The No. 10-ranked Division II UCSD men’s tennis team saw strong play from its established players as well as the younger ones, namely sophomore Brent Molden and freshman Seth Spector on Feb. 10, demolishing No. 23 Cal Poly Pomona, 8-1. After being edged last week by Azusa Pacific, the Tritons improved their play and got down to business.
Guardian
“”We played a little better,”” UCSD head coach Eric Steidlmayer said. “”Azusa [Pacific] is a better team than [Cal Poly Pomona], so that’s a difference, but we definitely played a little better.””
In addition to winning his doubles match with senior Nick Morton, Molden battled through his singles match against Seth Lewkow. Although he was serving 5-4 in the first set, Lewkow came back and forced a tiebreaker which Molden took, 7-1. Molden gained his stride thereafter, blanking Lewkow 6-0 in the second.
In the court next to Molden, Spector made his rookie debut at No. 6 singles and succeeded, adding another point for UCSD.
“”He got to play a little bit,”” Steidlmayer said. “”He played well and he’s been practicing well Ö That was awesome.””
Practice paid off for Spector as he dominated Sebastian Torres and took the match in straight sets, giving up only four games.
“”My first match, I was a little nervous Ö but I tried to relax and play my game,”” Spector said. “”Coach [Steidlmayer] told me to make balls and win the last point.””
The Tritons launched off to a quick start by taking all three doubles matches in only 40 minutes. Firing on all cylinders, all three Triton doubles teams were ahead simultaneously, 4-1, and never looked back.
The third-ranked doubles pair of seniors, Sameer Chopra and Jeff Wilson, finished off Cal Poly Pomona’s David Nguyen and Guido Weidenfield, 8-1, without breaking serve.
“”Jeff made a lot of balls early on, and that gave me confidence to play well the rest of the match,”” Chopra said.
Chopra indeed played well, finishing his singles match just as easily as his doubles match without breaking his serve. He defeated Andy Chang in straight sets, 6-1 and 6-2, at the No. 2 slot.
“”My game plan was to play loose and free and just hit the hell out of the ball,”” Chopra said.
Wilson handed Weidenfield his second loss of the dual match by defeating him again, this time at No. 3 singles in straight sets, 6-4 and 6-1.
At No. 2 doubles, junior Bryan Swatt and senior Amir Nejad soundly defeated the Chang twins, Andy and Alan, 8-2. The Tritons’ clean sweep of doubles put them at a 3-0 advantage in the first half of the match, and then they proceeded to take five of six singles matches.
“”We got ahead early in doubles, and we definitely had a more aggressive attitude, and part of that has to do with this being the second match,”” Steidlmayer said.
Nejad also handed Alan Chang his second loss of the dual match, beating him in straight sets. The lone Broncos victory was at the No. 1 singles slot where Nguyen beat Swatt in a close match, 7-6 and 6-4.
UCSD continues its dominance over Cal Poly Pomona ó a team they swept in all three matches last season.
The Tritons faced Hawaii-Hilo on Feb. 12 and swept them, 9-0, at the Northview Tennis Courts.
The Tritons played a lightning match, violating the Vulcans up and down the court, frustrating and exhausting them in under two hours.
Complete scores were not available at press time.
