LA JOLLA, Calif. ? The 14^th-ranked UC San Diego men's tennis team lost its home opener by an 8-1 score to Division I member East Tennessee State University on Tuesday afternoon at the Northview Tennis Courts.

With the loss the Tritons fall to 0-5 on the season while the Buccaneers improve to 5-4. Four of the five UCSD losses this season have come against Division I opponents. The other loss came at the hands of the defending NAIA National Champion, Azusa Pacific.

ETSU jumped out to an early 3-0 lead after sweeping the doubles matches. The closest contest in doubles came at the top spot where the UCSD duo of Brent Molden and Eric Rubens played well before falling by an 8-6 score to Oscar Posada and Juan Crosa.

In singles play, East Tennessee State won five of the six singles match, four of which came in straight sets.

The lone match won by the Tritons came at the No. 4 spot on the ladder where Erik Oijala handed Juan Crosa a three-set loss by scores of 1-6, 6-2 and 10-6 in the third set super-tiebreaker.

UCSD returns to action this weekend, playing at Loyola Marymount on Saturday. That match is slated for a 1 p.m. first serve. The Tritons will then play their first D-II match, returning home to face Cal Poly Pomona on Sunday for a 12 p.m. start.