SAN DIEGO – The San Diego State men's tennis team wraps up its 2021 Mountain West slate on Saturday, April 24, when it entertains UNLV in a conference dual match, starting at noon PT on the courts of Aztec Tennis Center.
The Aztecs (4-13, 1-5 MW) notched a 1-2 record in three home matches last weekend, posting a 4-0 shutout over MW foe Nevada, sandwiched between a 4-1 loss to league rival Fresno State and a 4-2 setback to Santa Clara in a non-conference clash.
Against the Wolf Pack last Sunday, SDSU snapped a six-match losing streak, as Aaro Pollanen, Ignacio Martinez and Rafael Gonzalez Almazan delivered victories in singles competition after the Scarlet and Black clinched the doubles point.
For the season, Johannes Seeman leads the Aztecs with seven wins at No. 1 singles, while Gonzalez Almazan and Judson Blair have netted four victories apiece this spring. Gonzalez Almazan has settled in at the No. 5 position over the last five matches after spending much of the season in the fourth slot, while Blair has made his last nine starts at No. 6 following a stint in the fifth position and a single appearance at No. 4.
In doubles play, Seeman has combined with Victor Castro for a team-leading 7-3 record in the No. 1 spot, while Blair and Martinez are 6-5 in the second position. The Blair-Martinez tandem recorded consecutive 6-1 conquests against Nevada and Santa Clara, while Seeman and Castro fashioned a five-match winning streak last month.
SDSU has captured six doubles points in its last nine outings but has compiled just a 2-4 record in those matches. The Aztecs defeated Loyola Marymount and Nevada but fell short in singles during that stretch vs. Washington, Utah State, Air Force and Santa Clara.
UNLV (11-10, 5-1 MW), which will be competing in its regular-season finale on Saturday, has won three in a row and seven of its last eight, including a 4-1 victory vs. Nevada (April 16) and a 4-3 nail-biter over Fresno State (April 18). The Rebels only loss was a 4-0 loss at New Mexico on April 9. A Lobo win at Air Force on Saturday would clinch the Mountain West title for UNM.
Individually, UNLV has been led by Eric Samuelsson and Jordan Sauer, who have recorded nine wins apiece in singles play this spring, while Milos Dabic has eight victories to his credit. Samuelsson has seen action at No. 2 over the last six matches, while Sauer has made four straight starts in the third position after a stint in the second slot. In addition, Dabic has split time between the third and fourth positions.
Not to be outdone, the Rebels boast reigning MW Player of the Week, who won twice at No. 1 singles and No. 3 doubles vs. Nevada and Fresno State.
Samuelsson has teamed with Clayton Alenik for an 8-8 record in doubles, with the duo seeing most of their action in the No. 1 spot, while Dabic has racked up seven wins playing alongside three partners, Kobelt, Sauer and Anton Ornberg.
San Diego State is 25-10 against UNLV dating back to 1989 and has captured 11 of the last 12 meetings between the two schools, including a 4-1 triumph in the most recent encounter during the quarterfinals of the 2019 Mountain West Championship in Fresno, Calif. Martinez is the lone Aztec veteran to have emerged victorious in that match, posting a 6-1, 6-3 victory over ex-Rebel Richard Solberg at No. 4 singles. Earlier in doubles, he and former teammate Sander Gjoels-Andersen dispatched the UNLV tandem of Samuelsson and Alenik, 7-5, to clinch the doubles round for the Scarlet and Black.
Following Saturday's action, San Diego State closes out its spring season with two matches next week, playing host to UC Santa Barbara on Wednesday, April 28, before heading west down Interstate 8 to square off against crosstown adversary San Diego on Saturday, May 1.