Feb. 8, 2017
SAN DIEGO – The San Diego State men's tennis team will play host to three opponents on consecutive days this weekend when it squares off against Northern Arizona, UC Irvine and UC Davis, respectively at Aztec Tennis Center. The SDSU-NAU clash is scheduled to begin on Friday at 1:30 p.m. PT, while Saturday's encounter with UCI and Sunday's battle against UCD are both slated for an 11 a.m. start.
The Aztecs will be looking to put the brakes on a three-match losing streak after falling to the University of San Diego, 4-2, in the intra-city showdown on Feb. 4. SDSU jumped out to a 1-0 lead after claiming the early doubles point, but could not sustain the momentum in singles play, where Milen Ianakiev posted the team's lone victory with a 6-4, 6-4 triumph over the Toreros' Filip Vittek in the No. 1 position. The Aztecs senior was also a winner at No. 2 doubles after teaming with junior Santiago Cevallos (Queretaro, Mexico) to outlast the USD tandem of Guus Koevermans and Joel Gamerov in a 7-6(5) grinder.
Ianakiev and sophomore Sander Gjoels-Andersen (Klampenborg, Denmark) are tied for the team lead with seven singles victories apiece. In addition, SDSU has started three freshmen on its singles ladder this spring, including Rafael Gonzalez Almazan, who has compiled a 2-2 record after joining the squad during the semester break. The Madrid, Spain, product also came through with a win in his first doubles appearance for the Scarlet and Black last Saturday, combining with fellow classmate Joel Popov (Tampere, Finland) to dismiss the USD pairing of Gui Osorio and Alexanderos Araouzos, 6-4, in the No. 3 spot.
The Lumberjacks (0-2) dropped their first two matches of the year, falling to Brigham Young on the road by a 4-2 count in the opener on Feb. 4, before suffering a 5-1 defeat at Utah the following day. NAU is led by sophomores Tim Handel and Lucas Taylor, who were all-Big Sky Conference singles performers in 2016. Handel, was a first-team selection after posting a 13-10 overall record and an 8-2 mark against league foes, while Taylor received honorable mention after logging a 15-8 ledger on the year, including an 8-3 record in the Big Sky.
The Aztecs have not faced the Lumberjacks since a 7-0 whitewash in 2005 and own a 4-1 advantage in five overall meetings. SDSU is 15-3 against current members of the Big Sky and have not played an adversary from that circuit since 2008, when it shut out Idaho, 7-0, on Boise State's courts in 2008.
UCI (1-3) snapped a three-match losing streak with a 4-0 blanking of UC San Diego at home in its last outing on Feb. 4. Junior Luca Marquard, who emerged triumphant at No. 2 singles against the Tritons, shares the team lead with five victories, joining sophomore Luis Lopez, who attended Mater Dei Catholic High School in nearby Chula Vista, Calif. Meanwhile, junior Sebastian Helm, a two-time all-Big West Conference first-team selection, entered the Oracle/ITA Division I rankings this week, landing in the 95th position after recording a signature win over No. 28 Logan Smith of USC on Jan. 21.
The Aztecs maintain a 12-6 advantage against the Anteaters and have won three straight in the all-time series, including a 5-2 triumph in the 2014 regular-season finale at Palisades Tennis Club in Newport Beach, Calif. Ianakiev is lone holdover from that squad, posting a victory in straight sets at No. 6 singles. SDSU recorded a 4-1 mark against Anteaters opponents during fall tournament singles play this season, including Ianakiev's 6-4, 6-4 conquest of UCI's Vatsal Bajpal in the consolation round of 64 at the ITA Southwest Regional Championships in Malibu, Calif.
Conversely, Sunday's clash with UC Davis will be the first-ever meeting between the two schools. The Aggies dropped their first two dual matches to Pacific in a road doubleheader on Jan. 14, before logging their first win of the year with a narrow 4-3 victory at San Francisco in their last encounter on Jan. 27. UCD boasts four players with 10 singles victories apiece, including junior Everett Maltby, who came away with the Flight B title at the UCSB Classic last October. Also on the list are senior Jesse Ross and a pair of freshmen David Goulak and Max Pham. The Aggies also return the reigning Big West Player of the Year in senior Alec Adamson, who became the first UCD player to advance to the NCAA Singles Championships last season, where he fell to Northwestern's Sam Shropshire in a tough three-set after, 7-6(5), 4-6, 7-5, in the first round.
Following this weekend's matches, San Diego State will take a 12-day break from competition before playing host to Saint Mary's on Friday, Feb. 24. First serve is set for 1:30 p.m. PT. Admission to all Aztec home tennis matches is free.