LA JOLLA, Calif. – The UC San Diego men's tennis team played well but came up short against a very tough Utah team on Sunday, falling 4-0. The Utes are arguably the toughest competition the Tritons have faced since making the leap to Division I, but their victory was not as straightforward as the score implies.
 
INSIDE THE MATCHUP
Final: Utah 4, UC San Diego 0
Records: UC San Diego 1-8 (0-0 Big West), Utah 16-0 (0-0 Pac-12)
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
In doubles play, the Tritons took early 1-0 leads on all three courts, but only Eric Silberman and Zach Ermert managed to hang on to their advantage, wrapping up a win at No. 2 to give the Tritons an early edge before Utah showed why they are ranked among the top 25 teams in the nation. The Utes won at No. 1 and No. 3 to take the doubles point.
 
Singles play was closer than the final score would suggest. Utah picked up three wins in straight sets to clinch victory and end the match, but the Tritons did not go down without a fight. Junior Phillip Lan won his first set at No. 2, as did senior Sahm Irvine at No. 6. Both were still battling in close second sets when the match ended. Sophomore Jett Cole forced a tiebreaker in his first set at No. 5, albeit in a losing effort, and freshman Pelayo Rodriguez was in the midst of fighting back after a first-set loss at No. 4 when play stopped.
 
RESULTS
Doubles
1. Franco Capalbo/Geronimo Espin (UTAH) def. Daniel Traxler/Jett Cole (UCSD), 6-2
2. Eric Silberman/Zach Ermert (UCSD) def. Mathias Gavelin/Jayson Bland (UTAH), 6-2
3. Bruno Caula/Rian Ta (UTAH) def. Pelayo Rodriguez/Phillip Lan (UCSD), 6-2
 
Order of finish: 2, 1, 3

Singles
1. Franco Capalbo (UTAH) def. Daniel Traxler (UCSD), 6-4, 6-4
2. Phillip Lan (UCSD) vs. Geronimo Espin (UTAH), 6-4, 4-5, dnf
3. Bruno Caula (UTAH) def. Zach Ermert (UCSD), 6-4, 6-0
4. Pelayo Rodriguez (UCSD) vs. Mathias Gavelin (UTAH), 3-6, 4-4, dnf
5. Bruno Krenn (UTAH) def. Jett Cole (UCSD), 7-6, 6-2
6. Sahm Irvine (UCSD) vs. Jayson Blando (UTAH), 6-3, 3-4, dnf
 
Order of finish: 3, 5, 1
 
QUOTABLE
"I think the match today went pretty well," Head Coach Timmer Willing said. "We're playing number 23 in the country, and we came out and we competed start to finish. It just shows that we've gotten better; we've gotten better since Thursday. This is always that part of the season for us, where we've got to keep building and just got to keep working through and getting better."
 
TRITON TIDBITS

• Sunday's match was UC San Diego's first against a Top-25 opponent since moving to Division I
• The Tritons fielded the exact same lineup on Sunday as in their win over Villanova on Thursday, the first time this season they have put out the same lineup in consecutive matches

 
UP NEXT
UC San Diego opens Big West Conference play on Monday, as the Tritons welcome UC Riverside to Northview Tennis Courts. First serve is scheduled for 3 p.m. in La Jolla.
 
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.