RIVERSIDE, Calif. – The UC San Diego men's tennis team narrowly fell to UC Riverside, 4-3, in its final Big West Conference match of the season this afternoon.
INSIDE THE MATCHUP
Final: UC Riverside 4, UC San Diego 3
Records: UC Riverside 2-11, 1-5 BWC, UC San Diego 0-9, 0-6 BWC
HOW IT HAPPENED
The Highlanders started the match by securing the doubles point with wins on courts one and two.
Next, UC Riverside picked up a win at second singles, but then the Tritons fought back. On court six,
Eric Silberman earned his first collegiate singles victory as he defeated his Highlander opponent, 6-3, 7-6.
Soon after,
Daniel Traxler evened the match score as he claimed a win at first singles, 5-7, 6-1, 6-2.
On court three,
Phillip Lan was able to put the Tritons ahead. He topped his UC Riverside counterpart, 6-3, 6-4.
Although the Tritons' momentum was in their favor, UC Riverside battled to wins on courts four and five to ultimately win the match.
QUOTABLE
"We all fought hard," said Head Coach
Timmer Willing. "I have to give a lot of credit to Coach Mattias [Johansson] and his players. They have really done a good job these past three years and it showed today. It was a close match and somebody had to lose."
RESULTS
1. McCaig/J. Blando (UCR) def.
Zach Ermert/
Daniel Traxler (UCSD) 6-4
2. Djakouris/Chen (UCR) def.
Cody Duong/
Neil Tengbumroong (UCSD) 6-3
3. Chung/M. Blando (UCR) vs.
Eric Silberman/
William Lan (UCSD) 6-5
Order of finish: 2, 1
1.
Daniel Traxler (UCSD) def. Chung (UCR) 5-7, 6-1, 6-2
2. Djakouris (UCR) def.
Zach Ermert (UCSD) 6-1, 6-1
3.
Phillip Lan (UCSD) def. McCaig (UCR) 6-3, 6-4
4. J. Blando (UCR) def.
Cody Duong (UCSD) 7-5, 7-6
5. Roth (UCR) def.
Neil Tengbumroong (UCSD) 6-2, 4-6, 6-2
6.
Eric Silberman (UCSD) def. Chen (UCR) 6-3, 7-6
Order of finish: 2, 6, 1, 3, 4, 5
UP NEXT
UC San Diego's match against UC Riverside is its final Big West Conference match of the season. It is also currently the final match on UC San Diego's 2021 schedule, which is subject to change. Visit the
Tritons' schedule for the latest updates.
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.
