In a total turnaround, the Aztec men’s tennis team surged back from a difficult season a year ago when it scored only 3 victories in 18 matches.
This season, it won 11 of its first 14 matches.
Then, standing on the brink of a season-ending loss to top-seeded Utah State in the Mountain West Championships, the Aztecs trailed 3-1 but refused to concede. They won three final
singles matches to claw their way to the finals.
“It was a great college tennis match to be a part of” said Aztec Head Coach Gene Carswell. “We have a lot of respect for Utah State. They are well coached and their players have so much fight in them. Robin Parts did what he’s done all year long for us. It was great for him to earn the clinching point and advance us into the championship match.”
There, the season ended with a 1-4 defeat by Boise State, crowning the 2024 campaign with a remarkable 16-7 record.
Aztec Johannes Seeman won Player of the Week honors in the Mountain West Conference for a third straight year, matching achievements by Aztec All American Oliver Maiberger (2000-2003), the only SDSU tennis player in the Aztec Athletic Hall of Fame.
Aztec Eugenio Gonzalez Fitzmaurice also won 2024 Player of the Week honors. Last season, he earned Freshman Player of the Week honors twice. On Senior Day, the Aztec men’s team honored Parts, Andre Saleh, Chikaya Sato, Seeman, and Bora Sengul.
Carswell said: “I think we learned a lot from last year, and we took on the adage that it’s not what happens to you, it’s how you deal with it.
“These guys worked hard to improve each individual, kind of different areas within their own play.
“And I would say that it helps having a nice grad transfer addition who came in and brought some additional experience, in Robin Parts, and what a season he had.”