SAN DIEGO – The San Diego State men's tennis team will open its 2023 dual-match schedule on Friday, Jan. 13, with matches against the Arkansas Razorbacks at the La Jolla Beach and Tennis Club. The Aztecs-Razorbacks showdown will begin at 11 a.m. PT after it was moved up from the original date and time of Saturday morning at 10 a.m. due to rain.
San Diego State is returning sophomore Alexander Mandma and two-time All-Mountain West singles selection Johannes Seeman, a junior, from last year's roster.
Seeman led the Aztecs with nine wins in the recently concluded fall season including a victory against No. 46-ranked Gustaf Strom of Arizona. He also finished the tournament season on a high note, making it to the finals of the Kramer Collegiate Classic in early November.
Meanwhile, Mandma had a winning record in tournament and Mountain West play a season ago. To open the fall season, he went 3-0 at the Silverado Invitational. Mandma was also part of both doubles pairings that finished the fall with a winning record.
The duo is joined by seven newcomers looking to make a difference on The Mesa.
A pair of Penn State transfers, Chikaya Sato and Bora Sengul know about getting off to hot starts after winning six of their first eight dual matches for the Nittany Lions last year. Sengul also won six of his last eight singles matches for the Aztecs in the fall.
After transferring from Nebraska, Andre Saleh sat out last season and is ready to make his long-awaited San Diego debut.
A French national, Mathieu Josserand crossed the country from James Madison. He went 12-5 in dual competitions for the Dukes last year.
The reigning NAIA West Region Rookie of the Year, Liam Spiers comes to The Mesa from Ottawa University of Arizona. He won his consolation final match in the Wildcat Invitational to open fall play.
Freshman Eugenio Gonzalez Fitzmaurice is a native San Diegan who has played for the Mexican national team. He won seven of his ten singles matches in the fall.
Another true freshman, Lenny Melzer is a two-time Luxembourg national champion and made it to the consolation finals of the Wildcat Invitational to open the fall season.
SDSU will look to string together consecutive dual season-opening wins for the first time since the 2016-17 campaign following last year's 6-1 victory over UC San Diego.
The Scarlet and Black are facing the Razorbacks for the first time since the 2003 USTA-ITA Indoor Championship, when Arkansas defeated San Diego State 4-2.
Last season, Arkansas finished with a 15-14 record in dual matches, highlighted by a regular season win over No. 25-ranked Auburn and a 4-1 conference tournament victory against No. 21-ranked Texas A&M.
The Razorbacks are the only Southeastern Conference adversary this season for the Scarlet and Black, who are 3-11 since 1989 against SEC schools. San Diego State is the only Mountain West opponent on Arkansas' schedule this season.
Following Friday's action, SDSU will remain in America's Finest City. Their first two matches at the Aztec Tennis Center are against West Coast Conference opposition with San Francisco on Jan. 21 and Santa Clara on Feb. 11.