April 22, 2009
SAN DIEGO - San Diego State men's tennis players Achim Ceban and Juan Gomez earned all-Mountain West Conference accolades, the league announced Wednesday. Ceban and Gomez were honored by the MWC coaches for their performances in singles play this season, while the duo also received all-doubles recognition.
A junior from Moscow, Russia, Ceban is currently ranked at No. 125 in the nation and has had a successful season. Competing mainly in the first singles position, he has tallied a 12-10 overall record and is 4-1 in MWC standings. Ceban has taken the last five of six outings in singles play, including an upset of No. 79 Johnny Parkes of New Mexico. This is the second time Ceban has been honored by the MWC as he was tabbed freshman of the year in 2007.
Gomez, meanwhile, has also been competitive as he has posted a 13-13 overall record and is 3-2 in league play. The Guayaquil, Ecuador, native is on a roll and has a three match win streak in singles. Gomez has played in the first, second and third singles position for the Aztecs this season, facing some of the top ranked players in the nation. This is the first career all-conference award for Gomez.
Ceban and Gomez combine to make up the San Diego State doubles team honored as part of the all-MWC team. The duo has competed in the first doubles position for each of their matches and has gone 4-0 in conference play this season. While being teamed together for only five matches this season, the pair has yet to drop a match. Among the highlights for the Aztec duo was a 9-7 upset of Luca Barlocchi and Elliot Wronski of UNLV, ranked 79th at the time.
The Aztecs will be back in action on April 23 as they open up play at the Mountain West Conference Championships. Fifth-seeded SDSU will face fourth-seeded BYU at 10 a.m. MT in Albuquerque, N.M.