SAN DIEGO – The San Diego State men's tennis team embarks on its final road trip of the 2021 regular season when it battles Air Force and New Mexico in a pair of Mountain West matches this weekend. The Aztecs will face the Falcons on Friday, April 9 at noon MT/11 a.m. PT before tackling the Lobos on Sunday, April 11 at 1 p.m. MT/noon PT.
Coverage includes links to live stats for both matches on GoAztecs.com, along with streaming video of the Air Force contest.
SDSU (3-9, 0-2 MW) will be looking to snap a three-match losing skid after dropping a pair of encounters on the road last week at Utah and Utah State. The Aztecs suffered a 5-2 setback to the Utes in Salt Lake City on March 30 followed by a 4-1 defeat to the Aggies on April 1.
At Utah, the Aztecs recorded two victories in singles play, with Victor Castro and Judson Blair prevailing in the second and sixth positions, respectively. Castro also emerged triumphant at No. 1 doubles alongside Johannes Seeman. However, the Utes claimed the next two decisions in narrow fashion before capturing four singles matches to pull away for the win.
Two days later in Logan, SDSU won the doubles point vs. USU, as Castro and Seeman earned their fourth straight victory with a 6-4 triumph at the top of the rotation, while Ignacio Martinez posted a 6-2 conquest in the No. 2 slot. The Aztecs were once again snake-bit in singles, however, where the Aggies fought back with four consecutive wins to deal the Scarlet and Black a defeat.
For the season, Seeman leads the Aztecs with a 7-3 record at No. 1 singles, climbing to No. 123 in the Oracle/ITA Rankings released March 30. In a narrow 4-3 home loss to Washington on March 26, the SDSU sophomore defeated the Huskies then-No. 83 Clement Chidekh, 6-1, 6-4.
In addition, Castro, Blair and Roni Rikkonen have pocketed three wins apiece this spring. Castro has seen action in three different spots at No. 2, 4, 5 on the Aztecs' ladder, while Blair and Rikkonen have each spent time in the fourth, fifth and sixth positions.
In doubles, Castro and Seeman sport a 5-1 record in the top spot, while Martinez and Blair own a 4-2 mark in the No. 2 position thus far.
Air Force (6-8, 0-2 MW) had its two-match winning streak snapped in a 4-3 home loss to Northern Arizona on Wednesday after posting a pair of 5-2 victories over Idaho State and Montana on consecutive days, April 2-3, in Pocatello, Idaho. Prior to Friday's clash with SDSU, the Falcons will play host to Omaha in a Thursday afternoon tilt.
Robert Baylon has been Air Force's top winner this spring, logging an 8-6 singles record, including four victories apiece in the third and fourth spots, while Sean McKendree is 6-5, highlighted by a 4-0 mark in the No. 5 position. In addition, Jonathan Mascagni, Nick Vroman and Justin Waldman each have five wins to their credit.
As of April 8, Baylon and Jordan Azuma have compiled a 10-2 mark at No. 2 doubles, while Paul Hendrix and Jamie Bautista are 6-7 at the top of the rotation.
San Diego State has dominated the all-time series against Air Force, winning 32 straight since 1989, capped by a 4-1 victory at the Academy in 2019.
Rafael Gonzalez Almazan is lone Aztec returner to record a win in that match, combining with former teammate Jan Kirchhoff for a 7-6(8) thriller at No. 2 doubles over Hendrix and Bautista, which clinched the early point, before the Scarlet and Black claimed three of the four completed singles matches to secure the victory.
Despite its modest record, New Mexico (4-8, 2-0 MW) is tied for the top spot with UNLV in the Mountain West after defeating Fresno State and Nevada last weekend. The Lobos came away with a 4-1 home victory vs. the Bulldogs on April 1, followed by a 4-0 shutout of the Wolf Pack in Reno two days later.
UNM features reigning MW Player of the Week Raul Dobai, who combined for a 3-0 record vs. Fresno State and Nevada, highlighted by a straight-set victory over the Bulldogs Zdenek Derkas, the conference's 2019 Player of the Year.
Jake Trondson leads the Lobos with six singles victories this spring alternating between the fifth and sixth positions, while Dobai and Rafael Abdulsalam have recorded five wins each. Dobai sports a 3-5 mark at the top of UNM's ladder to go with a 2-2 ledger in the second slot, while Abdulsalam and seen action at both the fourth and fifth spots.
In doubles, the Lobos boast the 59th-ranked tandem of Sergio Molina and Dominic West, who have compiled an 8-2 record rotating between the first and second positions, while Dobai and Trondson are 5-5, including a 4-2 mark at No. 2.
San Diego State is 23-19 against the Lobos dating back to 1989, suffering a 4-1 defeat in their last trip to Albuquerque in 2019. Gonzalez Almazan is the lone Aztec veteran to earn a victory in that encounter, toppling Facundo Bermejo in straight sets on the No. 5 court, 6-3, 6-3.
However, the Scarlet and Black exacted a measure of revenge two weeks later in the semifinals of the 2019 MW Championship in Fresno, California, where the fourth-seeded Aztecs upset the No. 1 Lobos, 4-3, overcoming a 3-2 deficit with wins by Gonzalez Almazan at No. 6 singles and Kirchhoff in the second slot. Martinez was also triumphant in the fourth singles position that day.
Following this weekend's action, San Diego State returns home for the remainder of the season, starting with a MW clash vs. Fresno State on Friday, April 16, at Aztec Tennis Center. Match time is set for 2 p.m. PT.
Aztecs Set for Two MW Road Matches
