SAN DIEGO – The San Diego State men's tennis team opens its fall tournament schedule this weekend when it ventures to the Silver State for the Larry Easley Memorial Classic, Sept. 17-19, in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Four Aztecs will compete on the courts of Ferttita Tennis Complex, including junior Victor Castro (Novo Hamburgo, Brazil), fellow classmate Alex Scemanenco (Cardiff-by-the-Sea, Calif.), sophomore Judson Blair (Salem, Ore.) and freshman Alexander Mändma (Tallinn, Estonia).
In addition to host UNLV and SDSU, the three-day tournament will feature players from Arizona State, Cal Poly, Grand Canyon and Gonzaga.
The three-day event commences on Friday at 9 a.m. PT and will consist of two singles flights and one doubles flight. Admission to the tournament is free of charge.
Mandma and Castro are slated to join forces in doubles this weekend, while Blair and Scemanenco will comprise the Aztecs' other tandem.
UNLV's annual home event was renamed in 2010 to honor the late Dr. Larry Easley, who passed away in 2005 due to illness after serving as the head coach of the Rebel men's program from 1992-2003.
The Easley Memorial Classic was last conducted in November of 2019, when Alex Kobelt of host UNLV defeated Cal Poly's Antoine Noel for the Flight One title, while Kobelt combined with fellow Rebel Jordan Sauer to capture the doubles championship over top-seeded Connor Rapp and Max Wild of UCLA.
Scemanenco is the lone Aztec returner to compete in that tournament, where he split two matches in Flight 3 singles, defeating Cal Poly's Andrew Whitehouse in a three-set thriller, 7-5, 3-6, 7-5, before falling to UNLV's Jackson Atherton in the semifinals, 6-3, 7-6. A Torrey Pines High alumnus, Scemanenco sat out SDSU's 2021 spring campaign that was shortened due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Castro, meanwhile, garnered all-Mountain West accolades in doubles last spring after posting a 9-4 record in the No. 1 position alongside Johannes Seeman, who is idle this weekend. In his first season on The Mesa after transferring from Cerritos College, Castro also logged four singles victories in singles competition, alternating between the No. 2, No. 4 and No. 5 spots on the Aztecs' ladder.
In addition, Blair gained valuable experience during his freshman campaign in 2021, when he racked up five singles wins, including three in the No. 6 position. A former Oregon prep star, Blair also compiled nine victories with three doubles partners last spring, including seven with recent graduate Ignacio Martinez.
Rounding out the Aztec contingent this weekend is Mandma, a heralded recruit from Tallinn, Estonia, where he captured eight ITF doubles titles from 2017-19, including six in 2018 alone, while advancing to the semifinals in singles play four times during that span.
Mandma earned a high junior ranking of 296 by the ITF in December 2018 after climbing to fourth in the U14 rankings by Tennis Europe for three consecutive weeks in the fall of 2016. He was also chosen as the top player in his age group for six years by the Estonian Tennis Association.
Following this weekend's action, San Diego State will participate in the North Ranch Invitational, Sept. 24-26, in Westlake Village California.
2021 LARRY EASLEY MEMORIAL CLASSIC SCHEDULE
At Fertitta Tennis Complex, Las Vegas, Nev.
Friday, Sept. 17 - 9 a.m. PT
First Round Doubles
First Round Singles
Quarterfinal Singles
Saturday, Sept. 18 - 9 a.m. PT
Quarterfinal Doubles
Semifinal Singles
Semifinal Doubles
Sunday, Sept. 19 - 10 a.m. PT
Singles Finals
Doubles Final