SAN DIEGO – The San Diego State men's tennis team opens Mountain West competition on Friday when it hits the road to face Utah State, starting at 11 a.m. MT/10 a.m. PT. The Aztecs will then have a quick turnaround, returning to The Mesa to host another conference rival in Boise State on Sunday, beginning at noon PT.
SDSU (8-6, 0-0 MW) is coming off a dominating 7-0 shutout of Eastern Washington at home Tuesday to extend their winning streak to three consecutive matches. The Aztecs posted straight-set victories in four of six singles encounters, including Sander Gjoels-Andersen and Rafael Gonzalez Almazan, who each won their fourth in a row to raise their individual records to 8-3 this spring.
Jan Kirchhoff also sits at 8-3 in dual-match play after providing the clinching team point in the Aztecs' dramatic 4-3 triumph over Memphis on March 24 in the San Diego Spring Classic. The SDSU sophomore was also the first singles player of the court in the team's 4-1 conquest of Drake the previous day. For his efforts, Kirchhoff garnered Mountain West Player of the Week accolades.
Utah State is 13-7 on the season after falling to Cal Poly by a 4-3 count at home in their last outing on Wednesday. The Mustangs escaped with the win after Daly Meinert outlasted the Aggies' Duro Opacic in the No. 6 singles position, 5-7, 75, 7-6(4).
For the season, Opacic has been USU's top winner, posting a 23-8 overall record, including a 14-5 mark at four different spots this spring, while Felipe Acosta is 20-6 on the year and 15-2 in dual matches, rotating between the third and fourth steps on the Aggies' ladder. USU features three additional players with double-digit win totals this spring in Rithvik Bollipalli (12-7), Jose Carvajal (11-7) and Isaac Arevalo Gomez (10-9).
Acosta and Opacic have been the Aggies most successful doubles team this spring, logging an 8-6 mark at No. 3, while Bollipalli and Sergiu Bucur are 8-9, playing primarily in the second slot.
SDSU is 1-4 against Utah State all-time, including a 4-1 setback on The Mesa in 2018. The Aztecs faced an early deficit after the doubles point and managed just one victory in singles, where Gonzalez Almazan defeated Carvajal, 6-3, 6-4, in the No. 5 position.
Boise State, meanwhile, is 10-3 after defeating Montana, 4-2, in a neutral-site match on Thursday in Las Vegas, Nev. Before trekking to San Diego, the Broncos will remain in Sin City to battle UNLV in their conference opener on Friday.
Entering Friday's engagement with the Rebels, Simon Arca Costas leads Boise State with a 21-9 singles record, including a 10-2 mark in dual matches, playing four different spots from No. 3-6, while Luka Soskic is 10-1 this spring, including an 8-0 ledger in the No. 2 position. In addition, Wyatt DeMulling (18-8, 10-2) carries an eight-match winning streak into the UNLV dual.
Alternating between the top two spots in the Broncos' doubles lineup, Arca Costas and Jack Heslin stand at 4-2, Soskic and Simon Stenlund have compiled a 4-2 record as well in the No. 3 slot.
SDSU is 8-10 against Boise State in program history after falling short in the Gem State last year by a 4-1 count. The Aztecs forged a 1-1 tie following the first singles match, where Ignacio Martinez emerged triumphant at the No. 2 position. However, the Scarlet and Black was kept of the scoreboard for the remainder of the day.
After Sunday's showdown vs. Boise State, San Diego State continues its homestand next weekend for three matches next weekend when Fresno State, Santa Clara and Nevada invade "America's Finest City" on successive days. The Aztecs' clash vs. the Bulldogs is set for Friday, April 5 at 2 p.m. PT, while encounters with the Broncos (April 6) and Wolf Pack (April 7) are both scheduled for a noon start.