SAN DIEGO – San Diego State men’s tennis is back in action this week, welcoming UC Irvine to the Aztec Tennis Center on Saturday at noon.
The Aztecs are 2-1 through their first three matches, coming off a road trip to Los Angeles where they were blanked 7-0 by USC. The team’s first two wins of the season came at home in a doubleheader versus UC San Diego (4-1, 4-2).
UC Irvine enters the matchup 1-2 with a win over Pepperdine and losses to UCLA and USC. The Anteaters are led by senior Noah Zamora, who is currently ranked No. 31 in the nation in singles. The reigning Big West Champions returned five letterwinners and four all-conference athletes, including Big West Freshman of the Year Andy Nguyen.
In the all-time series dating back to 1989, San Diego State leads UC Irvine 15-8. Under Head Coach Gene Carswell, the Aztecs are 8-4. The last meeting between the two programs was on January 27, 2024, which UCI won 4-1 on its home courts. The Aztecs’ last victory against the Anteaters was on February 1, 2020, by a score of 5-2.
Through their first three dual matches, Eugenio Gonzalez Fitzmaurice and Liam Spiers currently lead the team in singles. Playing on the top and bottom courts, respectively, the veteran Aztecs each currently hold a 2-1 record. Gonzalez Fitzmaurice earned wins over UC San Diego’s Diogo Tinoco on court two (6-4, 6-2) and Carson Lee on court one (6-3, 6-1). Spiers clinched the first match of the doubleheader, taking down Robert Freedman 6-3, 2-6, 6-0. He coasted to a 6-2, 6-2 win over Charles Qian in the second leg. Spiers was also one of three Aztecs to win a set against the Trojans, dominating his first set 6-0 against Tristan Bradley, before dropping a three-set heartbreaker.
Mathieu Josserand and Alexander Mandma are each 1-1 on the season, playing on the fourth and fifth courts. Josserand clinched the second match against the Tritons, rallying after a dropped first set to take down David Adamson 4-6, 6-2, 6-2. Mandma also picked up a win against Adamson, taking the fifth court 6-4, 6-1 in the first match of the day.
Philipp Bosse earned a 6-4, 6-3 win over Pelayo Rodriguez on court two in the second leg of the doubleheader. The sophomore transfer kicked off the season on the top court, dropping a tough three-set match 6-4, 1-6, 3-6 against Carson Lee.
Following Saturday’s match, which can be live streamed here, the Aztecs will head to Ogden, Utah to take on Weber St. on Feb. 14 at 10:30 a.m. PT.