LA JOLLA, Calif. — The University of California San Diego men's tennis team lost a close, hard-fought dual-match for the second time in three days, as the Tritons fell to No. 11-ranked University of Hawai'i Hilo, 5-4, on Wednesday afternoon at Northview Tennis Courts.
Wednesday's dual match began with doubles play, as UC San Diego won two of three matches to take an early 2-1 advantage.
Although doubles action began with the Tritons' No. 1 unit of sophomores Marc Isaia and Sreeganesh Manoharan coming up short against the 38th-ranked team of Vaclav Slezak and Alessandro Giuliato, 8-2, UC San Diego bounced back behind a win from its No. 2 duo of seniors Eric Tseng and Justin Zhang over Bruno Figlia and Alex Fillat Perez, 8-7 (6).
The Tritons' No. 3 team of freshmen Eskil Jarlskog and Neil Tengbumroong defeated Gregory Zukeran and Chun En Wu, 8-6, to close doubles play.
UC San Diego (8-4) maintained its momentum with a strong start to singles action, as Isaia earned a No. 3 singles victory over Wu, 6-3, 6-4.
Tengbumroong's win against Zukeran in the No. 6 slot put the Tritons just one win away from clinching the dual match, but UC San Diego couldn't close it out.
Sophomore Marius Ruh dropped his No. 5 singles contest against Arturo Dell'Eva, 6-3, 6-3, while Zhang fell short in his No. 2 singles matchup with Giuliato, 6-2, 6-4.
Jarlskog lost an intense, three-set battle to Figlia in No. 4 singles, 3-6, 6-1, 6-2, knotting the dual match 4-4, before 42nd-ranked Tseng was topped by 20th-ranked Slezak, 6-4, 2-6, 6-1, in a back-and-forth No. 1 singles match.
The Tritons won't have long to dwell on Wednesday's defeat, as they'll play host to Middlebury College on Thursday beginning at 11:30 a.m.
#BigWestBound
#11 Hawai'i Hilo 5, UC San Diego 4
Mar 28, 2018 at La Jolla, CA (Northview Tennis Courts)
Singles competition
1. #20 Vaclav Slezak (UHH) def. #42 Eric Tseng (UCSD) 6-4, 2-6, 6-1
2. Alessandro Giuliato (UHH) def. Justin Zhang (UCSD) 6-2, 6-4
3. Marc Isaia (UCSD) def. Chun En Wu (UHH) 6-3, 6-4
4. Bruno Figlia (UHH) def. Eskil Jarlskog (UCSD) 3-6, 6-1, 6-2
5. Arturo Dell'Eva (UHH) def. Marius Ruh (UCSD) 6-3, 6-3
6. Neil Tengbumroong (UCSD) def. Gregory Zukeran (UHH) 6-2, 6-2
Doubles competition
1. #38 Vaclav Slezak/Alessandro Giuliato (UHH) def. Marc Isaia/Sreeganesh Manoharan (UCSD) 8-2
2. Eric Tseng/Justin Zhang (UCSD) def. Bruno Figlia/Alex Fillat Perez (UHH) 8-7 (8-6)
3. Eskil Jarlskog/Neil Tengbumroong (UCSD) def. Gregory Zukeran/Chun En Wu (UHH) 8-6
Match Notes
Hawai'i Hilo 13-1; National ranking #11; Regional ranking #4
UC San Diego 8-4; Regional ranking #3
Order of finish: Doubles (1,3,2); Singles (3,6,5,2,4,1)
