LA JOLLA, Calif. – Throughout the summer, UC San Diego Athletics will be taking a look back at the greatest moments and accomplishments from the 2020-21 school year. Each week through July, a Throwback Thursday and Flashback Friday segment will be featured on UC San Diego Athletics' Instagram and Twitter accounts.
 
On this week's Flashback Friday, UC San Diego Athletics is looking back at the women's tennis team's first-ever Big West win.
 

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After dropping their first two Big West matches – at Hawai'i and at UC Irvine – the Tritons returned home to Northview Tennis Courts to host UC Riverside in their home opener.
 
In doubles play, UC San Diego captains Rachel Wagner and Anu Bhadada made quick work of their opponents with a 6-3 victory. At No. 3, junior Shweta Kumar and freshman Monica Stratakos earned a hard-fought 7-5 win to secure the doubles point for the Tritons. Sophomore Sophie Pearson and freshman Ella Pachl completed the doubles sweep with a 7-5 win at No. 1. That Pearson-Pachl duo would ultimately earn All-Big West recognition.
 
In singles action, Pachl made quick work of her opponent at No. 2 for a 6-2, 6-0 victory. With the Tritons in front 2-0, Stratakos closed out a 6-4, 6-2 win at No. 6 to give UC San Diego a 3-0 lead over the Highlanders. Pearson sealed the victory with a 7-6 (7-1), 6-4 win at No. 1.
 

Freshman Ella Pachl chats about her wins today at No. 1 doubles and No. 2 singles as the Tritons bested UC Riverside, 5-2! #GoTritons pic.twitter.com/nOzKPuK1O0

— UCSD Women's Tennis (@ucsdwtennis) April 8, 2021

With the victory, UC San Diego improved to a perfect 2-0 at home to start its first season in Division I.

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 II and III 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.