SAN DIEGO – San Diego State closes out its regular-season campaign on Saturday, April 20, when it plays host UNLV in a Mountain West dual match at Aztec Tennis Center. First serve is set for noon PT and the first 50 fans in attendance will receive a free pair of Aztec sandals. In addition, SDSU will pay tribute to its lone senior Sander Gjoels-Andersen prior to the contest.
The Aztecs (12-9, 3-3 MW) are coming off a 1-1 road trip last weekend, posting a 4-1 victory at Air Force before falling to New Mexico by an identical count. Against the Falcons, SDSU survived a closely contested doubles round, with Rafael Gonzalez Almazan and Jan Kirchhoff supplying the clinching point in the No. 2 spot after prevailing in a tiebreaker, 7-6(8). Later in singles, the Scarlet and Black took three of four completed matches, as Fabian Roensdorf emerged with a three-set triumph at No. 3 to close out the dual.
Not to be outdone, Kirchhoff also notched a win at the Academy in the second spot to raise his record to 20-10 on the season. With his decision, the Berlin, Germany, native becomes SDSU's first 20-match singles winner since Marko Goles-Babic (23), Hendrik Jebens (22) and Milen Ianakiev (20) accomplished the feat in 2015.
Two days later at UNM, the Aztecs had the tables turned against them, dropping the doubles point for the first time in four outings after the Lobos won the final two encounters to escape with an early 1-0. SDSU was unable to recover in singles, ceding three of four matches, with Gonzalez Almazan recording the lone point for the visitors with a straight-set decision at No. 5.
Gonzalez Almazan and Gjoels-Andersen lead the Aztecs with 11 victories apiece in dual-match competition, while Kirchhoff and Arnaud Restifo have reached double digits as well with 10 wins each this spring.
San Diego State has utilized 15 different doubles tandems in dual matches, with Gjoels-Andersen and Ignacio Martinez comprising the team's most successful duo with a 6-2 record in the No. 1 position. The Aztecs have captured the doubles point in seven of their last nine outings and are 10-2 this spring when winning the doubles round.
UNLV (13-7, 2-4 MW) has lost three straight, including a 4-3 setback at Air Force on April 14. Despite earning the doubles point, the Rebels were undone in singles where they dropped four of six matches. Eric Samuelsson came through with a three-set victory at No. 1, while Clayton Alenik prevailed in straight sets at No. 5 to account for UNLV's wins.
Alenik leads the Rebels with a 13-1 record this spring playing primarily in the fifth slot, while Tom Ciszewski is 11-2 exclusively at No. 6. In addition, Jordan Sauer has compiled a 12-8 mark in dual matches alternating between the top four positions on UNLV's ladder.
In doubles, Sauer and Olle Thestrup have been the Rebels' most successful tandem this spring, posting a 13-3 record in the No. 2 spot, while Alenik and Samuelsson have joined forces to produce an 8-7 ledger at No. 1.
San Diego State is 23-10 against UNLV since 1989 and has captured nine of the last 10 meetings between the two schools, including a 4-3 thriller in Las Vegas last season. After yielding the doubles point, the Aztecs stormed back with four victories in singles, including Gjoels-Andersen's clincher at No. 3. Restifo was also triumphant in the second spot, along with Gonzalez Almazan at No. 5 and Kirchhoff at No. 6.
Following Saturday's match, San Diego State will head to the Central Valley for the 2019 Mountain West Championships, April 25-27, in Fresno, Calif.