
* Gene Carswell is in his 10th season at San Diego State and fifth as head coach of the Scarlet and Black. In four-plus seasons at the helm, the Aztecs' mentor has guided SDSU to three straight Mountain West Conference regular-season titles, while compiling an overall record of 68-36 (.654) in the process. In each of the past three years, the native San Diegan has taken home MWC coach of the year accolades, leading San Diego State to a 17-0 league mark during that stretch. Prior to his present duties, Carswell was an Aztec assistant for five years from 1998-2003, earning a pair of ITA regional assistant coach of the year honors in 2001 and 2003.