The UCSD men’s tennis team will continue into postseason play at the NCAA Nationals, May 8 to May 11 at Surprise, Ariz. The Tritons’ 7–2 victory over Point Loma Nazarene University on April 11 secured them a spot in the competition as the second seed in the West Region.
Players in the singles lineup will include senior Camill Salomon, junior Max Jiganti (13–5), junior Rajeev Herekar (6–11), redshirt freshman Ganesh Alagappan (8–8), sophomore Kona Luu (10–9) and redshirt freshman Horea Porutiu (11–4). For the doubles component, the squad will be paired as follows: Salomon and junior Devon Sousa, Jiganti and Luu, and Herekar and sophomore Teddy Truong.
For sophomores Alagappan and Porutiu and juniors Herekar and Truong, four of the eight starting players, this year is their first college season. With a relatively young team competing, the Tritons have performed impressively, ending their regular season with an overall 12–10 record and defeating rivals Grand Canyon University and Brigham Young University–Hawaii.
“I think this team has a ton of heart,” Truong said. “We are so young, and to be able to make it to nationals after not appearing last year is huge.”
Each of the eight regions will send its top two schools to compete in Surprise, Ariz. From then on, the competition becomes a one-and-done tournament. The No. 1 seed for the West Region will be Hawaii Pacific University, currently ranked fifth in the nation.
The No. 28 nationally ranked Tritons will be competing against No. 40 Southern Indiana (17–4) from the Southern Region.
UCSD head coach Timmer Willing said he thinks the South and Southeast are the strongest regions. Willing said that the results at nationals will come down to how well UCSD matches up compared to other schools.
“I’m looking forward to seeing how our young team responds, and we are looking forward to competing at the national level with the top 16 teams in the nation,” Willing said.
This season marks the 12th time in the past 13 seasons that the Tritons have qualified for the NCAA Division II Championships. UCSD did not make the cut last season, ending its season with a 13–10 overall record. This season, UCSD qualifies with a 12–10 overall record.
Luu says the team is excited to be competing this weekend and has been training hard in hopes of leaving its mark at the national level.
“We are all very excited to be playing this year and have really come to take advantage of this opportunity,” Porutiu said. “Practice flies by with these boys, because we crack so many jokes and yell in so many different languages to pump each other up.”
Jiganti spoke for the team, stating, “We are honored and thrilled to be competing in the national championships and have elevated our games both mentally and physically over a rigorous season of hard-fought matches. We are proud of our efforts and are looking forward to representing UC San Diego in Surprise, Arizona.”
Salomon, playing number one singles and doubles and currently ranked 30th in the nation, says the Tritons will look dangerous on the national stage.
“Everyone has been improving throughout the season, getting better in every match. We’ve been practicing hard for the past two weeks, and when we face the top teams of the country, we will be ready to compete.”
