Tennis Tops Gonzaga, Rollins to Finish Homestand at 3-2

    After dropping two of three home matches last week, the men’s tennis team won both of its matches this week, topping Division I Gonzaga University 7-2 on March 11 and Rollins College 5-4 on March 12. (Erik Jepsen/Guardian)

    MEN’S TENNIS — The Tritons hosted five matches over the last
    two weeks, easily blowing by Northern Arizona University 8-1 on March 2 before
    falling to Fresno Pacific University of the National Association of
    Intercollegiate Athletics by the same score on March 4. Two days later, the
    Tritons lost an intense battle to Concordia
    University
    , also of the NAIA, by a
    5-4 score. After that tough stretch, UCSD topped both Gonzaga
    University
    and Rollins
    College
    on March 11 and 12 by
    scores of 7-2 and 5-4, respectively.

    The 3-2 homestand puts UCSD at an 8-4 overall record, but
    the Tritons still have an unblemished 3-0 mark in league play. All four of the
    Triton’s losses have come against teams from outside of Division II, a sign of
    the challenges their diverse schedule presents.

    Head coach Eric Steidlmayer was disappointed with the
    consecutive losses, but remained positive, keeping things in perspective for
    his team.

    “Obviously, it’s difficult to lose a match when you’re blown
    out, but its more agonizing to lose those close calls,” he said. “But playing
    those nail-biters will only help out in the long run. As disappointing as it is
    to lose, we know that we still have all of our goals in front of us, and we
    just have to continue to get better and compete hard in practice.”

    The Tritons will head to Montgomery, Ala. on March 25 for the annual Blue/Grey Classic before returning home to host Hawaii Pacific University, who UCSD has beat in the last two years. (Erik Jepsen/Guardian)

    The Tritons’ match against Northern Arizona
    was a one-sided affair, with UCSD taking an early 3-0 lead by sweeping the
    doubles matches. At the top doubles spot, Triton seniors Blake Meister and Eric
    Rubens rolled through Chris Arena and Bradley Bristow of Northern
    Arizona
    , 8-3. Rubens and Meister had participated in the 119th
    edition of the Pacific Coast Men’s Doubles Championships earlier in the day,
    but had little trouble with the double duty. In the second doubles match,
    sophomore Bijam Moallemi teamed with freshman Erik Elliott, making his UCSD
    debut, to take out Jeff Morys and Renzo Lau in a hard-fought 8-6 win. The third
    doubles match was a blowout for UCSD, with junior Kazumi Negishi and sophomore
    Alex Placek taking out Jacob Tracy and Ryan Fraser by an 8-2 score.

    The Tritons also took five of the six singles matches, with
    the top three in the lineup winning in straight sets. At number one, Rubens
    used an all-court game to take out Arena with ease, 6-1, 6-2. Moallemi looked
    just as impressive at the second spot, defeating Morys by a 6-0, 6-2 score. In
    the number three singles match, Negishi was able to take out Bristow 6-1, 6-3.
    In the most dramatic match of the day, Meister survived a grueling three-setter
    against Tracy, overcoming an early
    deficit to win 4-6, 6-4, 7-5.

    In Northern Arizona’s only victory of
    the afternoon, David Flodberg was able to overcome a rough second set to beat
    Placek at the fifth spot, 6-1, 1-6, 6-1. In the final singles match, Vince
    Nguyen scored a come-from-behind win, defeating Fraser 4-6, 6-0, 6-3.

    Two days after their blowout victory, the Tritons were
    humbled by the undefeated Fresno Pacific Sunbirds, who dominated singles to
    earn the one-sided victory.

    UCSD’s worst loss of the season began in discouraging
    fashion, as the Tritons lost two of three doubles matches to fall behind early.
    Elliott and Moallemi looked sharp in overwhelming the Fresno Pacific duo of
    Marco Foelz and Victor Medina at the second doubles spot, winning by an 8-1
    score. However, at the first and third doubles spots, UCSD suffered difficult
    losses that made the team visibly rattled before singles started.

    Rubens and Meister suffered only their second loss of the
    spring season as a doubles tandem, losing a tough 8-6 match to Matt Caroll and
    Vicente Joli. Negishi and Placek lost by the same score at the third doubles
    position to Fabio Silva and Maxine Adam. The Tritons had opportunities to win
    both matches, but their failure to take advantage gave the Sunbirds all the
    momentum entering singles.

    In singles, Fresno Pacific won five of the six singles
    matches in straight sets. The only match to go the distance was at the second
    spot, where Joli was able to narrowly get by Rubens, 6-4, 3-6, (10-6). Moallemi
    had the most competitive of the straight set losses, dropping a 7-6, 6-4
    decision to Carroll at the top spot. Freshman Armaun Emami, who has had key
    victories in doubles play this year, made his singles debut against Adam, but
    lost 7-5, 6-0. In the final singles match, Medina
    was able to get by Elliott, who was also making his singles debut, by a score
    of 6-1, 6-3.

    Looking to stop their losing streak at one, the Tritons
    entered their most competitive contest this year in a rescheduled match against
    Concordia that was rained out on Feb. 20. The Tritons won two of three doubles
    matches to gain an early edge. Meister and Rubens used efficient serving and
    precise volleys to take out Concordia’s top doubles team, Tim Kpulun and Bryan
    Newell, 8-5. Moallemi and Elliott improved to 3-0 as a tandem, beating Chris
    Nguyen and Daniel Ndlela by an 8-3 score at number two doubles. Concordia was
    able to get on the board when Augusto Elias and Olivier Fabre beat the Tritons’
    Placek and Negishi by a score of 8-4.

    However, the Eagles turned the tide in singles, winning four
    of six matches to earn a tight 5-4 win. Kpulun took revenge on Rubens for his
    loss in doubles, getting by the UCSD senior, 6-3, 7-5. Moallemi was able to
    improve to 2-1 as the team’s No. 2 singles player, easily getting by Elias,
    6-2, 6-0. In one of two crucial three-set victories for Concordia, Ndlela
    squeezed past Negishi by a score of 6-4, 2-6, 6-3 at the third spot. In the
    other game-changing match, Nguyen of Concordia got past Emami by a 6-4, 2-6,
    6-4 in No. 5 singles. The Tritons needed to win only one of the three-setters
    to clinch the contest, but the Eagles got both, and with it, stole the victory.

    The Tritons match against Gonzaga was somewhat uneventful,
    with UCSD cruising to easy victory in anticipation of its match against
    Rollins.

    The meeting with Rollins was fairly balanced, with the
    squads splitting singles’ play and the Tritons edging the Tars 2-1 in doubles
    play. The most exciting match against Rollins was the number-one singles match
    between Moallemi and Rollins’ Brian Compton. Moallemi started strong against
    Compton, winning the first set 6-3, but Compton roared back and won consecutive
    sets (6-7, 8-10) to steal the victory. The only other singles match that went
    three sets was the number five matchup, in which Pablo Seijo outlasted Placek 6-2,
    6-7, 14-12.

    Now finished with the five-game homestand over a 10-day
    period, the Tritons will be off during finals, in preparation for the Blue/Grey
    Classic that will take place in Montgomery, Ala. during March 25-29 of Spring
    Break. Following that, the Tritons will begin their stretch run, finishing up
    with four more regular season matches before NCAA Regionals and the tournament
    start.

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