SAN DIEGO – The San Diego State men's tennis team resumes its busy schedule this weekend, April 5-7, when it plays host to Fresno State, Santa Clara and Nevada on successive days at Aztec Tennis Center. SDSU's clash with the Bulldogs is set to get underway on Friday at 4 p.m. PT, while encounters with the Broncos and Wolf Pack are both slated for a noon start on Saturday and Sunday, respectively.
The Aztecs are 4-1 in their last five outings and are coming off a 4-0 whitewash of Boise State at home on March 31 for their second shutout of the week and third of the season. In that match, SDSU captured its season-long fourth straight doubles point and claimed all three completed singles matches, with Sander Gjoels-Andersen, Arnaud Restifo and Rafael Gonzalez Almazan emerging victorious.
The Aztecs are 7-1 in dual matches this year when earning the doubles point, with the lone blemish occurring in a 4-2 loss at Utah State in their Mountain West opener on March 29.
Individually, SDSU has been led of late by Gjoels-Andersen, who collected MW Player of the Week honors on April 3 after combining for a perfect 6-0 record at No. 1 doubles and No. 1 singles in dual matches vs. Eastern Washington, Utah State and Boise State.
With his performances, Gjoels-Andersen has won six straight singles encounters, raising his record to 10-3 this spring, including a 4-0 mark in the No. 1 position, while Gonzalez Almazan owns a five-match victory streak of his own, improving to 9-3, including a 5-0 ledger in the sixth slot. In addition, Jan Kirchhoff is 8-4 this spring, while Restifo evened his record at 7-7 in dual matches.
In doubles, Gjoels-Andersen has joined forces with Ignacio Martinez to win four straight at the top of SDSU's rotation, while Gonzalez Almazan and Restifo have captured back-to-back decisions at No. 3.
Fresno State (11-9, 1-1 MW) has dropped two of its last three, including a 4-1 setback in its last match at New Mexico on March 29.
Individually, the Bulldogs have been led by Zdenak Derkas, who sports a 14-6 record this spring and is ranked 114th in the latest ITA singles poll released April 2. In addition, Mantas Bugailiskis is 8-5 in dual matches, while Cem Ertuk and Henrique Osorio have racked up seven wins each.
Fresno State has employed 14 different doubles tandems this spring, with Derkas and Ertuk posting a team-best 7-3 mark in the No. 2 position, while Bugailiskis and Angus Bradshaw are 5-5 at the top of the rotation.
The Aztecs are 10-14 vs. the Bulldogs dating back to 1989, including a pair of matches during the 2018 campaign. SDSU fell by a 4-1 count in Fresno in the regular-season finale, before suffering a 4-0 shutout a week later in the semifinals of the Mountain West Championship at Aztec Tennis Center.
San Diego State last defeated Fresno State on March 27, 2016, with a 4-3 victory in the Central Valley, while its last win over the Bulldogs at home was registered in a 6-1 triumph on April 3, 2015.
Santa Clara (11-4, 2-2 WCC) had its seven-match losing streak snapped in a 4-3 loss to Gonzaga at home on March 30. Prior to Saturday's dual at SDSU, the Broncos will make a stop in Moraga, Calif., to battle Saint Mary's College.
Individually, SCU has been paced by Arthur Neuhaus and Robert Seby, who have racked up 10 singles victories apiece this spring. Neuhaus has appeared in four different positions on the Broncos' ladder, highlighted by a 5-0 record in the sixth spot while Seby sports an identical mark in the No. 5 slot. Not to be outdone, Andrew Gu is 9-4 in dual matches alternating between the top two positions, while Vasileios Iliopoulos is 7-3 playing primarily at No. 3.
In doubles, Iliopoulos and Neuhaus have been Santa Clara's biggest winners this spring, logging an 8-5 mark in the No. 2 spot, while Gu and Seby have been on a roll of late, posting a 5-1 ledger in the No. 1 position.
The Aztecs own a 5-2 advantage in the all-time series vs. the Broncos, including a 4-2 triumph in the last meeting between the two squads on April 21, 2017. Gonzalez Almazan is SDSU's lone holdover with a singles victory from that match, recording a three-set decision at No. 6, while Gjoels-Andersen and Nicholas Mitchell fueled an Aztec sweep in doubles with a win in the second position.
Nevada (8-6, 1-1 MW) split its first two conference matches of the year last weekend at home, edging Air Force by a 4-3 count, before falling victim to New Mexico by a 4-2 score.
The Wolf Pack are led by Daniel Dudockin, who has racked up eight wins playing at No. 4, 5 and 6 singles, while Jonathan Aremon and Kostya Nesterenko have pocketed six victories apiece this spring.
In doubles, Nesterenko and Julian Evrard have compiled an 8-4 ledger in the No. 1 position, while Aremon and Jeremy Merville have combined to go 4-2 in the second and third spots.
Sunday's clash marks the Aztecs' 13th meeting vs. the Wolf Pack since 1989, with the Scarlet and Black maintaining a 9-3 edge. Last season, SDSU posted a dramatic 4-3 victory in Reno, storming back with four wins in singles play after dropping a hotly contested doubles point. Restifo supplied the clinching tally with a three-set nail-biter over Nesterenko at No. 2.
Following this weekend's action, San Diego State hits the road for two matches when it battles Air Force on Friday, April 12, before squaring off against New Mexico on Sunday, April 14.