April 15, 2009
SAN DIEGO - San Diego State athletics is enjoying an incredibly successful spring as three Aztec teams are each ranked among the nation's top 25 in their respective polls. SDSU's current nationally-ranked teams include baseball (No. 15), men's golf (No. 20) and water polo (No. 7). In addition, softball is receiving votes in both polls and both men's and women's tennis teams are ranked in the top 60.
Despite not earning a preseason ranking, head coach Tony Gwynn's Aztecs have continued to climb the polls. They are currently ranked No. 15 in the Baseball America poll, as released Apr. 14, and are tied atop the Mountain West Conference standings. SDSU is also ranked 24th in the NCBWA poll (April 13), No. 26 in the USA Today Baseball Weekly/ESPN poll (April 13) and 30th in the Collegiate Baseball poll (April 13).
The San Diego State men's golf team remains ranked 20th in the nation for the second consecutive week. Head coach Ryan Donovan's Aztecs earned the 20th spot on Golfstat's weekly poll thanks to six top 7 outings in as many tournaments this spring. In addition, the Scarlet and Black find themselves in the No. 27 spot on the Golfweek/Sagarin performance index, announced April 13.
San Diego State's water polo team is no newcomer when it comes to being ranked among the nation's top-10. Currently No. 7 by the Collegiate Water Polo Association, head coach Carin Crawford's Aztecs have earned a top-10 ranking every week that the poll has been released since the beginning of the 2006 season.
The SDSU softball team has been in and out of the rankings all season. Head coach Kathy Van Wyk's squad, who are currently in second place in the MWC, are receiving votes in the USA Today/NFCA national polls for the seventh straight week. The Scarlet and Black began the season at No. 25 in the poll and moved up a spot the following week, but have since dropped to 28th (RV). For the second week in a row, the Aztecs are also receiving votes in the ESPN.com/USA Softball poll. SDSU began the season receiving votes, the 27th most in the nation, and then dropped to tied for 38th.
Both men's and women's tennis teams have earned top-50 recognition this spring. Head coach Gene Carswell's Aztecs earned the No. 42 spot in the latest men's polls released by the Intercollegiate Tennis Association. In addition, women's head coach Peter Mattera has also led his Aztecs to a No. 42 ranking released by the ITA.
Each of the six nationally-ranked teams will have the chance to showcase their national status this weekend, beginning with the water polo team's final home contest on Saturday afternoon against UC San Diego. Four of the teams will continue Mountain West Conference play away from San Diego this weekend. The softball team begins a six-game road trip at Brigham Young and Utah, slated to begin on Thursday, while baseball travels to New Mexico for a three-game series, beginning Friday. The men's golf will travel to the Lone Star state to compete in the Texas A&M Aggie Invitational on Saturday and Sunday. Finally, both men's and women's tennis are traveling to Las Vegas this weekend in key MWC match-ups.