Feb. 18, 2016
SAN DIEGO - The No. 38 San Diego State men's tennis team faces its fifth nationally ranked opponent of the 2016 dual season, welcoming No. 42 UC Santa Barbara to Aztec Tennis Center for the Aztecs' home debut on Sat., Feb. 20. The dual is slated to begin at noon.
After opening the season with a 4-3 win at Washington, the Gauchos dropped three straight to Texas, Oregon and Georgia. UCSB has rebounded convincingly, however, with three road wins over nationally-ranked opponents (then-No. 37 Louisville, then-No. 43 Pepperdine and then-No. 69 Arizona) and a victory at Grand Canyon.
UCSB is led by a ranked doubles pairing in No. 44 Nathan Eshmade and Miles Seemann, who visit San Diego on a three-match win streak. Freshman Nicolas Moreno de Alboran, the 83rd-ranked singles player in the nation, also has a win streak of his own, earning five consecutive victories, three of which came from the No. 2 position and two of which were recorded on court No. 3.
With four of its six 2016 opponents ranked among the nation's top 60, San Diego State has battled to a 3-3 mark early in the dual campaign. Most recently, the Aztecs swept their weekend in San Luis Obispo, Calif., earning a dominating 4-0 win over Saint Mary's and coming from behind to top No. 58 Cal Poly on the Mustangs' court, 4-2. Freddy Gelbrich, tied for 69th nationally, is the top singles player for the Scarlet and Black, posting a 5-1 mark in the early dual season. In doubles play, Milen Ianakiev and Santiago Cevallos have won their two most recent matches.
One of the Aztecs' most common opponents, SDSU holds a 16-8 series advantage over UCSB, taking nine of their 10 most recent meetings.
Following the home contest, SDSU will visit crosstown rival USD on Sat., Feb. 27 for a 1 p.m. match against the Toreros.