LA JOLLA, Calif. – UC San Diego men's tennis plays their final two home matches of the season this week, hosting UC Irvine on Wednesday and BYU on Thursday, before hitting the road for a trip to UC Santa Barbara on Saturday. Wednesday's match against the Anteaters, the Tritons' third in Big West Conference play this season, is scheduled to start at 3 p.m., with Thursday's home finale versus BYU set for 10 a.m. Saturday's match in Santa Barbara will get underway at 2 p.m.
 
DETAILS
Match 19
UC San Diego (4-13, 1-1 Big West) vs UC Irvine (10-4, 0-0 Big West)
Wednesday, March 30 | 3 p.m. PT
Northview Tennis Courts | La Jolla
 
Match 20
UC San Diego (4-13, 1-1 Big West) vs BYU (7-6, 1-1 West Coast)
Thursday, March 31 | 10 a.m. PT
Northview Tennis Courts | La Jolla
 
Match 21
UC San Diego (4-13, 1-1 Big West) at UC Santa Barbara (11-5, 0-1 Big West)
Saturday, April 2 | 2 p.m. PT
Arnhold Tennis Center | Santa Barbara, Calif.
 
ATTENDING UC SAN DIEGO HOME MATCHES
For the latest information on attending home events, please visit our Spectator Information Page. Parking permits are required seven days per week at UC San Diego.
 
UC SAN DIEGO AND COVID-19
UC San Diego's nationally renowned Return to Learn program was created to return to in-person teaching, learning, conducting pioneering research and serving our communities in the safest way possible. The program has three adaptive pillars that are central to our strategy to resume on-campus activity: risk mitigation, viral detection, and intervention.
 
For the latest information on UC San Diego and COVID-19, please visit the University's Return to Learn site.
 
ABOUT UC SAN DIEGO
Roster | Schedule | Stats
Overall: 4-13
Big West: 1-1
Home: 4-7
Away: 0-5
Neutral: 0-1
vs. Ranked Opponents: 0-1
Streak: L2
Oracle/ITA Ranking: NR
 
ABOUT UC IRVINE
Roster | Schedule | Stats
Overall: 10-4
Big West: 0-0
Home: 7-1
Away: 3-3
Neutral: 0-0
vs. Ranked Opponents: 1-1
Streak: W9
Oracle/ITA Ranking: NR
 
ABOUT BYU
Roster | Schedule | Stats
Overall: 7-6
West Coast: 1-1
Home: 4-2
Away: 2-4
Neutral: 1-0
vs. Ranked Opponents: 0-0
Streak: W1
Oracle/ITA Ranking: NR
 
ABOUT UC SANTA BARBARA
Roster | Schedule | Stats
Overall: 11-5
Big West: 0-1
Home: 7-0
Away: 1-3
Neutral: 3-2
vs. Ranked Opponents: 1-1
Streak: L1
Oracle/ITA Ranking: 53
 
LAST TIME OUT
The Tritons dropped both matches of a doubleheader against UNLV, 4-1 and 6-1, in Las Vegas on March 26. UC San Diego's doubles teams continued their strong play to earn the Tritons a point in the first match, and freshman Sanjith Devineni picked up a point for the team in the second match with his third straight singles win.
 
SIX TRITONS MAKE COMMISSIONER'S HONOR ROLL
Six members of the UC San Diego men's tennis team were honored for their work in the classroom by being named to the 2021 Big West Commissioner's Honor Roll last month. Sahm Irvine and Daniel Traxler earned Highest Honors for maintaining a cumulative GPA between 3.51 and 4.0. William Lan, Phillip Lan, and Tristan Taylor were named to the list With Honors, as was Jett Cole, who excelled academically in 2021 at UC Santa Barbara.
 
ON THE MOVE
After 20 seasons playing as an NCAA Division II team, the entire athletics program is in its second year of a four-year transition to NCAA Division I, culminating in full DI status as a member of the Big West Conference for the 2024-25 academic year. At that time, all sports will be eligible for conference and NCAA postseason play.
 
LAST MEETING
UC San Diego faced both UC Santa Barbara and UC Irvine last year as part of the Tritons' inaugural season in the Big West. They took the doubles point in both matches, but ultimately came up short, 5-2 against the Gauchos on April 10 and 4-1 against the Anteaters a week later in Irvine. UC San Diego will play BYU for the first time on Thursday.
 
PROBABLE STARTERS
Here's how the Tritons could line up this week, based on their recent matches:
 
Doubles
1. Zach Ermert/Eric Silberman
2. Daniel Traxler/William Lan
3. Pelayo Rodriguez/Phillip Lan
 
Singles
1. Daniel Traxler
2. Phillip Lan
3. Zach Ermert
4. Pelayo Rodriguez
5. Jett Cole
6. Sahm Irvine
 
ROSTER BREAKDOWN
This year's Tritons are composed of a pair of seniors, four juniors, three sophomores and four freshmen. Three seniors graduated from last year's squad.
 
MEET THE NEWCOMERS
Entering its second year as an NCAA Division I program in the Big West Conference, the UC San Diego men's tennis team announced its incoming class of four standout scholar-athletes. Sanjith Devineni (Edison, N.J.), Charles Qian (San Diego, Calif.), Pelayo Rodriguez (Madrid, Spain), and Joseph Teh (San Jose, Calif.) make up the 2021-22 freshmen class.
 
WILLING ENTERS 10TH SEASON AS HEAD COACH
Head coach Timmer Willing enters his 10th season at the helm of UC San Diego men's tennis and 21st with the program after previously serving as an assistant coach with the program for 11 years. During his tenure, the Tritons have compiled an 84-79 record and made five appearances in the NCAA Division II postseason tournament.
 
TRAXLER EARNS ALL-BIG WEST HONORS
UC San Diego men's tennis returns Daniel Traxler, who was an All-Big West second team honoree after his performance in singles competition during the 2021 spring season. The rising junior recorded a 2-2 record as the first singles player in conference play.
 
UP NEXT
The Tritons are back on the road for more Big West action in their next match, traveling to San Luis Obispo for a meeting with Cal Poly on April 10. First serve is scheduled for 11 a.m. PT.
 
WHY THE TRITONS?
The Triton is described as the offspring of Poseidon and Amphitrite, a demigod of the sea with a lower part of the body like that of a fish. It is known as a mighty and fierce sea warrior. Given UC San Diego's close proximity to the Pacific Ocean and its connections with the world-famous Scripps Institution of Oceanography, the Triton became our mascot in 1964.
 
UC SAN DIEGO ATHLETICS LAUNCHES WEEKLY PODCAST
As part of UC San Diego's transition to Division I, the Athletics Department launched a weekly podcast, Tritoncast. Produced by UC San Diego Athletics Communications, Tritoncast features in-depth interviews with UC San Diego personalities including scholar-athletes, alums, coaches, and administrators. Triton fans will get an inside look at the UC San Diego Athletics Department as the program transitions to NCAA Division I and the Big West Conference. New episodes of Tritoncast are available each week on the most popular podcasting apps, including Amazon Music, Apple Podcasts, Audible, iHeartRadio, Pandora, Spotify, Stitcher, TuneIn, and Vurbl. In addition, each episode can be heard and downloaded on UCSDTritons.com. For individual show information and listen links, follow Tritoncast on Twitter @Tritoncast.
 
GET SOCIAL WITH UC SAN DIEGO TENNIS
Keep up with the Tritons all season long on social media through Twitter and Instagram. The team's handle is @ucsdmtennis.
 
FOR THE YOUNGER CROWD
Got some young Triton fans in your family? If they are eighth grade or under, check out the Junior Triton Club. Membership includes a free t-shirt, admission to over 100 UC San Diego home athletic events, and much more!
 
GEAR
For the latest Triton apparel and accessories, click here.
 
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.