LOS ANGELES — The 2026 men's tennis season got underway on Sunday, with UC San Diego playing two matches on USC's campus. The Tritons lost to San Diego State 4-0 and were then defeated 7-0 by the No. 19 Trojans.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
Match One – SDSU 4, UCSD 0
The Tritons won the first doubles match of the contest with a 6-2 result on court two. Freshmen Abhinav Chunduru and Trevor Nguyen earned the victory in their first collegiate dual match.
 
San Diego State won 6-3 at No. 3 doubles, leaving the doubles point to be decided by the top court. Freshman Prathinav Chunduru and senior Zach Pellouchoud were the Tritons' top pair, with their match going to a tiebreaker. The duo fell 4-7 in that tiebreaker to see the Aztecs claim the doubles point.
 
The dual match was won for San Diego State with straight-set victories at No. 4, 5 and 6 singles. The remaining singles matches went unfinished. Grad senior Oliver Worth lost his first set at No. 1 singles, but P. Chunduru and Pellouchoud both won their first sets on courts two and three. All three Tritons were on serve in set two when the match concluded.
 
Match Two – No. 19 USC 7, UCSD 0
The Trojans took the doubles point with wins at No. 1 and 2. That saw the match on court three go unfinished, where Worth and freshman Andrew Beceiro were tied 5-5 with their opponents.
 
Singles play also went the way of USC. All six matches were played to completion, and the hosts won all six in straight sets. Worth at No. 1 and P. Chunduru at No. 2 had the closest matches, with both losing 4-6 in their each of their two sets.
 
TRITON TIDBITS

• Worth and the two Chunduru brothers were the only Tritons to play doubles and singles in both matches.
• All seven newcomers to the team in 2026 made their Triton debuts on Sunday. The team's four freshmen—Beceiro, A. Chunduru, P. Chunduru and Nguyen—all made their collegiate debuts.
• Nine of the team's 10 players saw action in at least one match.

UP NEXT
The Tritons will now prepare for their home opener, which will be this Friday, Jan. 16, against Sacramento State. The match will begin at 3:00 p.m. at Northview Tennis Courts with free admission. That contest is the first of a five-match homestand for the Tritons.
 
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 24-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 39 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.