COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – San Diego State men's tennis players Johannes Seeman (RS-Fr./Pärnu, Estonia) and Victor Castro (So./Novo Hamburgo, Brazil) received all-Mountain West recognition, as announced Thursday by the conference office.
Seeman garnered all-MW accolades in both singles and doubles, while Castro earned all-league doubles acclaim in a vote of the league's head coaches.
With his awards, Seeman merited all-MW singles honors for the first time in his career and became a two-time doubles selection after receiving the same distinction in his first year at Fresno State during a shortened campaign in 2020. Meanwhile, Seeman's primary doubles partner Castro collected his first career all-conference certificate.
Seeman was one of 12 singles players to land a spot on the all-Mountain West team and combined with Castro to become one of six all-league doubles tandems.
With one match remaining on the Aztecs' calendar, Seeman leads the team with eight singles victories, highlighted by a 6-1, 6-4 triumph over Washington's Clement Chidekh on March 26, after his Husky adversary entered the match with No. 83 national ranking.
Last month, Seeman fashioned a five-match unbeaten streak between March 5 and March 26, winning four and leaving another unfinished with a 1-0 lead in sets. For his efforts, the SDSU redshirt freshman found himself nationally ranked, appearing at No. 123 in the Oracle/ITA singles poll for two weeks after the release of the March 30 poll.
Another signature victory for Seeman was recorded on April 24 with a three-set triumph over UNLV's Alex Kobelt, a decision that provided the Aztecs the clinching point in the match, as well as their fifth-straight win against the Rebels, earning him Mountain West Player of the Week honors for the first time in his career.
Meanwhile, Seeman his doubles partner Castro have compiled a team-leading 8-4 record this spring—all at the No. 1 position—highlighted by a season-long five-match winning streak from March 21-April 9, including a thrilling victory over Loyola Marymount's Diego Nava and Daniel Moreno, 7-6(5), that clinched the important doubles point, as the Aztecs ultimately prevailed, 4-3.
Seeman and Castro also logged victories over fellow all-MW doubles honorees Felipe Acosta and Javier Ruiz of Utah State and Paul Hendrix and Jamie Bautista of Air Force. In addition, the SDSU pairing registered a 6-2 conquest of Washington's Clement Chidekh and Thibault Cancel, who entered the match with a 10-4 record, as well as a 6-4 triumph over Boise State's Blake Bayldon and Simon Arca Costa, who were 3-0 at the time.
San Diego State wraps up its 2021 spring schedule on Saturday, May 1, when it travels across town to face the University of San Diego at Hogan Family Tennis Center, beginning at 12:30 p.m. PT.
2021 ALL-MOUNTAIN WEST MEN'S TENNIS TEAM
Singles (12)
Johannes Seeman, San Diego State
Paul Hendrix, Air Force
Simon Arca Costas, Boise State
Blake Bayldon, Boise State
Zdenek Derkas, Fresno State
Dario Huber, Fresno State
Raul Dobai, New Mexico
Dominic West, New Mexico
Alex Kobelt, UNLV
Eric Samuelsson, UNLV
Felipe Acosta, Utah State
Sergiu Bucur, Utah State
Doubles (6)
Johannes Seeman/Victor Castro, San Diego State
Paul Hendrix/Jamie Bautista, Air Force
Zdenek Derkas/Angus Bradshaw, Fresno State
Dominic West/Sergio Molina, New Mexico
Eric Samuelsson/Clayton Alenik, UNLV
Felipe Acosta/Javier Ruiz, Utah State
Newcomer of the Year: Raul Dobai, New Mexico
Player of the Year: Raul Dobai, New Mexico
Coach of the Year: Ben Dunbar, New Mexico