March 2, 2016
SAN DIEGO - The San Diego State men's tennis team will stay close to home this weekend, welcoming Southern California foe Pepperdine to Aztec Tennis Center on Thurs., March 3 at 2 p.m. The Aztecs then begin competition at the 127th annual Pacific Coast Men's Doubles Championship, hosted by the La Jolla Beach and Tennis Club, Fri., March 4 through Sun., March 6.
Pepperdine has a matching record this dual season to the Aztecs at 3-5, with two of its three victories coming in consecutive matches against Mountain West competitors UNLV and New Mexico. Lautaro Pane is the Waves' top participant in singles play, going 6-0 in dual matches from the No. 3 and No. 4 spots. The sophomore is one half of Pepperdine's top doubles pair this year, teaming with Pedro Iamachkine to win two West Coast Conference Doubles Team of the Week awards amidst a 5-2 mark. Thirtieth-ranked Guilherme Hadlich and Gabriel Sidney are maintaining a 1-3 record after securing two wins over nationally ranked opponents earlier this season.
SDSU is 3-16 all-time against Pepperdine, dropping a 4-3 heartbreaker to the Waves last season.
The Aztecs' action-packed weekend continues at the Pacific Coast Doubles on Friday. Play begins at 8 a.m. on Friday with Santiago Cevallos and Milen Ianakiev competing against Charlie Croxford and Richard Solberg from UNLV. Jonas Meinzer and Cornelius Colb will also begin the championship at 8 a.m. Sander Gjoels-Andersen and Hendrik Jebens face Oklahoma State's Lukas Finzelberg and Jurence Mendoza at 10:15 a.m. San Diego State head coach Gene Carswell and assistant coach Jeff Thomsen play William LeFevre, who lettered one year at SDSU, and Stephen Conching, who competed at the University of the Pacific, at 9:30 a.m.
The second oldest tennis event in the United States, the Pacific Coast Doubles features pairings from a bevy of collegiate tennis teams, including Baylor, Boise State, Boston College, Bryant, Furman, Georgetown, Oklahoma State, Pepperdine, Rice, California, UC Davis, UC Irvine, UCLA, UCSD, UNLV, USD, USC and Villanova. Admission to the event is free. Complete and updated draws throughout the match can be found here: http://tennislink.usta.com/Tournaments/TournamentHome/Tournament.aspx?T=170901. Play-by-play of the semifinal and final matches on Sun., March 6 can be heard on RadioTennis.com.
The Aztecs are coming off of a 4-0 loss to No. 24 San Diego on Sat., Feb. 27 at USD's Skip and Cindy Hogan Tennis Center, with the Toreros counting as SDSU's sixth nationally ranked opponent this year. Despite the loss, San Diego State has displayed fortitude. Cevallos and Ianakiev are on a three-match win streak, posting a team-best 3-1 mark in doubles play. Kolb, a freshman, has a win streak of his own, taking his two most recent matches for a 3-1 record from court No. 5.
Following the Pacific Coast Men's Doubles Championship, San Diego State returns to the confines of Aztec Tennis Center on March 11 and 12 to host Penn at 2 p.m. and Arizona at noon, respectively.