SAN DIEGO — The first Big West Championship appearance for UC San Diego men's tennis got off to a strong start on Friday with a 4-2 quarterfinal victory over Cal Poly.
 
Four of the six singles matches went to three sets, with the fourth-seeded Tritons ultimately winning the battle with the fifth-seeded Mustangs after singles victories from Carson Lee, Diogo Tinoco, Zach Pellouchoud and David Adamson.
 
The victory advanced the Tritons to Saturday's semifinal round against No. 34 UC Santa Barbara, the championship's top seed. First serve from Barnes Tennis Center in San Diego is scheduled for 10:00 a.m.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
Doubles
Both teams started the match with 6-3 victories in doubles. The Triton duo of Pellouchoud and Pelayo Rodriguez won on the top court.
 
The doubles point then came down to No. 3, which was knotted at 5-all late. Adamson and Joseph Teh competed for the Tritons there, ultimately falling 5-7 as Cal Poly took a 1-0 lead in the dual match.
 
Singles
The Tritons went ahead 2-1 in the dual match after winning both matches that were decided in two sets. Lee cruised through a 6-3, 6-3 win at No. 1 before Adamson had a more up-and-down 7-6 (3), 6-1 win at No. 5.
 
Pellouchoud's match at No. 4 finished next, with all three sets ending with a score of 6-2. The Triton junior won the first and third set to give UC San Diego a 3-1 lead.
 
Cal Poly won its lone singles match of the afternoon at No. 6. The Tritons' Charles Qian fought through three tight sets but gave up a late break to fall 5-7, 6-3, 4-6.
 
A wild match at No. 2 singles would ultimately decide the dual match. Tinoco lost set one 3-6 before racing out to a 5-0 lead in set two. The margin gave the senior some breathing room as he went on to win the frame 6-2.
 
Set three was full of fireworks as both sides traded breaks and big points on the way to the winner-take-all set being tied at 5-all. Tinoco then strung together a break and a hold to win the match late and start the celebrations for the Tritons.
 
With the dual match decided, No. 3 singles went unfinished. Rodriguez was battling in a third set but was down a break at the point of interruption.
 
TRITON TIDBITS

• Zach Pellouchoud spent one year at Cal Poly in 2022-23 before transferring to UC San Diego. He went a combined 4-0 in doubles and singles in the two matches with Cal Poly this season.
• The Tritons also won the regular season match with Cal Poly, a 4-0 victory on March 2 in La Jolla.
• Friday was the first time this season the Tritons won the match despite losing the doubles point.
• The Tritons were competing in The Big West Championship for the first time after completing a four-year transition to Division I ahead of this season.

QUOTABLE
"Losing the doubles point hurt us a little bit, we know it's pretty difficult to come back from being down 0-1," Pellouchoud said. "Cal Poly really brought it to us, and thankfully in singles we all stayed focused. Just really high-quality tennis from both teams, and we were lucky to pull away with the win. It comes down to who wants it more, who from the sidelines will cheer for you and get energy going because when it gets to a third set, it's a dog fight and we get to see who really wants to win."
 
"We knew it was going to be a battle today, but we have been working for a full year," Tinoco said. "That was our first time playing in The Big West Championship, and we are happy to get the win. We put in a lot of work, and now it is paying off."
 
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.