LA JOLLA, Calif. – UC San Diego resumes Big West play with a pair of matches this weekend. On Saturday, the Tritons will play at Long Beach State. Monday, UC San Diego is back home to welcome Cal State Fullerton to Northview Tennis Courts.
The Tritons (2-6 overall, 0-1 Big West) will be looking for their first-ever Big West wins over the Beach (2-1, 1-0) and Titans (3-0, 0-0). Both matches get underway at Noon PST and admission to both venues is free.
Prior to meeting the Tritons, the Beach will visit San Diego State Friday. Fullerton will compete Friday at Fresno State.
DETAILS
Match 9
UC San Diego (2-6 overall, 0-1 Big West) at Long Beach State (2-1, 1-0)
Saturday, Feb. 17 | 12 p.m.
Rhodes Tennis Center | Long Beach
Live Scoring
Match 10
UC San Diego (2-6 overall, 0-1 Big West) vs. Cal State Fullerton (3-0, 0-0 Big West)
Monday, Feb. 19 | 12 p.m.
Northview Tennis Courts | La Jolla
ABOUT UC SAN DIEGO
Roster |
Schedule |
Stats
Overall: 2-6
Big West: 0-1
Home: 2-1
Away: 0-4
Neutral: 0-1
vs. Ranked Opponents: 0-1
Streak: W1
ITA Ranking: NR
ABOUT LONG BEACH STATE
Roster |
Schedule |
Stats
Overall: 2-1
Big West: 1-0
Home: 1-1
Away: 1-0
Neutral: 0-0
vs. Ranked Opponents: 0-0
Streak: L1
ITA Ranking: NR
ABOUT CAL STATE FULLERTON
Roster |
Schedule |
Stats
Overall: 3-0
Big West: 0-0
Home: 3-0
Away: 0-0
Neutral: 0-0
vs. Ranked Opponents: 0-0
Streak: W3
ITA Ranking: NR
LAST TIME OUT
UC San Diego wrapped up its stretch of three matches over five days with a convincing 6-1 victory over visiting Point Loma Wednesday afternoon at Northview Tennis Courts. The Tritons swept doubles action and won five of six singles courts on the way to their second home win of the season. The Tritons took a 1-0 lead in the match, sweeping doubles play. Juniors
Kelly Leung and
Katelyn Vu won 6-4 on court one, and grad student
Sophie Pearson and junior
Naomi Nguyen were also 6-4 victors at No. 2 to give UC San Diego an early lead. The Tritons made it a clean sweep of doubles action with a 7-6 (5) win by sophomore
Grace Gamal and freshman
Polina Jorniak on court three.
In singles play, Gamal was a straight-sets 6-3, 6-1 winner on court two. The Sea Lions earned a point with a 6-2, 6-2 win on court three. With the Tritons up 2-1 in the match, sophomore
Cincy Chen completed her 6-2, 6-3 win on No. 6 and Vu put this match in the win column with her 6-3, 7-5 win on court four. Pearson was a 7-5, 7-6 (1) winner on No. 5 and Leung closed out the victory with a hard-earned 7-6 (3), 7-6 (4) win at No. 1.
LAST TIME VS. LONG BEACH STATE (FEB. 11, 2023)
The UC San Diego women's tennis team fell to Long Beach State 6-1, in The Big West opener at Northview Tennis Courts. The setback snapped the Tritons' two-match win streak.
The Tritons even their record at 4-4 (0-1 Big West) while Long Beach State remains undefeated thus far at 2-0 overall and 2-0 in conference action.
Naomi Nguyen was a straight sets winner for UC San Diego at No. 5.
LAST TIME VS. CAL STATE FULLERTON (FEB. 20, 2023)
Host Cal State Fullerton topped visiting UC San Diego, 5-2, in women's tennis action at Titan Courts. The home team won two of three doubles contests and four of six singles matches on the way to the win. The match was The Big West opener for Fullerton while the Tritons dropped to 1-2 in conference action.
Kelly Leung (No. 1) and
Katelyn Vu (No. 6) were singles winners for UC San Diego.
UP NEXT
UC San Diego will take a break from competition before returning to action March 1 vs. Utah at Northview Tennis Courts. That match will be the first of five straight at home for the Tritons.
POSSIBLE STARTERS
Here are the possible Triton starters for Saturday's match based on the team's last match on Feb. 14 vs. Point Loma:
Doubles
1.
Katelyn Vu/
Kelly Leung
2.
Sophie Pearson/
Naomi Nguyen
3.
Grace Gamal/
Polina Jorniak
Singles
1.
Kelly Leung
2.
Grace Gamal
3.
Naomi Nguyen
4.
Katelyn Vu
5.
Sophie Pearson
6.
Cincy Chen
VICTORIOUS VU
Junior captain
Katelyn Vu is UC San Diego's all-time singles wins leader at the Division I level:
WINNING WAYS
As a team, UC San Diego amassed more victories last season (ten) than in its first two Division I seasons combined.
STRATAKOS TAKES OVER
Prior to the Tritons' season home opener in Arizona, senior
Monica Stratakos took the keys to the team's Instagram account, giving a behind-the-scenes look into life on the road with the Tritons.
MAKING THE GRADE
The Tritons have continued to excel in the classroom. UC San Diego posted a 3.61 team grade point average during fall quarter – tops in the Athletics Department for the third quarter in a row. Grad student
Sophie Pearson, junior
Ania Snissarenko, and sophomore
Cincy Chen all posted a perfect 4.0 GPA.
ITA ACADEMIC RECOGNITION
The UC San Diego women's tennis team earned the 2023 Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) All-Academic Team award, while eight Tritons earned ITA Scholar-Athlete accolades.
Anjni Agrawal,
Cincy Chen,
Grace Gamal,
Kelly Leung,
Naomi Nguyen,
Sophie Pearson,
Ania Snissarenko, and
Katelyn Vu collected ITA Scholar-Athlete honors.
In order to be named an ITA Scholar-Athlete, a student-athlete must have carried a grade point average of at least 3.5 for the 2022-23 academic year. Additionally, in order for a team to garner ITA All-Academic Team honors, a program must have a team grade point average of 3.2 or above for 2022-23.
TRIO GARNERS CSC ACADEMIC AWARD
A trio of Tritons earned accolades for their hard work both in the classroom and on the court. Senior
Sophie Pearson and sophomores
Naomi Nguyen and
Katelyn Vu were all named to the Academic All-District Team as announced by College Sports Communicators (formerly CoSIDA). To be eligible, student-athletes must hold a 3.50 cumulative grade point average and must have completed at least one full academic year at the nominating institution. In addition, they must have competed in at least 50% of the team's matches this spring.
TEAM CAPTAINS
UC San Diego grad student
Sophie Pearson and juniors
Ania Snissarenko and
Katelyn Vu are this year's team captains.
ROSTER BREAKDOWN
This year's Tritons are composed one grad student, two seniors, five juniors, two sophomores and one freshman. UC San Diego graduated five from last year's squad.
MEET THE NEWCOMER
In its fourth year as an NCAA Division I program in The Big West, the UC San Diego women's tennis team announced its incoming class of consisting of
Polina Jorniak (Arcadia, Calif.).
COACH BADER TAKES OVER
After two years as an assistant coach with the program,
Sebastian Bader was named the fourth head coach in UC San Diego women's tennis history. His appointment comes following the retirement of Liz LaPlante, who won 607 dual matches and four Division III national titles over 44 seasons as head coach.
ATTENDING UC SAN DIEGO HOME MATCHES
Attending Triton tennis matches at
Northview Tennis Courts is free, but note that parking permits are required seven days per week at UC San Diego.
ON THE MOVE
After 20 seasons playing as an NCAA Division II team, the entire athletics program is in its final year of a four-year transition to NCAA Division I, culminating in full DI status as a member of
The Big West for the 2024-25 academic year. At that time, all sports will be eligible for conference and NCAA postseason play.
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.
TENNIS TALK ON UC SAN DIEGO ATHLETICS' 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. New episodes of Tritoncast are available on the most popular podcasting apps. In addition, each episode can be heard and downloaded on UCSDTritons.com. For individual show information and listen links, follow Tritoncast on X
@Tritoncast.
GET SOCIAL WITH UC SAN DIEGO TENNIS
Keep up with the Tritons all season long on social media through
X and
Instagram. The team's handle is @ucsdwtennis.
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 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 NCAA Division I or II. For more information on the Tritons, visit UCSDtritons.com or follow UC San Diego Athletics on social media @UCSDtritons.
