LA JOLLA, Calif. — UC San Diego men's tennis took the doubles point from No. 43 UC Santa Barbara on Friday but could not hold on in singles as the visiting Gauchos were victorious 4-1. After the match, the Tritons honored seniors Sanjith Devineni, Charles Qian, Pelayo Rodriguez, Joseph Teh and Diogo Tinoco.
 
Doubles matches were won by Rodriguez and Zach Pellouchoud at No. 1, along with Teh and David Adamson at No. 3.
 
The Tritons finish The Big West portion of their season with a 3-3 record, the team's best since making the move to Division I. UC San Diego will be either the three, four or five seed at The Big West Men's Tennis Championship, which begins on April 25 at the Barnes Tennis Center in San Diego. This year will be the Tritons' first-ever appearance in the tournament after completing the Division I transition ahead of the 2025 season.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
Doubles
All three doubles matches were decided by one-break margins. Adamson and Teh got the Tritons' first win of the day at No. 3, with UC Santa Barbara claiming a win at No. 2 shortly after.
 
The doubles point then came down to the action on court one, which featured a tight match throughout. Rodriguez and Pellouchoud did just enough to stay ahead late and claim a 6-4 victory.
 
Singles
UC Santa Barbara were the aggressors in singles, winning the first set in all six matches. The Tritons came back stronger in the second frame but were ultimately unable to complete the comeback.
 
Carson Lee lost his first set at No. 1 3-6 but nearly took the second to a tiebreaker. He was defeated 5-7 by No. 79 Gianluca Brunkow as UC Santa Barbara got on the board in the dual match.
 
Pellouchoud also faced a nationally-ranked player at No. 4 singles, falling to No. 110 Diogo Morais. The Triton junior was tight in set one, losing 5-7, before the Gaucho pulled away in set two.
 
The Gauchos also found straight-set wins on courts two and six to secure the dual match. The remaining two singles matches subsequently went unfinished.
 
No. 3 and No. 5 were the closest matches of the afternoon. Rodriguez (No. 3) lost set one 2-6 but was on serve, 5-6, in set two at the point of interruption. Adamson (No. 5) was deadlocked at 6-6 in his second set but did not begin the tiebreaker.
 
TRITON TIDBITS

• Senior Joseph Teh made his first appearance at home this season. He and David Adamson are now 2-1 in doubles together.
• The Tritons won the doubles point for the 10th time this season and have picked up the point in three of the last four matches.
• UC Santa Barbara is one of five Triton opponents currently ranked nationally. 

UP NEXT
The Tritons have two nonconference matches scheduled to close out the regular season. They visit Sacramento State on April 13 before traveling to No. 32 UCLA on April 15.
 
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 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 84 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 91 percent, one of the highest rates among institutions at all divisions.