Before emerging from the shadow of a memorable 2004 season that included a run to the NCAA Division II Championship, there were doubts hanging over the fate of this year’s UCSD men’s tennis team. How was the team going to recover after the graduation of six seniors? Would the two returning starters be able to carry the team? Would the four freshmen stand up against collegiate competition? The Tritons have silenced any doubters and are nipping at the heels of their predecessors.
The No. 10 Tritons (6-1 overall) extended their six-match winning streak on March 8 with a 6-3 win over No. 20 Presbyerian College. It was the first time the Tritons hosted a match against another nationally ranked team, and they rose to the performance with little problem.
“We knew going into the match that it was going to be important because it was a Division II match, which is used later on to determine our playoff status,” junior Erk Oijala said. “We came out mentally prepared and ready.”
The Tritons pounced on the Blue Hose early in the match, winning all three of their doubles matches. Sophomore Seth Spector and junior Brent Molden surpassed every skeptic’s expectations by defeating the nation’s No. 2 doubles team, Paul Ratchford and Kshitij Dwivedi, 8-6, in an exciting match.
“We went into the match not trying to think about it too much,” Spector said. “We just went out there and gave it our best shot — on any given day anything can happen.”
At No. 2 doubles, senior Bryan Swatt and freshman Eric Rubens defeated their opponents in a quick 8-2 match, while Oijala and freshman Blake Mesiter defeated Hector Rincon and Zach Glankler, 8-5, at No. 3 doubles.
The Tritons have been concentrating on perfecting their doubles game plan and lineup, and their hard work has become a powerful advantage in getting the early lead in matches. Of 21 doubles matches played this season, the men have only dropped five, which has helped them obtain their impressive record thus far.
The men began the singles play with a 3-0 lead. At No. 1 singles, Swatt had little trouble defeating Ratchford, 6-2, 6-4, but the three losses came at the No. 2, No. 3 and No. 4 singles positions. Oijala, playing No. 4 singles, was able to pull the first set from his opponent, 6-1, but was unable to maintain control, and lost the next two sets, 3-6, 4-6, in a tough three-set match. At No. 5, Meister defeated Glankler, 6-1, 7-6, while freshman Will Phan, at No. 6 singles, picked up an easy win over Guy Dooley, 6-2, 6-2.
The win came a day after an easy home victory over Division I Gonzaga on Feb. 7. The Tritons swept the Bulldogs, 9-0, in a match that the men simply dominated. The Tritons jumped out to an early 3-0 lead with straight wins across the doubles line-up. Molden and Spector defeated their opponents, 8-5, at No. 1 doubles, while Swatt and Rubens, playing No. 2 doubles, gave up only one game in their 8-1 victory. Oijala and Meister then defeated Brett Womack and Mario Pineda, 8-3, to close out the doubles lineup.
The singles lineup had little trouble defeating opponents across the board. Spector highlighted the match with a comeback win. After winning the first set, 6-2, and losing the second, 4-6, he came back to win the third in a tiebreaker, 10-3.
“We have a really solid, deep lineup until our sixth spot,” Oijala said. “Doubles has been key for us this season; when we sweep teams in doubles or have a lead, it sets the tone for the whole match.”
The Tritons have been doing better than expected; with such a young team, the season began with an aura of uncertainty.
“Eric [Steidlmayer, the men’s coach] has done a great job putting everyone together,” Oijala said. “I have been amazed at how well everyone has come together into a really solid team. This could possibly be one of the best recruiting classes.”
On March 3, the Tritons sent three doubles teams to begin day one of the 116th Annual Pacific Coast Doubles Championships at the La Jolla Beach and Tennis Club.
The tournament, which consisted of 128 independent doubles teams, was a good indicator for the Tritons as to the competition level of Division I play. Top-ranked teams including Stanford and USC came to compete for bragging rights in the four-day, high-caliber tournament, despite the warning of rain.
On day one of the tournament, Oijala and Meister came out victorious in a 7-6, 6-1 battle against Lefi Nordlund and David Johnson, while UCSD’s second team, consisting of Rubens and Spector, was handed an early tournament loss by Trent Miller and Derek Miller, 7-6 (5), 6-1.
Duo Molden and Swatt, who won the Intercollegiate Tennis Association West Regional Doubles Championship on Oct. 1, were placed at the No. 9 seed and received a bye on March 1.
By March 2, the second day of competition, Meister and Oijala earned a tough match against No. 1 seed Sam Warburg and K.C. Corkery of Stanford after an impressive win the day before against the reigning doubles National Champions. However, the duo was unable to hold their ground and lost, 6-0, 6-2.
“We really had nothing to lose against [Warburg and Corkery], so we gave it all,” Oijala said. “It was definitely a fun tournament.”
Swatt and Molden were unable to fare better, and lost in a very close match to Kevin Borzenski and Richard Johnson of Stanford, 3-6, 6-2, 10-8, sending them to the consolation bracket. With the onset of rain, Rubens and Spector were forced to hold off their match until day three of the competition.
March 5 saw Swatt and Molden begin the day with two victories, 8-5 and 8-6, in the fourth round and quarterfinals, respectively. The duo then advanced to the consolation bracket semifinals, where they faced the unaffiliated Ken Nakahara and John Pettit and lost in a close three-set match, 6-1, 2-6, 2-6.
UCSD’s other doubles pair of Rubens and Spector swept through their postponed match with a close victory over Antonio Aniello and James Holland, 9-8, in the third round of the consolation bracket, but then lost in the next round to Tyler Browne and Rofelio Hernandez, 9-7, ending their run in the tournament.
The Tritons face a difficult schedule going into spring break. On March 21, they will face No. 12 Drury University of Springfield, Mo., then over the course of the next week, they will face five tough teams including West Florida, Southwest Baptist and Western New Mexico.
“We’re just going to take one match at a time, go out and play our game,” Spector said. “Anything can happen. We just need to go out there and fight, and hope things go our way.”
