SAN DIEGO – The UC San Diego men's tennis team opened its Division I era with a pair of matches against crosstown rival San Diego State today.
 
INSIDE THE MATCHUP
Final (match 1): San Diego State 4, UC San Diego 2
Final (match 2): San Diego State 5, UC San Diego 0
Records: UC San Diego 0-2, San Diego State 2-2
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
Second and fourth singles of match one were the highlights of the day for the Tritons. After defeating his Aztec counterpart in set one, 7-5, Zach Ermert dropped set two, 0-6. He battled in the third set though, winning 7-6 to earn a point for the Tritons.
 
Cody Duong also captured a point for UC San Diego. He topped his San Diego State opponent in straight sets, 6-4, 6-2.
 
QUOTABLE
"Today was as expected that our players were going to be excited to compete," said Head Coach Timmer Willing. "It's been nearly a year. The worry was coming in too tight, which is what happened in doubles. We were extremely nervous, understandably so. 
 
"We competed very well in singles and with back-to-back matches today, the concern was fatigue from physical play and fatigue from the anxiety level being extremely high. I'm very proud of them how they competed in singles. As a team, we all agreed that doubles will need to be the immediate focus to improve. It'll start with the coaching staff doing a better job of explaining and teaching the expectations to the players executing the tasks expected.
 
"I'm very proud of them today but disappointed in falling short. I was very impressed with the level of play in singles and how well they all responded after starting so slow. I foresee a lot of resilience in this team and the longer the season goes, the better we will be. I'm sure of that."
 
RESULTS
View the first box score here and the second box score here.
 
UP NEXT
Next, UC San Diego begins its first-ever Big West Conference action. The Tritons will host conference foe UC Davis on Mar. 7, with the time to be announced.

About UC San Diego Athletics
After two decades as one of the most successful programs in NCAA Division II, the UC San Diego intercollegiate athletics program began a new era in 2020 as a member of the Big West Conference in NCAA Division I. The 23-sport Tritons earned 30 team and nearly 150 individual national championships during its time in Divisions III and II and helped guide 1,400 scholar-athletes to All-America honors. A total of 83 Tritons have earned Academic All-America honors, while 38 have earned prestigious NCAA Post Graduate Scholarships. UC San Diego scholar-athletes exemplify the academic ideals of one of the world's preeminent institutions, graduating at an average rate of 91 percent, one of the highest rates among institutions at all divisions.

Return To Sport… Safely
In order for UC San Diego scholar-athletes to be permitted to return to training and competition safely and within federal, state, local, and university guidelines, the athletic department implemented a number of measures designed to complement and enhance the university's highly-successful Return To Learn program. Notable actions include being physically distanced when practical, including during out-of-season training sessions; wearing masks, except when undergoing physically strenuous exercise; and maintaining proper hygiene. Athletes, coaches, and staff are testing at a higher frequency than the campus population, teams adhere to CDC, NCAA, and Big West Conference guidelines, and department officials participate in regular meetings with conference and university-affiliated physicians and the UC San Diego emergency operations staff.