April 25, 2012
2012 MW MEN'S TENNIS CHAMPIONSHIP BRACKET
SAN DIEGO - The No. 59 San Diego State men's tennis team is set to play host to the Mountain West Men's Tennis Championship from April 27-29 at the Aztec Tennis Center. Second-seeded SDSU (15-7, 4-1 in MW play) will either face New Mexico or Air Force in the semifinals on Saturday at 10 a.m. PT.
A LOOK AT THE LOBOS: No. 66 New Mexico is coming off a 4-3 win against TCU in Fort Worth, Texas, on Saturday afternoon. With the win, the Lobos finished with a 17-7 overall record and a 3-2 mark in league play to clinch the No. 3 seed in the Mountain West Championship. New Mexico has the 58th-ranked duo of Phillip Anderson and Jadon Phillips, who are 10-3 this season and have a 3-1 record in MW play. In singles play, Carl Ho leads the Lobos with a 19-4 mark in dual-match action and a perfect 5-0 record in league action. Conor Berg, meanwhile, is 18-4 on the year and 3-2 in MW play.
SDSU-NEW MEXICO SERIES HISTORY: The Aztecs are 17-13 in the all-time series versus the Lobos. SDSU and New Mexico have each won three Mountain West Conference titles in the 12-year history of the league. The last time SDSU and New Mexico faced off, the Aztecs used victories from the top four positions in the singles lineup to post a 4-3 win over the Lobos at the Aztec Tennis Center. The victory marked the third time in the last four seasons that SDSU has won the battle between the two Mountain West tennis powers by a 4-3 margin. The Aztecs also claimed victories by identical scores in 2009 and 2010.
A LOOK AT THE FALCONS: Air Force just won its regular-season final on Sunday with a 7-0 sweep of Colorado College to finish with a record of 11-12. The Falcons, however, last played a league match on April 15 when they dropped a 7-0 decision to TCU in Fort Worth, Texas. With the loss, Air Force finished 0-5 in Mountain West play to earn the sixth seed. The duo of Andy Jackson and Lance Wilhelm lead Air Force with a 12-8 record this year. However, Wilhelm and Steven Young have had the most success in league play with a 2-2 mark. The Falcons haven't had the same luck in singles play, as Alex Grubbs' 11-11 record in dual-match action leads the team.
SDSU-AIR FORCE SERIES HISTORY: The Aztecs hold a 25-1 advantage in the all-time series with the Falcons. SDSU picked up a 4-3 win the last time it played Air Force in Colorado Springs, Colo., on March 25. The Aztecs used three wins in the bottom half of singles to earn the win on the road. SDSU has swept Air Force on six occasions under head coach Gene Carswell, with four of those being by a 7-0 tally in league action and two being by a 4-0 margin in Mountain West Championship play.
TOURNAMENT OUTLOOK: Quarterfinal action begins Friday, April 27, at 10 a.m. PT with two matchups, No. 4 TCU vs. No. 5 UNLV and No. 3 New Mexico vs. No. 6 Air Force. Top-seeded Boise State and No. 2 SDSU, meanwhile, both received a bye into the semifinals at 10 a.m. PT on Saturday. The Broncos will square off with the winner of the TCU/UNLV match, while the Aztecs will face the winner of New Mexico vs. Air Force. The championship will then be held on Sunday at 10 a.m. PT.
SAN DIEGO AS THE HOST: This season's conference tournament marks the fifth time in the 13-year history of the league in which San Diego State has played host to the Championship. This, however, is the first time Aztec Tennis Center has been the venue as the previous tournaments were held at Barnes Tennis Center in nearby Point Loma and at the old SDSU Tennis Courts on the main campus grounds. The Aztecs were hosts in 2003, 2004, 2005 and 2006.
AZTECS AT THE MW CHAMPIONSHIP: SDSU is 15-10 all-time in the Mountain West Championship. In conference tournament matches played in San Diego, the Aztecs hold an 8-2 record and have won two championships (2003 and 2005). In the semifinals, SDSU owns a 7-5 record. The Aztecs have reached the final on seven occasions and were crowed champion three times.
POTENTIAL MATCH-UP: The Aztecs are likely to face off with top-seeded Boise State in Sunday's Mountain West Championship match. The No. 38 Broncos (24-6, 5-0 in MW play) have been on fire as of late, winning 16 of their last 17 matches, with the lone defeat coming against No. 1 USC on March 26. Boise State has been led in dual-match action by No. 68 Damian Hume, as he is 17-2 on the year and has a perfect 5-0 mark in league play. In doubles, James Meredith and Nathan Sereke have been successful as of late with a 15-7 overall mark and a 4-1 record in MW play. Their lone loss in conference, however, came last Friday against UNLV's Tamas Batyi and Johannes Markel by a score of 8-7(5). In SDSU's last match vs. the Broncos, the Aztecs dropped a 6-1 setback to then-No. 37 Boise State at the Appleton Tennis Center in Boise, Idaho.
SDSU'S ALL-TIME SERIES RECORDS VS. MW: San Diego State is... 25-1 all-time vs. Air Force... 5-6 vs. Boise State... 17-13 vs. New Mexico... 4-6 vs. TCU... 18-9 vs. UNLV.
AZTECS AS OF LATE: SDSU is coming off a hard-fought win against No. 57 UC Santa Barbara on Sunday afternoon at the Aztec Tennis Center. San Diego State used a clutch performance from Juan Florez at number six singles to give the Aztecs a big Senior Day victory. SDSU is 4-1 in its last five, with three of the wins coming in Mountain West action.
DOUBLE TROUBLE: The Aztecs have been successful as of late in doubles play, claiming the point in three of their last four matches. Overall this season, SDSU has earned the doubles point on 12 occasions. Three of those have come against a nationally ranked squad. The duo of Javier Pulgar and Freddy Gelbrich lead the Aztecs in Mountain West play with a 2-1 mark and are on a four-match winning streak in overall dual-match action.
SINGLES PLAY ON THE SEASON: San Diego State has been led in singles play by Thorsten Bertsch. The native of Mannheim, Germany is 14-6 overall, 4-1 in Mountain West play and 6-3 in his last 10 appearances. No. 117 Javier Pulgar, meanwhile, has posted a 12-9 mark this season and is 3-2 in MW action along with two wins against nationally ranked opponents.