SAN DIEGO – San Diego State women's tennis hits the road for the second week in a row this weekend to take on Utah State and Boise State. The Aztecs will face Utah State on Saturday at 9 a.m. PT, before playing Boise State on Sunday at 1 p.m. PT. Both matches will be played in Boise, Idaho.
The Season So Far
San Diego State heads into the two matches with a 8-5 overall record and ranked 50th nationally in the latest ITA rankings that were released on Tuesday morning. Last weekend SDSU opened Mountain West Conference play with a weekend split, beating New Mexico 4-1, before falling in a tight contest to Air Force, 4-3. So far this season the Aztecs have knocked off four teams that have been ranked in the ITA rankings, including last time out when they took down No. 37 Purdue, 4-3. The ranking is the highest the Aztecs have been since the end of the 2012-13 season, when the Scarlet and Black where tabbed 40th after finishing 22-6 and making an NCAA Tournament appearance.
SDSU has also won three matches in extremely close fashion, all by an identical scoreline of 4-3. The Aztecs beat Purdue, Tulsa and Furman by that margin, and of their seven wins on the year, four have been decided by just one point as the Scarlet and Black also took down Alabama 4-3 in the home opener. The Aztecs win over Alabama was head coach Peter Mattera's 400th career victory on The Mesa.
Picking Up Steam
Two Aztecs have earned Mountain West women's tennis player of the week in back-to-back weeks. Both Andjela Skrobonja and Dariya Detkovskaya have earned the honors. Skrobonja, a transfer from Florida International University, has posted a 5-1 record with doubles partner Velcea since the two of them have been paired together, all three of their wins have been at the third court in the rotation. As for singles play, Skrobonja is 9-4 entering this weekend in Mountain West play, and is an impressive 8-2 at the No. 1 singles spot, having beat multiple power five opponents to start the year.
Detkovskaya has been just as good for the Aztecs, and has started 10-1 in singles play. She has won seven of her 11 matches in straight sets, including three of her past four matches. Additionally, Detkovskaya has wins over three power five programs' individuals this spring. The senior beat No. 17 in the nation Snow Han of USC in three sets, 4-6, 6-4, 12-10, to begin the season, Ole Pitak of Alabama in straight sets 6-3, 6-3 a week later, and most recently topped Katja Wiersholm of Cal in three sets, 4-6, 7-5, 10-8.
Scouting Utah State and Boise State
The Aggies are 5-7 on the year and 0-2 in Mountain West play to begin the 2023 dual season. Utah State is led by Zeynep Naz Ozturk, who has played almost exclusively at the No. 1 and No. 2 slots this dual season, while posting a 7-3 record in singles. The Aggies are led by Sean McInerney, who is in in his 10th year in charge of the program. Boise State on the other hand has an identical record to San Diego State heading into the weekend. The Broncos are 8-5 overall and 1-1 in Mountain West play and are led by Pauline Ernstberger who so far in dual play is 5-3 on court one.