April 8, 2009
SAN DIEGO -
Complete Release in PDF Format
Aztecs To Host Final Home Matches Against Conference Opponents
The San Diego State men's tennis team will host three Mountain West Conference opponents this week to close out their home season at the Aztec Tennis Center. Competition will kick off against BYU on April 9 at 2 p.m. PT, and will be followed by a 2 p.m. PT contest versus TCU on April 10. The final home match for SDSU will be on April 11 at 9 a.m. PT against Utah. This week's matches will serve as San Diego State's first conference outing, due to its scheduled league-opening weekend being postponed due to inclement weather.
Scouting The Cougars
Brigham Young is coming off a 6-1 win over UNLV on April 4 in Salt Lake City, Utah. With the win the Cougars improved to 13-10 overall and 1-2 against MWC opponents. BYU is ranked 64th in the nation and has wins over No. 50 DePaul and No. 65 UNLV. Brad Pearce is in his sixth season as the Cougars head coach.
Series History vs. BYU
San Diego State has taken 21 of the 30 all-time match-ups between the two Mountain West schools. Last season, the Aztecs fell to the Cougars, 4-3, on the road.
Scouting The Horned Frogs
TCU is fresh off a 5-2 loss to No. 52 Utah on April 4. With the loss, the Horned Frogs fell to 8-10 on the season and 2-1 in conference play. No. 45 TCU boasts three ranked singles players and two ranked doubles teams. Freshman Slah Mbarek is ranked No. 62, senior Kriegler Brink comes in at No. 76 and sophomore Emanuel Brighiu is ranked No. 110. Brighiu and junior Adrian Simon combine to make up the 20th-ranked doubles team while Brink and Mbarek make up the 31st-ranked duo. Dave Borelli is in his third season at the helm of the team.
Series History vs. TCU
The Aztecs have split the four all-time meetings between the two institutions. In 2008, SDSU fell 4-1 to the Horned Frogs.
Scouting The Utes
Utah is coming off a 5-2 upset over 50th-ranked TCU on April 4. With the win the Utes improve to 15-6 overall and 3-0 in league play. Saturday's match up against Utah will be the second for the Aztecs this season, as they defeated the No. 46 Utes in Waco, Texas. F.D. Robbins is in his 23rd season at the helm of the team.
Series History vs. Utah
San Diego State has taken 14 of the 25 all-time match ups between the two schools. Last season, the Aztecs topped the Utes, 4-2.
Aztecs In The Polls
San Diego State is currently ranked 38th in the nation, according to the FILA Collegiate Tennis Rankings released April 7 by the Intercollegiate Collegiate Tennis Association (ITA).
Last Time Out With The Aztecs
San Diego State picked up a win over No. 74 UC Santa Barbara on April 4, at the Fairbanks Ranch Tennis Club. The Aztecs took the doubles point and four singles matches to defeat the Gauchos, 5-2. With the victory SDSU improves to 12-8 on the season.
The Coaches
Gene Carswell is in his 11th season at San Diego State and sixth as head coach of the Scarlet and Black. In his six seasons at the helm, the Aztecs' mentor has compiled an overall record of 84-51 (.624), while guiding SDSU to three straight Mountain West Conference regular-season titles from 2005-2007. During that stretch, the native San Diegan led the Aztecs to a 17-0 league mark en route to earning three consecutive MWC coach of the year accolades. 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. Former Aztec All-American Ryan Redondo is in his second season as SDSU's assistant coach. Redondo and doubles partner Oliver Maiberger advanced to the NCAA Finals in 2003 after posting an impressive 31-8 season record.