LA JOLLA, Calif. – UC San Diego wraps up a stretch of seven consecutive matches at home on Friday when the Tritons welcome Big West foe Cal Poly to Northview Tennis Courts. First serve is slated for 1 p.m. PDT and admission is free.
The Tritons (5-10 overall, 1-3 Big West) have won three in a row – including a dramatic 4-3 victory over UC Irvine on Saturday. Cal Poly enters Friday's showdown with a 6-6 mark (1-1 Big West). The Mustangs are a perfect 3-0 against the Tritons since UC San Diego joined The Big West prior to the 2020-21 season.
DETAILS
Match 16
UC San Diego (5-10, 1-3 Big West) vs. Cal Poly (6-6, 1-1 Big West)
Friday, March 15 | 1 p.m.
Northview Tennis Courts | La Jolla
ABOUT UC SAN DIEGO
Roster |
Schedule |
Stats
Overall: 5-10
Big West: 1-3
Home: 5-4
Away: 0-5
Neutral: 0-1
vs. Ranked Opponents: 0-2
Streak: W3
ITA Ranking: NR
ABOUT CAL POLY
Roster |
Schedule |
Stats
Overall: 6-6
Big West: 1-1
Home: 2-0
Away: 2-5
Neutral: 2-1
vs. Ranked Opponents: 0-2
Streak: W1
ITA Ranking: NR
LAST TIME OUT
UC San Diego dropped the doubles point but won on four singles courts to rally for a dramatic 4-3 Big West victory over UC Irvine Saturday afternoon at Northview Tennis Courts. The match lasted more than three and a half hours, but the wait was worth it for the Tritons, who won their third straight.
UC Irvine clinched the doubles point with 6-3 wins at the first and second positions. In singles play, sophomore
Grace Gamal got the Tritons on the board and evened the match with her 6-4, 6-3 win over UCI's Amanda Perez at the third position. The Anteaters regained the lead with a win on court five. Trailing 2-1, UC San Diego once again leveled the score thanks to freshman
Polina Jorniak's 6-4, 6-3 win over UCI's Larissa Teramura at No. 6. With the score tied at 2, the Tritons inched closer to victory because of Pearson's 6-2, 7-6 (2) win at No. 4. UCI tied the match at 3-3 with a hard-fought, three-set match at No. 1.
From there, all eyes turned to court two for the deciding point. UC Irvine's Asha Gidwani took the first set, 7-6 (2) and Triton junior
Kelly Leung responded with a 6-4 win in the second set. In the decisive final set, Leung was a 6-2 winner to send UC San Diego into the win column for the third time in four days.
LAST TIME VS. THE MUSTANGS (MARCH 12, 2023)
UC San Diego junior
Ella Pachl and sophomore
Naomi Nguyen both earned singles wins, but the Tritons fell to Cal Poly by a 5-2 score in a Big West women's tennis match at San Luis Obispo Country Club. Nguyen got the Tritons on the scoreboard with an impressive 7-5, 6-3 win over Alexandra Ozerets at the fifth position – her second win in the last three matches. Pachl got back in the win column for UC San Diego with a 7-5, 6-3 victory over Melissa LaMette on court two.
UP NEXT
UC San Diego will break for final exams before returning to the court for a trio of matches in Northern California. The Tritons next play March 26 at San José State.
POSSIBLE STARTERS
Here are the possible Triton starters for Friday's match based on the team's last match March 9 vs. UC Irvine:
Doubles
1.
Grace Gamal/
Ella Pachl
2.
Cincy Chen/
Kelly Leung
3.
Sophie Pearson/
Naomi Nguyen
Singles
1.
Ella Pachl
2.
Kelly Leung
3.
Grace Gamal
4.
Sophie Pearson
5.
Katelyn Vu
6.
Polina Jorniak
VICTORIOUS VU
Junior captain
Katelyn Vu is UC San Diego's all-time singles wins leader at the Division I level:
NAOMI FOR THE NGUYEN
Junior
Naomi Nguyen has found success in doubles with several partners. Nguyen is UC San Diego's all-time wins leader in doubles since the program moved to Division I:
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.
