SKILLMAN, N.J. - The San Diego State men's tennis team will start its 2015-16 dual season with a No. 38 national ranking, Oracle and the Intercollegiate Tennis Association announced today. Senior Freddy Gelbrich earned a singles national ranking, sitting at No. 53.
The Aztecs' position at the No. 38 spot is its highest listing since the team began the season at No. 28 in 2003.
San Diego State is the highest ranked Mountain West team after appearing in the program's seventh NCAA Tournament last season. The Aztecs finished the 2015 campaign ranked No. 38 after advancing to the second round of the NCAA Championship for the first time since 2003. The Aztecs earned an at-large bid to their first tournament since 2005 after spending the final nine weeks of the season nationally ranked. Then ranked No. 40, San Diego State topped 21st-ranked USD before falling to the 2014 National Champion USC.
One of the Aztecs' top singles player last season, Gelbrich, who started the 2015-16 season in the No. 77 spot, has seen a strong start to his final campaign in the Scarlet and Black. The Isernhagen, Germany native advanced to the singles round of 32 at the 2015 USTA/ITA Southwest Regional Championships. He began the year with a spot in the 2015 Saint Francis Health System ITA Men's All-American Championships, moving on to the second round of the tournament's qualifying draw.
In 2015, Gelbrich was the Co-Mountain West Player of the Year, San Diego State's second such honoree since 2012. A three-time Mountain West Player of the Week selection, he finished the year with a 16-9 record and a 15-7 mark in dual matches, including a 12-6 mark in the top spot.
The Aztecs' 2015-16 squad featured six returning letterwinners and three newcomers in freshmen Raul de la Torre, Sander Gjoles-Anderson and Cornelius Kolb. San Diego State kicks off its 2016 dual match season with the National Collegiate Tennis Classic Jan. 15-17 in Palm Desert, Calif.