In the final home game of the regular season, the fifth-ranked UCSD men’s tennis team defeated crosstown rivals Point Loma Nazarene University, 6-3, on April 10, improving the team’s overall record to 14-5.
Junior Eric Rubens defeated his Point Loma Nazarene University opponent 6-2, 6-2 in the No. 1 singles spot to help lift UCSD to a 6-3 win over the Sea Lions on April 7.
The Tritons fell into an early hole against No. 11 Point Loma Nazarene University after the end of doubles play, losing two of their three matches. No. 1 doubles juniors Eric Rubens and Blake Meister lost 3-8 while No. 3 doubles freshman Bijan Moallemi and junior Ramesh Thondapu put up more of a fight, but still fell 5-8. The team’s only doubles win came in the No. 2 slot, as seniors Seth Spector and Steven Oechel crushed their opponents 8-1.
The lack of consistency in doubles play has become an issue for the team heading into the playoffs.
“”Doubles is a concern right now for the team,”” head coach Eric Steidlmayer said. “”I think they played a lot sharper earlier in the season. The fundamentals are not as strong as they were earlier in the year.””
The singles games, however, played out quite differently. The Tritons lived up to their own expectations by calmly winning five of the six singles matches to rally back for the victory.
Four of those five wins came in dominant straight sets. No. 1 singles Rubens crushed his opponent 6-2, 6-2, while No. 4 singles freshman Brandon Low bettered that score by winning 6-1, 6-0 in a dominating performance.
No. 6 singles sophomore Kazumi Negishi nearly allowed his opponent to come back in the second set, but held on to win 6-0, 6-4. No. 3 singles Spector clinched the win, winning 6-4, 6-1. No. 2 singles Moallemi went into three sets and came out victorious 6-2, 5-7, 6-2. Unfortunately, No. 5 singles Oechel went all the way to a super tiebreaker, only to fall 5-7, 7-5, 4-10, in a valiant effort.
Despite the rough start to the match, Steidlmayer liked what he saw.
“”We were a little flat in doubles, but we did better in singles,”” he said. “”I thought we competed well in singles.””
With only the top two teams from regionals moving onto nationals, the Tritons are looking to make a good run into the tournament.
“”We look pretty strong,”” Spector said. “”We went to Florida and competed well against the top teams in the country, so it’s just a matter of stepping up. Everyone’s just trying to finish strong.””
Based on what he has seen so far, Steidlmayer expects the team to go deep at nationals.
“”Going down to Florida two weeks ago over spring break really helped the team gain experience,”” Steidlmayer said. “”I think there’s just one team that’s a cut above the rest and about eight to 10 teams that all have a chance to go deep, with us being one of those. But even the team that’s a little bit above the rest is within reach.””
