April 12, 2017
SAN DIEGO -- The San Diego State men's tennis team jumps back into action this weekend when it travels to Air Force and New Mexico for a pair of Mountain West dual matches. The Aztecs will square off against the Falcons on Friday, April 14, beginning at 2 p.m. MT/1 p.m. PT, before engaging the Lobos on Sunday, April 16, starting at 1 p.m. MT/noon PT.
SDSU (5-14, 1-3 MW) dropped two league encounters at home last week, falling to MW co-leader Fresno State by a 4-0 count on April 7, before suffering a narrow 4-3 setback to Nevada on April 9.
Seniors Marko Goles-Babic (Zagreb, Croatia) and Milen Ianakiev (Elz, Hesse, Germany) have joined forces to post a 5-1 record at No. 1 doubles this spring. Last month, the Aztec duo knocked off two nationally ranked tandems in No. 40 Brian Yeung and Kenny Tao of Harvard, along with No. 42 Jayson Amos and Armando Soemarno of Oregon at the San Diego Spring Break Tournament. In addition, the SDSU teammates found themselves in a tight battle with No. 3 Julian Cash and Arjun Kadhe of Oklahoma State in a previous dual, trailing just 5-4, before the match abandoned. With their performances, Goles-Babic and Ianakiev were ranked 51st nationally for two weeks by the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA).
In singles competition, Goles-Babic leads the Aztecs with seven victories in dual matches, while Ianakiev has pocketed six wins of his own, along with freshmen Rafael Gonzalez Almazan (Madrid, Spain) and Joel Popov (Tampere, Finland). Goles-Babic is coming off a three-set triumph over Julien Evrard over Nevada at No. 1 last Sunday to extend his winning streak to three straight, while Popov ended a five-match slide with a conquest of the Wolf Pack's Mile Cilic, 7-6(4), 6-2, in the No. 4 spot.
Air Force (7-13, 1-3 MW) posted its first victory in conference play this season with a 4-2 decision over Boise State on the road last Sunday. After claiming the early doubles point, the Falcons collected three wins at the bottom of their singles ladder to secure their first-ever victory over the Broncos as MW adversaries.
Individually, Air Force is led by freshman Mack Galvin, who sports a 15-5 singles record in dual matches alternating between the fourth, fifth and sixth positions, while sophomore Isaac Perez has nine wins this spring playing in four different spots between No. 2 and No. 5. In addition, junior Max Olson and sophomore Tadhg Collins comprise the Falcons' most successful doubles team in duals, collecting four victories in the No. 1 slot.
SDSU has dominated the all-time series against Air Force, winning 29 straight since 1989, including a 4-0 shutout in the quarterfinals of the Mountain West tournament a year ago. In that contest, Goles-Babic, Ianakiev and Sander Gjoels-Andersen (Klampenborg, Denmark) all emerged triumphant in singles after the Scarlet and Black captured the doubles point.
Meanwhile, New Mexico (10-10, 3-1 MW) finds itself in a three-way tie for first place in the league standings with Utah State and Fresno State after winning its last three, capped by a 4-3 road upset over then-No. 40 USU on April 9.
The Lobos are led by sophomore Ricky Hernandez-Tong, who sports an 11-7 singles record in dual matches rotating between the top three spots on the team's ladder, while freshman Dominic West is 10-3 this spring alternating between the third and fourth positions.
In doubles, West has combined with junior Bart Van Leijsen for 10 dual victories in the No. 2 slot, while Hernandez-Tong and freshman Lawrence Perrin are 5-2 in the No. 1 position for UNM.
The Aztecs are 19-17 against the Lobos dating back to 1989, including a 4-3 triumph at home in their regular-season finale last year. New Mexico won the doubles round, but the Scarlet and Black roared back in singles, with Gjoels-Andersen and Goles-Babic securing the final two points at the No. 4 and No. 5 spots, respectively.
After Sunday's dual, San Diego State returns to Montezuma Mesa for its final two matches of season when it plays host to Santa Clara on Friday, April 21, followed by a MW clash with UNLV on Saturday, April 22.