LA JOLLA, Calif. – UC San Diego men's tennis regained their form in doubles play Monday morning, but came up short in singles against a talented Hawai'i team, suffering their first Big West Conference loss of the season, 4-2.
 
INSIDE THE MATCHUP
Final: Hawai'i 4, UC San Diego 2
Records: UC San Diego 3-11 (1-1 Big West), Hawai'i 8-1 (1-0 Big West)
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
UC San Diego earned the doubles point in an extremely close contest. Hawai'i got an advantage with a win at No. 1, but the Tritons held early leads at No. 2 and No. 3. Freshman Pelayo Rodriguez and junior Phillip Lan turned that lead into a win at No. 3, making the match at No. 2 the doubles decider.
 
Sophomore Eric Silberman and redshirt senior Zach Ermert took that decider, but not without some drama. The Warriors erased the Tritons' early lead, taking seven straight points to force, and then take the lead in, a tiebreaker. But Silberman and Ermert never gave up, eventually winning the tiebreaker and with it the doubles point.
 
In singles play, the momentum shifted in favor of the visitors. Led by the 17^th-ranked singles player in the country, the Warriors collected three straight wins, on courts 1, 4, and 3 to put themselves one win away from clinching the match. Senior Sahm Irvine started the Tritons' comeback attempt with a win at No. 6, and sophomore Jett Cole faced a tiebreaking third set at No. 5. However, Hawai'i took their fourth win at No. 2 singles to secure victory and end the match.
 
RESULTS
Doubles:

1. Andre Ilagan/Karl Collins (UH) def. Daniel Traxler/Jett Cole (UCSD), 6-0
2. Eric Silberman/Zach Ermert (UCSD) def. Simao Telo Alves/Axel Labunie (UH), 7-6 (7-5)
3. Pelayo Rodriguez/Phillip Lan (UCSD) def. Blaz Seric/Kilian Maitre (UH), 6-3

 
Order of Finish: 1, 3, 2
 
Singles:

1. #17 Andre Ilagan (UH) def. Daniel Traxler (UCSD), 6-1, 6-1 
2. Blaz Seric (UH) def. Phillip Lan (UCSD), 7-6 (7-4), 6-4
3. Karl Collins (UH) def. Zach Ermert (UCSD), 6-3, 6-3
4. Axel Labunie (UH) def. Pelayo Rodriguez (UCSD), 6-1, 6-2
5. Jett Cole (UCSD) vs. Guillaume Tattevin (UH), 7-5, 3-6, 3-3, dnf
6. Sahm Irvine (UCSD) def. Andy Hernandez (UH), 6-1, 6-4

 
Order of finish: 1, 3, 4, 6, 2
 
QUOTABLE
"Our overall performance, I think, was pretty good, we just have to not get too excited when we're winning and not get too down when we lose a point, it's just mental maturity," Head Coach Timmer Willing said. "We had better preparation today to start, getting here, arrival time, mentally getting focused to start, and it showed in our doubles. We got that doubles point because we were mentally ready and they weren't."
 
TRITON TIDBITS

• The Tritons have become a force at No. 2 and No. 3 doubles recently; Eric Silberman and Zach Ermert have won six of their last seven matches at No. 2, as have Pelayo Rodriguez and Phillip Lan at No. 3
• 17^th-ranked Andre Ilagan is the highest-rated singles opponent any Triton has faced in UC San Diego's Division I era

 
UP NEXT
UC San Diego is back in action with a pair of matches at Northview on March 23, hosting San Diego City College and Saint Katherine. First serves are scheduled for 9 a.m. and 2:30 p.m. PT, respectively.
 
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 has begun a new era 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 garnered 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 90 percent, the highest rate among public institutions in Division I or II. For more information on the Tritons, visit UCSDtritons.com or follow UC San Diego Athletics on social media @UCSDtritons.