LA JOLLA, Calif. — The No. 18-ranked University of California San Diego men's tennis team continues to blow past every opponent in its path, and defeated Western New Mexico, 8-1, in its latest dual match on Wednesday afternoon at Northview Tennis Courts.
It marks the eighth-straight victory for UC San Diego (8-2), seven of which have come at home.
Wednesday's dual match began with doubles play, as the Tritons won two of three matches. UC San Diego's No. 1 duo of sophomores Marc Isaia and Sreeganesh Manoharan dropped its match to Liam Fraboulet and Vladimir Gnilozubov, 8-3, but the No. 2 unit of seniors Eric Tseng and Justin Zhang picked up the slack with a victory over Niko Barr and Zachary Grabovic, 8-5.
The Tritons closed doubles action with the No. 3 team of junior Richard Han and sophomore Marius Ruh topping Jose Mario Neto and David Valles, 8-5.
Singles play was a clean sweep for the Tritons, beginning with Manoharan's straight-sets win against Mario Neto in the No. 6 slot, 6-1, 6-1, before Isaia followed with a straight-sets victory of his own in No. 3 singles against Barr, 6-3, 6-1.
Zhang, the 39th-ranked singles player in the nation, quickly defeated Gnilozubov in No. 2 singles, 6-1, 6-1, while 21st-ranked Tseng earned a straight-sets No. 1-singles win over Fraboulet, 6-4, 6-0.
Singles play ended with a pair of hard-fought Triton victories, as Han won his No. 4 singles match against Grabovic, 7-6 (0), 6-3, before Tengbumroong came from behind to earn a three-set No. 5 singles win over Valles, 5-7, 6-0, 10-8.
UC San Diego take a few days off before hitting the road to resume dual-match play against Holy Names on March 25, then faces Sonoma State on March 26.
#18 UC San Diego 8, Western New Mexico 1
Mar 14, 2018 at La Jolla, CA (Northview Tennis Courts)
Singles
1. #21 Eric Tseng (UCSD) def. Liam Fraboulet (WNMU) 6-4, 6-0
2. #39 Justin Zhang (UCSD) def. Vladimir Gnilozubov (WNMU) 6-1, 6-1
3. Marc Isaia (UCSD) def. Niko Barr (WNMU) 6-3, 6-1
4. Richard Han (UCSD) def. Zachary Grabovic (WNMU) 7-6 (7-0), 6-3
5. Neil Tengbumroong (UCSD) def. David Valles (WNMU) 5-7, 6-0, 10-8
6. Sreeganesh Manoharan (UCSD) def. Jose Mario Neto (WNMU) 6-1, 6-1
Doubles
1. Liam Fraboulet/Vladimir Gnilozubov (WNMU) def. Marc Isaia/Sreeganesh Manoharan (UCSD) 8-3
2. Eric Tseng/Justin Zhang (UCSD) def. Niko Barr/Zachary Grabovic (WNMU) 8-5
3. Richard Han/Marius Ruh (UCSD) def. Jose Mario Neto/David Valles (WNMU) 8-5
Match Notes
Western New Mexico 3-10
UC San Diego 8-2; National ranking #18; Regional ranking #3
Order of finish: Doubles (1,2,3); Singles (6,3,2,1,4,5)
