LAS VEGAS – Pelayo Rodriguez and Phillip Lan extended their doubles winning streak to eight, and Sanjith Devineni picked up his third straight singles win, but UC San Diego men's tennis dropped both matches of a doubleheader against UNLV on Saturday, 4-1 and 6-1.
 
INSIDE THE MATCHUP
Final Match #1: UNLV 4, UC San Diego 1
Final Match #2: UNLV 6, UC San Diego 1
Records: UC San Diego 5-13 (1-1 Big West); UNLV 10-9 (0-0 Mountain West)
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
In the morning match, the freshman Rodriguez and junior Lan opened doubles play at No. 3 with their eighth straight win together, and juniors Daniel Traxler and William Lan secured the doubles point for the Tritons with a win at No. 2.
 
In singles play, the Rebels came back to clinch the match with wins at Nos. 1, 2, 3, and 5. Senior Sahm Irvine had won the first set at No. 6 and held a lead in the second set when the match ended.
 
Head Coach Timmer Willing rotated his squad for the afternoon match, and while they ultimately went down, the new-look Tritons went down swinging. Traxler and Lan forced a tiebreaker at No. 1 doubles, as did the freshman pairing of Devineni and Joseph Teh at No. 3. Unfortunately, UNLV won on all three courts to take the doubles point.
 
Devineni won at No. 4 singles — his third in his last three matches — but it amounted to little more than consolation for UC San Diego. The Rebels had already won at Nos. 1, 2, and 5 to clinch the match, and later added wins on Nos. 3 and 6.

RESULTS | Match #1
For a full box score from the first match, click here.

RESULTS | Match #2
For a full box score from the second match, click here.
 
QUOTABLE
"We are really progressing in doubles, getting off to a good start, and seeing improvement each match," Head Coach Timmer Willing said. "We had issues making errors at key times. We competed well in the heat but still came up short. Progress continues and the competitiveness is increasing daily. I'm proud of their effort, and our progress will eventually pay off."
 
TRITON TIDBITS

• Pelayo Rodriguez played his first ever match at No. 1 singles in the afternoon and forced a tiebreaker in the first set
• Daniel Traxler and William Lan have now partnered each other at No. 2 doubles twice, winning both matches
• Sanjith Devineni's win at No. 4 singles was also the highest singles position the freshman has played in his collegiate career

 
 
UP NEXT
UC San Diego returns to the Northview Tennis Courts for their final home matches of the season next week. The Tritons will host Big West Conference rivals UC Irvine at 3 p.m. on March 30 and BYU at 10 a.m. on March 31.
 
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.