When the San Diego State men’s tennis team narrowly lost to the Pepperdine Waves last week, the only thing SDSU head coach Gene Carswell felt was pain.

And that feeling has certainly stuck with him.

While the Aztecs have won their only contest since that 4-3 Pepperdine loss on April 2, they are still trying to rebound and get back on track against Mountain West Conference rival BYU today at the Aztec Tennis Center.

“Are we coming into this weekend with a certain amount of confidence? I think so,” Carswell said. “I felt that, after we went out to play Pepperdine last week, we had a very good opportunity to win that match and I really felt that we were as good as, if not better than, them. I think we can compete with anyone.”

However, the Cougars aren’t just “anyone.” BYU, ranked as the 64th team in the nation, beat SDSU last season and will be looking to make a jump in the national standings.

“All three of the conference matches that are coming up will be a test for us,” Carswell said. “BYU is a gritty, blue collar team that will fight all day. When we face (BYU), they are going to be in a position where they have nothing to lose, so we need to be sure that we will be ready to compete.”

The Cougars have also put together some impressive wins this season. That experience will certainly help them against the Aztecs as they enter the Aztec Tennis Center today.

“BYU will be entering the match with a 1-2 record in conference play,” Carswell said. “But, that one win was over a UNLV team that, right now, is pretty strong. That was impressive and it shows that this conference is pretty well balanced.”

Still, Carswell feels his team is prepared and the upcoming match against BYU is just another step for SDSU to become a better team.

“I think we’re prepared for all of our matches coming up (this weekend),” Carswell said. “I think we still have our best tennis in front of us. Our goal is to peak at the end of the year, so we still have time to work on some things and I think that’s exactly what were going to do throughout the next month and take it to the championships and upward and beyond.”