Rafael Gonzalez Almazan Season 2018-19

2019-20 All-Mountain West Doubles
2019-20 Mountain West All-Academic Selection
2018-19 Mountain West All-Academic Selection
2017-18 All-Mountain West Doubles
2017-18 Mountain West All-Academic Selection
2016-17 Mountain West All-Academic Selection

2019-20 Season (As A Senior)
     Singles – Posted a 4-4 record before the remainder of the Aztecs' season was canceled on March 12, 2020, due to the COVID-19 pandemic ... Went 2-2 at the UCSB Fall Classic, where he reached the Flight C third-place match ... Opened the tournament with a 6-1, 7-5 victory over Oregon's Giorgio Soemarno before upending Luka Vukmanovic of the host Gauchos by a 6-2, 6-3 count in the quarterfinals ... Was unable to advance in the bracket, however, after dropping a straight-set decision to Cal Poly's Campbell Nakayama ... Fell short in a super-tiebreaker to UCLA's Blaine Hovenier in the third-place match, 6-7(5), 7-6(3), 10-6 ... Enjoyed a successful spring debut with a 6-3, 6-2 triumph over UC San Diego's Phillip Lan in the sixth position ... Came through with a win in his final appearance of the season after knocking off San Diego Christian's David Samardzija at No. 4, as the Aztecs completed the 7-0 shutout.
     Doubles – Joined forces with three players to produce a 7-4 record for the season ... Received all-Mountain West recognition in doubles for the second time in his career after teaming with Ignacio Martinez for a spotless 3-0 mark at the No. 1 position during the spring slate ... Aztec duo supplied the clinching doubles point vs. UC Davis with a 6-3 victory over the Aggies' Ivan Thamma and David Goulak ... Came back two days later to upend Joseph Guillin and Alejandro Vedri of UC Santa Barbara by a 6-4 tally ... Gave the Aztecs a 1-0 lead in their blanking of San Diego Christian after downing the Hawks' Chris Papa and Ivan Smith, 6-2 ... Additionally partnered with Martinez at the prestigious Pacific Coast Men's Doubles Championships in La Jolla, California, finishing with a 4-1 record after advancing to the quarterfinal round ... SDSU pairing opened the tournament with an 8-5 upset over the fourth-seeded combo of Etienne Donnet and Mathieu Scaglia from Oklahoma State ... Duo quickly progressed in the bracket with victories over Ian Habbestad and Jake Williams of Claremont-Mudd-Scripps (8-4) and the UC Irvine connection of Bruce Man-Son-Hing and Tyler Pham (8-1) ... Tandem continued their success the following day with a 6-3, 6-4 victory over UCI's Ali Amiri and Antoine Barthe in the round of 16 before dropping a 6-4, 6-4 decision in the quarterfinals to seventh-seeded Ben Draper and Bjorn Hoffmann of California, who were ranked 38th by the ITA prior to the event ... Garnered Mountain West Player of the Week accolades for the second time in his career accolades thanks to his efforts at the Pac Coast Doubles Championship, along with singles and doubles victories vs. San Diego Christian ... Took third place in Flight B doubles at the UCSB Fall Classic after playing alongside David Hough ... Duo opened with an 8-5 decision over Stanford's Neel Rajeesh and Dean Stratakos before dropping a narrow decision to California's Tomas Wright and Mert Zincirl, 8-7(5) ... Came back with an 8-5 decision in the third-place match vs. UCSB's Alex Dominguez Soto and Alejandro Vedri ... Paired with Jan Kirchhoff for two victories during the spring slate ... Duo defeated UC San Diego's Marc Isaia and Zach Ermert at No. 1 by a 6-2 tally ... Tandem also knocked off Loyola Marymount's Ryan Brown and Max Kaiser in the No. 3 slot, 6-1. 

2018-19 Season (As A Junior)
     Singles – Finished with a 21-13 overall record … With his victory total, he and Jan Kirchhoff (23-10) gave the Aztecs multiple 20-match winners in the same season for the first time since Marko Goles-Babic (23-7), Hendrik Jebens (22-4) and Milen Ianakiev (20-9) completed the feat in 2015 ... Tied for the team lead with 13 wins (13-6) in dual-match competition, including an 8-3 ledger in the No. 6 position … Went 8-7 in fall tournament play ... Reached the Flight B championship at the Fresno State Bulldog Classic … Opened the tournament with a straight-set victory over Boris Reckow of Saint Mary's, 6-4, 6-2, before posting a come-from-behind win over Nevada's Delmas N'tcha in the quarterfinals, 4-6, 6-2, 6-4 ... Knocked off Sonoma State's Max Nudell in the semifinals, 6-2, 6-4, but fell short in the title match to San Francisco's Phuc Huynh, 6-4, 2-6, 6-2 ...  Emerged triumphant in his first three matches of the spring, opening with a three-set marathon over UC Santa Barbara's Alex Dominguez Soto, 7-6(2), 3-6, 7-6(9) ... Kept the momentum rolling with a 6-4, 6-2 conquest of UC San Diego's Sreeganesh Manoharan before dispatching Jeremy Gschwendtner of then-No. 23 Alabama, 6-4, 7-6(5) … Contributed to a trio of Aztec victories in late March with another three-match winning streak, starting with a three-set triumph over Drake’s Ben Clark, 6-2, 3-6, 6-2, which provided the clinching team point ... Followed that effort by pinning a 6-3, 6-2 defeat on Turner Voges of Memphis before helping the Scarlet and Black complete a shutout of Eastern Washington with a victory over the Eagles' Jeremy Mueller by an identical 6-3, 6-2 count … Figured prominently SDSU's 4-0 whitewash of UNLV after dispatching the Rebels' Tom Ciszewski, 6-4, 6-0, in the regular-season finale ... Played a huge role in the Aztecs' upset of No. 1 seed  New Mexico in the semifinals of the Mountain West Championship with a three-set decision over the Lobos' Nicholas Prieto, 6-1, 0-6, 6-4, which tied the match at 3-3.
     Doubles – Compiled a 17-15 record in doubles play with four different partners ... Combined with Jan Kirchhoff to register a 6-3 mark, including a 5-1 ledger in the No. 2 position during the spring … Aztec duo provided the clinching doubles point vs. Santa Clara with a 6-4 conquest of the Broncos' Arthur Neuhaus and Vasileios Iliopoulos ... SDSU pairing also helped the Scarlet and Black capture two doubles points at the Mountain West Championship, posting a decisive 6-0 victory over Facundo Bermejo and Dominic West of No. 1 seed New Mexico in the semifinals, followed by a 6-4 triumph over Fresno State's Mantas Bugailiskis and Cem Erturk in the title match ... Claimed five decisions at the No. 1 position in early spring alongside Sander Gjoels-Andersen, highlighted by a three-match winning streak ... Pinned a 6-3 defeat on Patrick Kaukovalta and Mazen Osama of then-No. 23 Alabama before toppling Northern Arizona's Tim Handel and Ruben Montano by a 6-2 count ... Kept things rolling with a 6-3 victory over San Francisco's Paul Giraud and Ryan Marker … Also logged a 4-2 mark with Arnaud Restifo, highlighted by a 6-1 thumping of Boise State's Luka Soskic and Simon Stenlund at No. 3, which clinched the doubles point in SDSU's 4-0 shutout over the Broncos ... Earlier, the same Aztec duo captured the Flight A consolation championship at the Fresno State Bulldog Classic with an 8-5 victory in the title match over Nevada's Daniel Dudockin and Matvey Radionov ... Secured the doubles point in SDSU's 4-3 thriller over Memphis after teaming with Nicholas Mitchell for a 6-3 triumph over the Tigers' Matt Story and Jeremy Taylor in the No. 3 spot.

2017-18 Season (As A Sophomore)
     Singles – Led the Aztecs with an 18-12 overall record, including a 7-3 mark during the fall tournament schedule ... Also went 11-9 in dual-matches, highlighted by a 9-5 ledger in the No. 5 position ... Captured the Flight 2 singles crown at the Aztec Fall Invitational after knocking off Liberty’s Eddie Gutierrez by a 6-4, 6-2 count in the championship final ... Opened the aforementioned tournament with victories over UC San Diego’s Sreeganesh Manoharan (6-3, 6-3) and Neil Tengbumroong (6-1, 6-3) before advancing to the title match with a semifinal win over USD’s Garrett Kurtz (7-6, 6-2) ... Went undefeated at the LMU Invitational, where he defeated a pair of opponents from host Loyola Marymount – Diego Nava (6-3, 6-1) and Max Kaiser (6-4, 6-3) – sandwiched around a 6-4, 6-2 conquest of Nevada’s Augustin Delahodde ... Also competed in three matches at the ITA Southwest Regional Championships ... Opened the spring slate with a three-set triumph over Brigham Young’s David Ball 6-4, 3-6, 6-2 ... Helped the Scarlet and Black capture its Mountain West opener at UNLV with another three-setter over the Rebels’ Richard Solberg, 6-3, 4-6, 6-3 ... Additionally contributed to the Aztecs’ upset of No. 28 San Diego with a 6-4, 6-3 defeat of the Toreros’ David Norfeldt ... Dispatched Pepperdine’s Lautaro Pane in his ensuing match by a 6-2, 6-1 ... Collected Mountain West Player of the Week honors as a result of those two victories ... Emerged triumphant in back-to-back home duals vs. Washington and Eastern Washington ... Defeated the Huskies’ Jack Davis in a super-tiebreaker, 6-7(7), 7-6(3), 10-6, before toppling the Eagles’ Martin Bats, 6-2, 6-1 ... Propelled sixth-seeded SDSU to a 4-2 upset over No. 3 seed New Mexico in the quarterfinals of the Mountain West tournament with a three-set thriller over the Lobos’ Stepan Holis, 6-2, 2-6, 6-4.
     Doubles – Finished with a 16-10 overall record as part of five different tandems ... Garnered all-Mountain West doubles accolades after posting a 6-2 mark in dual matches with teammate Sander Gjoels-Andersen ... Duo helped the Aztecs secure the crucial doubles point vs. New Mexico in the conference tournament with a 7-5 nail-biter over the Lobos’ Bart Van Leijsen/Jorge Escutia ... Went 7-4 playing alongside Raul de la Torre, including a 6-2 ledger during the fall tournament schedule ... Combo captured the Flight 2 championship at the Aztec Invitational, capped by a 6-4 triumph in the title match over the mixed pairing of Liberty’s Max Borcuti and SDSU’s Daniel de la Torre ... Tandem opened the aforementioned event with victories over UC Irvine’s Mason Hansen/Sasha Krasnov (7-6(3)) and UC San Diego’s Zachary Ermert/Marius Ruh (6-4) ... Claimed two additional wins with Raul de Torre at the LMU Invitational, knocking off Pepperdine’s Nicholas Baez/Scotland Garapedian by an 8-4 count before edging Loyola Marymount’s Lucas Moreno/Ethan Prost, 8-7 ... Duo also dispatched another Lion pairing in the spring opener with a 6-2 decision over Prost/Diego Nava ... Won three straight matches alongside Santiago Cevallos, punctuated by a 6-4 triumph over USD’s Joel Gamerov/August Holmgren, which propelled the Scarlet and Black to an upset over the 28th-ranked Torereos ... Also joined forces with David Hough and Arnaud Restifo for two matches apiece during the spring campaign.
 
2016-17 Season (As A Freshman)
     Singles – Joined the Aztecs at the semester break, posting an 8-7 record in dual-match play ... Alternated between the fifth and sixth spots for the duration of the spring ... Notched his first collegiate victory with a 6-2, 6-3 decision over Fabian Woehrl of Hawai’i ... Registered one of two Aztec wins at No. 20 Mississippi State after pinning a 6-4, 6-2 defeat on the Bulldogs’ Trevor Foshey ... Won consecutive matches at the San Diego Spring Classic, knocking off Harvard’s Chris Morrow by a 6-0, 6-2 count before upending Arizona’s Oliver Plaskett by an nearly identical 6-0, 6-3 margin ... Pulled away in the third set vs. Santa Clara’s Kamran Khan, 6-1, 6-7(3), 6-2 ... Contributed to the Aztecs’ 4-2 upset of New Mexico in the quarterfinals of the Mountain West tournament with a 6-2, 6-2 conquest of Jorge Escutia.
     Doubles – Logged a 4-5 record playing with Joel Popov in the No. 3 spot ... Duo captured their first three matches, defeating San Diego’s Alexandros Araouzos/Gui Osorio (6-4), Northern Arizona’s Thomas Fisher/David Nguyen (6-3) and UC Irvine’s Vatsal Bajpai/Bruce Man-Son-Hing (6-3) ... Also contributed to the Aztecs’ victory over Saint Mary’s with a 6-1 rout of Matis Bot/Manuel De Luis Lamelas.
 
Personal
Four-time Mountain West all-academic selection ... Majoring in business marketing at San Diego State.