SAN DIEGO - The San Diego State men's tennis team welcomes an impressive field of opponents to "America's Finest City" this weekend for the San Diego Spring Classic, set for March 22-24.
Along with the 36th-ranked University of San Diego squad, the Aztecs will co-host the ninth annual event, which features four additional teams found in the latest Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) poll, including No. 38 Harvard, No. 48 Wichita State, No. 49 Tulane and No. 50 Princeton, while Drake and Memphis round out the list of competing schools.
On Friday, SDSU will battle Harvard in its tournament opener at Aztec Tennis Center, scheduled to get underway no earlier than 3:30 p.m. PT, following the Tulane-Drake match, which is set to commence at noon. Earlier, Princeton and Wichita State will ring in the festivities with a showdown at 9 a.m., while San Diego squares off against Memphis over on Toreros' home courts, starting at 10 a.m.
On Saturday, the Aztecs will engage either Tulane or Drake at 3:30 p.m. on The Mesa, with Sunday's slate to be determined.
San Diego State is off to a 5-5 start in dual-match competition after dropping a 4-0 decision at home to then-No. 30 USD in the annual intra-city skirmish on March 16.
Sophomore Jan Kirchhoff leads the Aztecs with a 16-7 singles record, including a 6-2 mark in dual matches playing primarily in the fourth position, while senior Sander Gjoels-Andersen has pocketed six victories of his own this spring rotating between the top four spots on SDSU's ladder. In addition, junior Rafael Gonzalez Almazan sports a 13-10 record, including a 5-3 ledger alternating between the fifth and sixth slots.
Gjoels-Andersen and Gonzalez Almazan have been the Aztecs' most successful doubles team in dual matches, posting a 5-5 mark at the top of the lineup, while Kirchhoff and sophomore Ignacio Martinez are 4-4 at No. 2.
Harvard (9-4) got an early start on its West Coast trip with a 7-0 shutout of Williams College at San Diego Tennis and Racquet Club on March 18.
Steven Sun is the Crimson's top singles winner this spring, boasting a 12-0 record playing predominantly in the No. 5 position, while Harris Walker is 10-3 alternating between the second, third and fourth spots. In addition, Robert Wrzesinski is 7-3 in dual matches, while Brian Shi has compiled a 6-1 ledger, with the two players seeing action mainly the second and third positions, respectively.
Harvard also sports the 33rd-ranked doubles team of Logan Weber and Andy Zhou, who have fashioned an 8-4 record at the top of the Crimson's rotation, while Shi and Wrzesinski are 5-1 in the No. 2 spot this spring.
San Diego State will be seeking to put the brakes on a six-match losing streak to Harvard after dropping a 5-1 decision in the opening match of last year's event at Lomas Santa Fe Country Club in Solana Beach. With the loss, the Aztecs dipped to 4-10 in the all-time series between the two schools dating back to 1989.
Despite the setback, SDSU scored a huge upset in doubles, where Gjoels-Andersen joined forces with Nicholas Mitchell to defeat the Crimson's then-40th-ranked duo in Weber and Kenny Tao on the No. 1 court, 6-2.
Following this weekend's action, San Diego State will play host to Eastern Washington in a non-conference dual match on Tuesday, March 26, at Aztec Tennis Center. First serve is set for 2 p.m. PT.