The Tritons won both the No. 2 and No. 3 doubles, as well as all of their singles matchesoutside of the No.1 singles bout, pitting senior Chapman Chan against Whittier’s Julian
Seneviratne.
The No. 1 singles match between Chan and Seneviratne was the only match on the day
that went to three sets. Seneviratne—a 2010 All-SCIAC selection—took the first set in a
close 6-4 finish.
Chan rallied, winning the second set 6-7, but Seneviratne closed the match out with a 10-6 win in the last set.
Junior Junya Yoshida and sophomores Max Jiganti and Kona Luu easily took wins in their
singles matches, while junior Austin West and Sam Ling both had tight first sets but
seemed to outlast their opponents in the second set to finish strong.
“Whittier’s a good ball striking club, but I think our tenacity made them fade a little in the
second sets today,” UCSD head coach Eric Steidlmayer said to the UCSD Athletics
Department.
In the doubles component, Seneviratne led Whittier’s No. 1 doubles to take the win over the
nationally ranked pair of sophomore Devon Sousa and West, 9-8.
However the Tritons handily overtook the Poets in the No. 2 and No. 3 doubles matches.
In the No. 2 match, senior Jason Wall teamed with Luu to record an 8-3 win.
And in the No. 3 match, Ling and Yoshida won 8-5.
“Junya Yoshida is a junior this year and he’s really played well,” Steidlmayer said to the UCSD Athletics Department. “But our last
two clinchers, Austin West and Max Jiganti have also done well. Kona Luu really elevated his game, a freshman from Irvinve, he’s
play No. 2 doubles for us and No. 6 singles and really solidified both spots. He maybe the biggest surprise of the year.”
With the win, the No. 10 Tritons advance to 9-1 this season, posting their only loss against Grand Canyon University at the Grand Canyon Invitational on Feb. 10.
The next competition for the Tritons will be on March 1-4 at the Pacific Coast Doubles Championships, to be played in La Jolla.
UCSD then resumes dual competition with a bout against Division I Villianova at home, on March 6.
