SAN DIEGO – The San Diego State men's tennis team continues its spring schedule on Saturday, Jan. 25, when it hits the road to face 10th-ranked UCLA as part of ITA Kickoff Weekend. First serve is set for noon PT at Los Angeles Tennis Center, and a link to live scoring will be available on GoAztecs.com.
If SDSU defeats the Bruins, it would square off against the winner of the UCF-San Diego match on Sunday, starting at 1:30 p.m. Conversely, if the Aztecs fall short against UCLA, they will battle the loser of the Golden Knights-Toreros clash at 9:30 a.m.
The ITA Kickoff Weekend is a national event featuring 60 teams apiece in both men's and women's tennis that play across 26 different facilities. This weekend's winners will advance to the 2020 ITA National Team Indoor Championships, set for Feb. 14-17 in Madison, Wis.
SDSU is coming off a 6-1 conquest of UC San Diego on Jan. 18, held off campus at The Santaluz Club in suburban North County. After securing the doubles round, the Aztecs captured five of six singles matches in straight sets to even their dual-match record at 1-1.
One of three double winners against the Tritons, senior David Hough earned Mountain West Player of the Week honors after posting a victory in his first career start at the No. 3 singles position. Earlier, the Traralgon, Australia, native joined forces with junior Ignacio Martinez to provide the clinching doubles point in the third spot as well.
With his singles victory, Hough snapped a four-match losing skid, tying junior Aaro Pollanen for the team lead with eight wins apiece.
San Diego State will be seeking its first victory in 21 meetings against UCLA dating back to 1989. The Aztecs last played the Bruins on Feb. 7, 2015, dropping a 4-0 decision at Los Angeles Tennis Center.
UCLA, which opened its spring slate with a 7-0 whitewash of Brigham Young at home on Jan.15, moved up one place into the No. 10 spot in the latest Oracle ITA team rankings. Last season, the Bruins completed a 19-6 dual-match record, winning the Pac-12 Conference regular-season championship before falling to Baylor in the third round of the NCAA Tournament.
Individually, Keegan Smith teamed with the since-graduated Maxime Cressy to win the NCAA doubles championship in 2019. An alumnus of Point Loma High School in San Diego, Smith posted a 24-6 singles record as a sophomore last year, including a 15-2 mark in dual matches. He enters the year at No. 7 in the Oracle ITA singles poll.
In addition, the Bruins return sophomore Govind Nanda, a second-team all-Pac-12 honoree who logged a 20-7 singles record in 2018-19, including a 17-5 ledger in dual matches.
SDSU encountered UCLA opponents on six occasions during the 2019 fall tournament schedule, highlighted by a pair of wins in doubles competition. Martinez and Pollanen combined to pin an 8-1 defeat on Bryce Pereira and Max Wild in the Flight A consolation finals at the UCSB Classic in Santa Barbara. Additionally, Martinez paired with freshman Daniel Traxler to upend the duo of Pereira and Blaine Hovenier, 8-3, in the round of 16 at the Larry Easley Memorial Classic in Las Vegas.
Hough, meanwhile, disposed of Connor Rapp in the quarterfinals of the Aztec Flight at the SDSU Fall Invitational, 7-5, 6-2, before falling to another Bruin adversary Eric Hahn in the third-place match. Elsewhere, Pollanen emerged triumphant over Matthew Tsolakyan in the Flight A consolation semifinals at the UCSB Classic.
Despite suffering a 4-0 setback to USD at home last spring, San Diego State still maintains a slim 18-16 advantage in the all-time series. Ironically, the last time the Aztecs faced the Toreros on a neutral court also occurred in Los Angeles, as the Scarlet and Black recorded a 4-3 upset in the first round of the 2015 NCAA Tournament on the campus of USC.
USD enters the weekend with a No. 24 ranking after edging Fresno State 4-3 in its dual-match opener on Jan. 18. The Toreros are led by senior Gui Osorio, the 2019 West Coast Conference Player of the Year who owns a No. 30 singles ranking after defeating five players in the top 65 during the fall slate, while senior Joel Gamerov and junior August Holmgren are also back in the fold. The Torero duo advanced to the quarterfinal of the NCAA doubles tournament last year to earn All-America honors.
SDSU squared off against USD opponents four times during the fall but came up empty on each occasion. The Toreros' Marvin Schaber defeated Aztec sophomore Alex Scemanenco and freshman Jules Auffray en route to the State Flight championship at the SDSU Fall Invitational, while senior Fabian Roensdorf dropped a tight decision to Sacchit Sharma, 6-4, 7-6(2) in the main draw of the ITA Southwest Regional Championships in Malibu. Similarly, the Aztec pairing of Kirchhoff and Traxler experienced a narrow 8-6 setback to Nico Borter and David Norfeldt in the doubles round of the 32 at the same tournament.
UCF, meanwhile, is off to a 1-1 start after splitting a pair of matches last weekend vs. Mercer (6-1) and at then-No. 1 Florida (1-6). Last season, the Golden Knights compiled a 15-11 record and advanced to the first round of the NCAA Tournament before finishing with a No. 31 ranking.
SDSU has won both meetings vs. UCF, claiming a 5-2 decision during the 2000 campaign at Albuquerque, New Mexico, followed by a 4-3 triumph in 2013 at Aztec Tennis Center. Since 1989, San Diego State is 9-12 against current members of the American Athletic Conference. The Aztecs last played an AAC foe in 2019 when it edged Memphis by a 4-3 count at home.
Individually, the Golden Knights sport the nation's No. 6 doubles tandem in Gabriel Dechamps and Juan Pablo Grassi Mazzuchi, who have compiled a 9-3 record this year. Dechamps also finds himself at No. 22 in the latest singles poll, posting a 12-6 record so far this season, while Grassi Mazzuchi occupies the 29th position with a 10-6 mark.
Following this weekend's action, San Diego State returns to the court on Saturday, Feb. 1, when it travels to UC Irvine.