SAN DIEGO – Former San Diego State men's tennis players Milen Ianakiev (Elz, Hesse, Germany) and Hendrik Jebens (Stuttgart, Germany) recently captured the doubles championship at the ITF World Tennis Tour's M25 event, held from Oct. 7-13 at the Claremont Club in Claremont, California.
The ex-Aztec teammates opened with a 6-2, 6-1 decision over the tandem of China's Jiaxi Ma and American Kyle Overmyer in the first round before toppling Great Britain's Liam Broady and Mark Whitehouse in a quarterfinal encounter, 7-6(4), 6-1.
Ianakiev and Jebens kept the momentum rolling in the semifinals, outlasting George Goldhoff and Tanner Smith of the United States in a super-tiebreaker, 7-6(3), 2-6, 10-8, to secure their spot in the title match.
With a championship hanging in the balance, the German duo found themselves in a marathon battle with Ruben Gonzales of the Philippines and South Africa's Ruan Roelofse, before prevailing in another super-tiebreaker, 6-4, 3-6, 17-15.
In addition, Jebens won three singles matches at the tournament, posting straight-set victories in the qualifying draw over Great Britain's Angus Bradshaw (6-3, 6-3) and Matthew Tsolakyan of the United States (6-4, 6-3), respectively.
The SDSU alumnus also won his first duel in the main draw with a 6-3, 6-4 conquest of American Gage Brymer, but had his advance thwarted in the second round after suffering a three-set defeat to Canada's Benjamin Sigouin, 5-7, 7-5, 6-4.
Jebens and Ianakiev both earned all-Mountain West honors in doubles and singles during their respective collegiate careers on The Mesa.
Jebens twice received all-conference recognition in singles (2015-16) to go with one accolade in doubles (2016). During the 2014-15 campaign, he posted a 22-5 singles record and a 19-7 mark in doubles (with Freddy Gelbrich) to help the Aztecs clinch an at-large berth in the NCAA Tournament. Jebens and Gelbrich ended the year with a No. 68 ranking by the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA).
Ianakiev, meanwhile, merited all-MW doubles distinction on two occasions (2016-17) to go with one singles certificate (2017). In 2017, he joined forces with Marko Goles-Babic in doubles, climbing to as high as No. 51 in the ITA rankings that year.
San Diego State resumes its fall schedule this weekend when it competes in the ITA Southwest Regional Championships, Oct. 17-20, on the campus of Pepperdine University in Malibu, California.