Both UCSD men’s and women’s tennis teams played the Azusa Pacific Cougars this past week in matchups with major implications for the postseason.
No. 17 UCSD lost to No. 18 APU on the men’s side, while No. 22 UCSD took an option on the postseason by upsetting No. 14 APU for the women. The men’s team now stands at 12-7, good for second in the region, while the women’s team is 11-9 and fourth in the region.
Men’s Tennis
On Friday, the men’s tennis team lost 6-3 against Azusa Pacific. The teams split the series as UCSD defeated APU in Azusa 5-4 on February 6.
Junior Alexandre Miaule and senior Horea Porutiu provided UCSD with their only point in the doubles at the one spot when they won 8-6, bringing their record to 14-3 with their six-straight win as a team. In the two other doubles, freshman Rodrigo Amaral and sophomore Justin Zhang lost to Pascal Engel and Alan Leahy of APU, 8-4, while freshman Richard Han and sophomore Eric Tseng lost at the three spot on the same score.
In the singles, despite victories by Miaule at the three spot and Porutiu at the five spot, APU was too much too handle for the Tritons.
Sophomore Eric Tseng was defeated by Jan Meyer, the No. 2 player in the nation at the one spot, 6-1, 7-6. Zhang, Amaral and freshman Riku Hashiyada all lost in straight sets in the at the two spot, the four spot and the sixth spot respectively.
Women’s Tennis
Also on Friday, the women’s team garnered a huge upset win over no. 14 APU in a West Region matchup at Northview Courts. With the win, the Tritons earned a season series split against their rivals, after a 5-4 loss earlier in the year.
The matchup did not even have to come to conclusion as UCSD raced to a 5-0 advantage to clinch the win.
In the doubles matches, all three pairs of Tritons won their game handily, 8-3.
No. 25 sophomore Britta Mosser and senior Kyra Scott took care of business in the one spot, defeating Kara Hinton and Natalie Johnson. At the two spot, freshman Ashley Chao and junior Shannon Theisen vanquished Lisa Schneider and Lilit Vardanyan while freshmen Madison Hale and Alexandra Weil triumphed over Valeriia Kashina and Jackie Resler at the three spot.
The Tritons won the first two singles to clinch the win. Chao dominated Vardanyan, 6-2, 6-1 at the four spot. She was followed by sophomore Jasmine Hosseini who clinched with a 6-2, 6-3 win over Hinton at the three spots. In the other single matches, No. 31 Scott was up one set to zero over No. 18 Johnson and Hale also had a one set advantage in the sixth spot. BOth Weil and Mosser were down a set when the games were interrupted.
UCSD plays its future and its place in the postseason this upcoming week. The women’s team hosts No. 37 Point Loma on April 6 at 2 p.m, with a win likely clinching a postseason berth. The men’s team will be on the road to play the No. 29 PLNU Sea Lions on April 9 at 10:30 a.m.
