RIVERSIDE, Calif.  – Host UC Riverside won the doubles point and held off visiting UC San Diego for a 4-3 victory in a Big West match Friday afternoon at SRC Tennis Courts. The win was the Highlanders' first conference triumph of the season.
 
Daniel Traxler, Diogo Tinoco, and Pelayo Rodriguez were all singles winners for UC San Diego.
 
INSIDE THE MATCHUP
Final: UC San Diego 3, UC Riverside 4
Records: UC San Diego 7-14 (0-4 BW), UC Riverside 6-14 (1-4 BW)
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
The host Highlanders jumped out in front thanks to doubles victories on courts two and three. Antreas Djakouris and Matthew Yanuck bested UC San Diego's Joseph Teh and Diogo Tinoco, 6-2, at the third position. UCR's tandem of Joshua Roth and Justin Lamy clinched the doubles point with their 6-3 win on court two.
 
In singles play, Yanuck gave his squad a 2-0 lead in the match with a 6-3, 6-4 win at No. 6. Tinoco got the Tritons on the board with a 6-3, 6-3 win on court three. After the Highlanders got a win at No. 2 to go up 3-1 in the match, the Tritons rallied.  
 
UC San Diego tied the score with a three-set win by Daniel Traxler at the first position and a three-set win by Pelayo Rodriguez on court five. Traxler was a 7-6 (2), 4-6, 6-4 winner over Djakouris. After dropping a first set tiebreaker, Rodriguez won the second set, 7-6 (1) and cruised to a 6-2 win in the third set to level the match at 3-3.
 
All eyes turned to court four where UC San Diego's Charles Qian won the first set, 6-4. Lamy took set two, 7-5. The decisive third set also went to the Highlanders, with Lamy earning the win for the home team via tiebreaker, 7-6 (4).
 
RESULTS
Doubles
1. Daniel Velek/Aarav Sane (UCR) vs. Daniel Traxler/Pelayo Rodriguez (UCSD), 5-4, unfinished
2. Joshua Roth/Justin Lamy (UCR) def. William Lan/Eric Silberman (UCSD), 6-3
3. Antreas Djakouris/Matthew Yanuck (UCR) def. Joseph Teh/Diogo Tinoco (UCSD), 6-2

Order of finish: 3, 2
 
Singles
1. Daniel Traxler (UCSD) def. Antreas Djakouris (UCR), 7-6 (2), 4-6, 6-4
2. Daniel Velek (UCR) def. Phillip Lan (UCSD), 7-6 (14-12), 6-3
3. Diogo Tinoco (UCSD) def. Joshua Roth (UCR), 6-3, 6-3
4. Justin Lamy (UCR) def. Charles Qian (UCSD), 4-6, 7-5, 7-6 (4)
5. Pelayo Rodriguez (UCSD) def. Aarav Sane (UCR), 6-7 (5), 7-6 (1), 6-2
6. Matthew Yanuck (UCR) def. Jett Cole (UCSD), 6-3, 6-4
 
Order of finish: 6, 3, 2, 1, 5, 4
 
TRITON TIDBITS

• Diogo Tinoco has won five consecutive singles matches and ranks second on the team with nine singles victories this season.
• The match was broadcast on ESPN+, the first appearance by Triton tennis on that platform.
• UC Riverside took a 2-1 lead in the Division I series between these two teams with Friday's victory. The home team has won all three matches in the series since UC San Diego joined The Big West.

 
UP NEXT
The Tritons will resume their match with San Diego State on Saturday at 2 p.m. at the Aztec Tennis Center. The match was postponed Wednesday evening due to rain, with the Tritons having won the doubles point.
 
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 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 90 percent, the highest rate among public institutions in Divisions I and II.