Jan. 17, 2016
RANCHO MIRAGE, Calif. - The No. 38 San Diego State men's tennis team swept the podium at the National Collegiate Tennis Classic (NCTC), played at the Sunrise Country Club. Freddy Gelbrich (Isernhagen, Germany) captured the singles title, and Marko Goles-Babic (Zagreb, Croatia) and Milen Ianakiev (Elz, Hesse, Germany) earned the doubles title on Sunday.
"This was obviously a very successful weekend for our program," head coach Gene Carswell said. "Winning both the singles and doubles titles at the NCTC was a great way to start the season."
Gelbrich beat Henry Ji of USC with a 6-2, 6-3 win for the tournament's singles title. Goles-Babic and Ianakiev defeated teammates Gelbrich and Hendrik Jebens (Stuttgart, Germany), 6-4, to take the doubles title.
Freshman Cornelius Kolb (Frankfurt, Germany) captured the first title of his collegiate career, winning the singles consolation bracket with a 6-1, 6-7, 7-6 (3) over USC's David Laser. Earlier in the bracket's semifinal, he earned a 6-4, 3-6, 7-6 (3) win against Patrick Pech of Fresno State.
San Diego State went on to compete in a dual match against UC Riverside later in the day, topping the Highlanders, 5-1.
Next up, the Aztecs will travel to Fort Worth, Texas for the ITA Kickoff Weekend. San Diego State will face TCU on Sat., Jan. 23 at 1 p.m. (CT) and will take on the winner of the match between Oklahoma State and Harvard on Sun., Jan. 24.
Said Carswell, "Our guys are eager to improve and we look forward to the obstacles that lie ahead."