LA JOLLA, Calif. — The first home men's tennis match of the season for UC San Diego resulted in a 4-3 victory over Sacramento State on Friday. The Tritons hung on late to move to 1-2 on the season, while the Hornets fell to 2-1.
 
UC San Diego took the doubles point after victories by Abhinav Chunduru and Trevor Nguyen at No. 2 and Andrew Beceiro and Oliver Worth at No. 3. Singles matches were won by Prathinav Chunduru, Zach Pellouchoud and David Adamson.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
Beceiro and Worth's doubles victory came first by the score of 6-3. The Tritons then secured the doubles point when Abhinav Chunduru and Nguyen got a late break to win 7-5. That left No. 1 doubles unfinished, where the two sides were deadlocked at 5-all.
 
The Tritons then opened up a 3-0 lead in the dual match with a pair of comfortable, straight-set victories to start singles. Pellouchoud swept his opponent 6-0, 6-0 on court three. Adamson won set one on court six 6-4 before sailing through set two 6-0.
 
Three of the remaining singles matches went to three sets. Sacramento State won two of those matches at No. 1 and 5 to cut the Tritons' dual match lead to 3-2.
 
No. 2 singles did not go to three sets, but the match was still a lengthy affair as both sets were decided by long tiebreakers. Both tiebreakers saw the two sides go past the minimum seven points needed to win, with Prathinav Chunduru ultimately winning 8-6 in the first and 10-8 in the second. His victory clinched the dual match for UC San Diego.
 
The final match of the night, No. 4, was played to completion. Abhinav Chunduru won set one, breezing through a tiebreaker with a 7-0 win. The Triton was then defeated 2-6 and 5-7 in the ensuing sets to bring the dual match to a close with a 4-3 UC San Diego victory.
 
TRITON TIDBITS

• Three of the last four matches between the two teams have seen the winner secure victory by a 4-3 scoreline.
• Beceiro and Worth won their first doubles match together, with the victory also Beceiro's first career doubles victory.
• Prathinav Chunduru won his first career singles match.
• Beceiro, the Chunduru brothers, Nguyen and Worth all made their home Triton debuts. Worth is a graduate transfer from Brown, while the other four are all true freshmen.

QUOTABLE
"Extremely tough match today," head coach Timmer Willing said. "We knew it was going to be tough to find that fourth point. I am glad with how we competed. I think there are a lot of things we need to work on mentally to put us in better situations moving forward, but it is early in the season and we have a young team, so we will learn from this."
 
UP NEXT
The Tritons remain at home for four more matches this month. They next host Point Loma on Jan. 23.
 
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.