LOS ANGELES — The 2026 men's tennis season gets underway in earnest on Sunday as UC San Diego men's tennis will play in a doubleheader hosted by USC. The Tritons will face San Diego State before battling the No. 19 Trojans.
 
DETAILS
Match 1
UC San Diego (0-0) vs San Diego State (0-0)
Sunday, Jan. 11 | 1:00 p.m.
David X. Marks Tennis Stadium | Los Angeles, Calif.
 
Match 2
UC San Diego (0-0) at No. 19 USC (0-0)
Sunday, Jan. 11 | 4:00 p.m.
David X. Marks Tennis Stadium | Los Angeles, Calif.
 
ABOUT THE TRITONS
Roster | Schedule | Stats
Record: 0-0
Big West: 0-0
Home: 0-0
Away: 0-0
Neutral: 0-0
vs Ranked Opponents: 0-0
Streak: NA
ITA Ranking: None
 
ABOUT THE SAN DIEGO STATE AZTECTS
Record: 0-0
Mountain West: 0-0
Home: 0-0
Away: 0-0
Neutral: 0-0
vs Ranked Opponents: 0-0
Streak: NA
ITA Ranking: None
 
ABOUT THE USC TROJANS
Record: 0-0
Big 10: 0-0
Home: 0-0
Away: 0-0
Neutral: 0-0
vs Ranked Opponents: 0-0
Streak: NA
ITA Ranking: 19
 
RUN IT BACK
The Tritons and Aztecs also met in last year's season opener, playing two matches against each other at San Diego State. The Aztecs won both matches by scores of 4-1 and 4-2.
 
FIRST UP
Sunday's meeting will be the first all-time in men's tennis between UC San Diego and USC.
 
A FAMILIAR SPOT
Facing a ranked opponent is something the Tritons did five times last season.
 
2026 BIG WEST CHAMPIONSHIP
This year's Big West Championship will be April 22-25 at the Barnes Tennis Center in San Diego. UC San Diego is Division I postseason eligible for the second season. In 2025, the Tritons earned the four seed and defeated Cal Poly in the quarterfinals. They then fell to top-seeded and nationally-ranked UC Santa Barbara in the semifinals.
 
ROSTER BREAKDOWN
The roster of 10 features seven newcomers and three returners. There are three grad students, one senior, two sophomores and four freshmen. Senior Zach Pellouchoud and sophomores David Adamson and Robert Freedman are the three returners.
 
MEET THE NEWCOMERS
This year's decorated freshmen class features five-stars Abhinav and Prathinav Chunduru, plus four-stars Andrew Beceiro and Trevor Nguyen.
 
The Tritons also have three grad transfers. Trey Fourticq joins from Villanova, Yaron Guberman from Division II Lynn University and Oliver Worth from Brown.
 
MEET THE COACHES
Head coach Timmer Willing is back for his 14th season as the team's head coach. He has been at UC San Diego for 25 years, having previously served as an assistant coach.
 
Jake De Vries is in his second season with the program and his first as associate head coach. Fellow second-year assistant Matthew Hollingworth rounds out the coaching staff, with Darian Bahramipour the team's athletic performance coach.
 
ACADEMIC STANDOUT
Senior Zach Pellouchoud earned multiple awards last season for his success in both the classroom and on the court. He was named to the CSC Academic All-District Team, Big West Academic All-Conference Team, Big West Commissioner's Honor Roll (Highest Honors) and an ITA Scholar-Athlete.
 
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. Triton fans will get an inside look at the UC San Diego Athletics Department as the program transitions to NCAA Division I and The Big West. New episodes of Tritoncast are available each week 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 MEN'S TENNIS 
Keep up with the Tritons all season long on social media through X and Instagram. The team's handle is @ucsdmtennis.

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.
 
UP NEXT
The Tritons will next prepare for the team's home opener, which will be Friday, Jan. 16. Sacramento State visits for a 3:00 p.m. match at Northview Tennis Courts. Admission is free, but note that parking permits are required 24/7 on the UC San Diego campus.
 
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.