SAN DIEGO – San Diego State continues its lengthy homestand on Saturday, Jan. 26, when it squares off against UC Irvine at Aztec Tennis Center. Starting time for SDSU's second dual match of the 2019 campaign is scheduled for noon PT.
The Aztecs are coming off a 5-2 setback to UC Santa Barbara in their spring opener at home last Sunday. Despite pocketing an early victory by the duo of Sander Gjoels-Andersen and Rafael Gonzalez Almazan, San Diego State was unable to secure the doubles point before dropping four of six singles matches.
In the singles round against the Gauchos, Gjoels-Andersen and Gonzalez Almazan were the lone Aztec players to net points for the Scarlet and Black, emerging triumphant in three-set fashion at the fourth and sixth positions, respectively.
Despite experiencing a tough three-set defeat in the No. 5 singles spot vs. UCSB, Jan Kirchhoff still leads San Diego State with a 10-6 overall record, while Gonzalez Almazan is 9-7 on the young season.
The Aztecs also unveiled two new doubles tandems last weekend. Kirchhoff joined forces with Ignacio Martinez for a 6-0 shutout in the No. 2 slot, while Arnaud Restifo and newcomer Fabian Roensdorf in a 6-4 defeat at No. 3.
Meanwhile, UC Irvine will engage its second straight Mountain West foe Saturday after dropping a 5-2 decision to Utah State at home in its spring opener on Jan. 20. Sasha Krasnov and Aaron Bailey were the only two Anteater players to record wins last Sunday. Krasnov defeated the Aggies' Sergiu Bucur in the second spot 6-0, 6-4, while Bailey earned a comeback victory over Rithvik Bollipalli in three sets at No. 6, 4-6, 6-3, 7-6. In addition, Mason Hansen and Daniel Gealer combined to win at No. 3 doubles over Duro Opacic and Felipe Acosta, 7-5.
Entering this weekend, Bailey, Gealer and Krasnov share the team lead for UCI with six singles victories apiece, while Luis Lopez, a native of nearby Chula Vista, has five wins to his credit.
SDSU has won three straight matches vs. UCI and leads the all-time series 13-6 dating back to 1989. The two sides last met nearly two years ago in San Diego on Feb. 11, 2017, with the Scarlet and Black prevailing in a 4-3 thriller. Former Aztec Marko Goles-Babic provided the clinching point in the see-saw affair with a three-set nail-biter over ex-Anteater Luca Marquard at No. 2 singles. Gjoels-Andersen is lone SDSU holdover from that dual when he experienced a 6-2, 6-3 setback at the hands of Lopez in the No. 3 slot.
The Aztecs posted a 5-6 record against UCI players during the fall tournament schedule, led by Kirchhoff, who defeated Antoine Barthe and Krasnov en route to the consolation singles title at the ITA Southwest Regional Championships in Malibu, Calif. In addition, Gjoels-Anderson dispatched Barthe in the main draw of the aforementioned event, while David Hough was a winner over Bruce Man-Son-Hing in the consolation rounds of the Aztec Invitational.
Conversely, the two schools faced off in just one doubles match during the fall, as Hough and Nicholas Mitchell fell to Gealer and Man-Son-Hing in their Black Flight semifinal encounter at the Aztec Invite.
Following Saturday's clash, San Diego State returns to action on Sunday, Feb. 3, when welcomes UC San Diego to Aztec Tennis Center for another non-conference dual match beginning at 10 a.m. PT.
New Parking Options in Effect at SDSU
There are three ways to pay for parking at San Diego State – in advance, day-of by the PayByPhone app and day-of at pay stations around campus. For those interested in paying in advance, visitors can purchase a permit online through Parking & Transportation Services' Aztec Parking Portal (https://aztecs.t2hosted.com/Account/Portal). The cost is $7 for a daily permit. The permit would need to be printed and displayed on the dash.
The first of two day-of options is using the PayByPhone app, which gives visitors the option of purchasing parking in all student and visitor lots. The app requires payment and vehicle information, and once that is complete, customers can choose a location on campus to park and pay through the app. The location number for Parking Structure 7 is 28507. The app also has the ability to send a text message when the permit is set to expire and allows for an extension of time. Through the app, it is $3 per hour plus a $0.35 per-transaction fee for 1-4 hours and $15 plus the $0.35 per-transaction fee for a 5-10-hour block.
The second day-of method is at pay stations located at CSL (Parking Info Booth), P3 Level 1, P7 Level 2 (structure closest to athletics facilities) and P12 Level 8. Permits purchased at any of these locations are valid in any student or visitor lot and require license plate information before the transaction is complete. The permit does not need to be printed since the license plate information will be entered in the system. Visitors who use credit card for payment instead of cash can opt in and have the system send a reminder text when the permit is set to expire with the ability to extend the time. There are no transaction fees at the pay station other than a $0.25 addition for those who extend their time.