San Diego State University’s Independent Student Newspaper Since 1913

The Daily Aztec

San Diego State University’s Independent Student Newspaper Since 1913

The Daily Aztec




San Diego State University’s Independent Student Newspaper Since 1913

The Daily Aztec

MIDWEEK PREVIEW: Men’s and Women’s Tennis highlight light week for events on the Mesa

Softball travels to Utah State, Baseball heads to USC before Trolley Series vs UCSD, Track and Field plus Golf programs in action
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Eric
The Daily Aztec graphic for the April 5 Midweek Preview.

Every week The Daily Aztec will help San Diego State University fans get ready for the upcoming sports schedule with the Midweek Preview. Here is this week’s calendar of upcoming Aztec athletics events, all event times are in Pacific Daylight Time:

Thursday, April 6

Men’s Tennis (1-10, 0-1) vs UNLV (9-8, 1-1), Aztec Tennis Center, 2 p.m.

SDSU opened Mountain West play with a 4-2 loss to Boise State on Sunday, April 2. Johannes Seeman notched the lone singles win at the No. 1 spot, while he and Chikaya Sato won at no. 1 doubles and Alexander Mandma and Bora Sengul took the result at no. 2. UNLV is coming off a 4-3 win over Utah State; the no. 1 singles pair of senior Milos Dabic and junior Maxim Verboven holds the best record for the Rebels, going 11-5.

Softball (22-10, 6-3) at Utah State (11-15, 3-3), 3 p.m.

SDSU is riding a six-game winning streak after sweeping San José State last weekend at the SDSU Softball Stadium. Allie Light earned Mountain West Pitcher of the Week honors after pitching 7.2 scoreless innings with 5 strikeouts, 5 hits allowed and 1 walk. Sarah Lehman (53.0 IP, 8-2, 2.25 ERA, .169 BAA) started the first game last weekend for the Aztecs, freshman Hailey McLean (59.2 IP, 6-3, 3.75 ERA, .143 BAA) got that nod for the Aggies.

No. 25 Water Polo (9-15, 2-2) vs California Baptist (14-16, 0-5), Aztec Aquaplex, 4 p.m.

The Aztecs are back home after going 2-1 on a road trip that included wins over Concordia, Santa Clara and a loss to No. 12 Pacific. Amanda Legaspi and Claudia Valdes lead SDSU with 37 goals apiece, while Rose Kanemy is their top distributor with 31 assists. The Lancers have been outscored by 17 in their Gold Coast Conference matches; graduate student Jamie Hutton is their top scorer with 37 goals.

Baseball (11-13) at USC (17-10-1), 6:30 p.m.

SDSU is currently riding a four-game winning streak after sweeping New Mexico last weekend and knocking off UC Riverside 14-5 last night. The Aztecs currently sit at 7-3 in Mountain West play, good for tops in the conference. San Diego State started T.J. Fondtain (39.0 IP, 3-1, 3.69 ERA, .234 BAA) in game one last weekend, USC started junior Tyler Stromsborg (43.1 IP, 3-1, 4.36 ERA, .235 BAA), who is coming off a complete game five-hit shutout of Utah.

Friday, April 7

Track and Field at Trojan Invitational and UCSD Triton Invitational, all day through Saturday

San Diego State sent a trio of runners to the Stanford Invitational on March 31 through April 1 in the most recent competition, with Alex Lomeli running a personal record of 4:28.98 to finish second in her heat in the 1500m. 

Lacrosse (5-8) at Colorado (5-5), noon

The Aztecs complete their three-game road trip after dropping a pair of games in Philadelphia, losing to Drexel 9-5 and to Saint Joseph’s 13-6. Deanna Balsama had four goals and an assist in the two games, while Sydney Wolfington scored twice and had a helper. Fifth year attacker Charlie Rudy is the top scorer for the Buffalos with 37 goals followed by sixth year attacker Sam McGee with 30.

Women’s Tennis (10-5, 3-1) vs Colorado State (13-4, 2-2) at Laramie, Wyo., 3 p.m.

The Aztecs took both of their most recent matches, knocking off Utah State 4-0 on April 1 and host Boise State 4-2 the next day. SDSU rallied after dropping two doubles points to the Broncos by reeling off singles wins for Tamara Arnold at No. 2, Alicia Melosch at No. 3, Cecile Morin at No. 5 and Andreea Vilcea at No. 6. Senior Radka Buzkova is 21-7 in singles matches for the Rams.

Softball at Utah State, 3 p.m.

Jillian Cellis scored five times in the series win against SJSU while Mac Barbara, Cali Decker and Jade Ignacio drove in three runs apiece. SDSU’s second game starter last weekend was Cassidy West (20.1 IP, 1-0, 5.16 ERA, .337 BAA), freshman Tess Bumiller (34.2 IP, 6-3, 5.65 ERA, .327 BAA) started in that slot for Utah State.

Baseball at USC, 6:30 p.m.

Poncho Ruiz has been on a heater at the plate for the Aztecs since the UConn series, going 15-for-30 with 11 RBI and 10 runs scored. The Trojans are currently third in the Pac-12, going 9-3 in conference and could move to top of the standings if both Stanford and Arizona State don’t sweep their series this weekend. Expect Chris Canada (30.1 IP, 1-2, 4.45 ERA, .241 BAA) to start for SDSU, Caden Aoki (14.1 IP, 1-0, 1.88 ERA, .281 BAA) started second last weekend for USC.

Saturday, April 8

Women’s Tennis at Wyoming (9-8, 4-0), 10 a.m.

The Cowgirls are currently alone atop the Mountain West standings led by a 10-4 mark for the duo of junior Noesjka Brink and graduate student Marina Orechkina, while junior Nikol Dobrilova’s 13-9 record is their best in singles.

Softball at Utah State, 11 a.m.

Utah State has just two players, sophomore infielder/outfielder Claire Raley and freshman outfielder Kya Pratt, who are hitting above .300, while freshman outfielder Jaden Colunga leads the squad with 15 RBI. Last weekend’s third starter was Dani Martinez (36.0 IP, 3-2, 2.92 ERA, .270 BAA) for the Aztecs, McLean started for the second time for USU.

Men’s Tennis at Utah State (7-11, 0-2), 11 a.m.

The Aggies will host Air Force on Thursday before heading to the Mesa. USU dropped decisions at Nevada 4-2 and at UNLV 4-3. Senior David Cierny is the top singles player for Utah State, going 7-5 at No. 1 and 16-10 overall, while the doubles pair of seniors Javier Ruiz and Roko Savin are 9-4.

Baseball at USC, 1 p.m.

Senior outfielder Cole Gabrielson has done the most damage at the dish this season for USC, leading the side with seven home runs and 32 RBI, as well as tying for the team lead with a .330 batting average and eight doubles. Omar Serrano (19.0 IP, 0-2, 4.26 ERA, .211 BAA) was SDSU’s day three starter at UNM, redshirt freshman Eric Hammond (23.1 IP, 1-2, 6.17 ERA, .272 BAA) was in that role last for the Trojans.

Monday, April 10

Men’s Golf at Western Intercollegiate, all day through Wednesday

San Diego State had a Tuesday charge up the ranks, moving from seventh place to finishing first at the Wyoming Cowboy Classic. Individually, Chanachon Chokprajakchat was the top-finishing Aztecs, tying for fourth overall with a six-under. It was the second tournament win of the season for the team after winning the William H. Tucker Intercollegiate in the fall semester. This event is being hosted by San José State in Santa Cruz.

Women’s Golf at Riverside Classic, all day through Tuesday

SDSU finished 14th their most recent time out at the Liz Murphey Collegiate Classic in Athens, Ga. after the final round was canceled. Anika Sato was the top finisher for the Aztecs in the abbreviated tournament, tying for 31st after shooting a four-over thanks to a team-low round of 71 on the second day. This event is being hosted by BYU at Riverside Country Club in Provo, Utah.

Baseball at UC San Diego (17-9), 6 p.m.

This is the second meeting between the Aztecs and Tritons, UCSD won the first time 2-1 in La Jolla on March 28. The Tritons are currently in second place in the Big West after dropping two of three games to UC Irvine; they are currently ranked No. 30 by Collegiate Baseball Newspaper and have been ranked since CBN’s March 27 poll.

Tuesday, April 11

Baseball vs UC San Diego, Tony Gwynn Stadium, 6 p.m.

Xavier Cardenas (53.0 IP, 8-2, 2.25 ERA, .169 BAA) started the first meeting for SDSU, sophomore Nolan McCracken (53.0 IP, 8-2, 2.25 ERA, .169 BAA) was tabbed by UC San Diego. The Tritons have four players, sophomore infielder Matt Hallbach (team high 24), freshman first baseman Brandon Larson (22) and senior Matt Fuhrman and redshirt sophomore Doyle Kane (20 each) have 20 or more RBI.

About the Contributor
Eric Evelhoch
Eric Evelhoch, '23-24 Sports Editor
Eric Evelhoch (he/him/his) is a senior media studies major who was born outside of Detroit, Michigan, and lived in Ventura County, California, for a decade-plus. He is a returning college student and transfer from Santa Barbara City College, where he served as Sports Editor for The Channels. Evelhoch is also a Sports Director for KCR College Radio, where he restarted play-by-play coverage post-pandemic. Currently, he serves as the play-by-play broadcaster for the SDSU ACHA DI hockey team and has filled in on the call for Aztecs sports on the Mountain West Network. His prior freelance experience includes print, digital, online video and audio-only, and broadcast radio formats covering football, basketball, baseball, hockey, soccer and volleyball.
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San Diego State University’s Independent Student Newspaper Since 1913
MIDWEEK PREVIEW: Men’s and Women’s Tennis highlight light week for events on the Mesa