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
5-4 score. After that tough stretch, UCSD topped both
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’ match against
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
Arizona
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
deficit to win 4-6, 6-4, 7-5.
In
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,
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.
