LOS ANGELES - Sam Ling, a sophomore out of Los Altos, Calif., dropped a 6-2, 6-0 decision to Azusa Pacific's Janosch Apelt in the finals of the singles qualifying back draw Saturday, concluding the UC San Diego men's tennis team's competition at the 53rd Annual Southern California Intercollegiate Championships.

"He played well," UCSD head coach Eric Steidlmayer said. "It was a good tournament for him overall. He took on some tough opponents, especially today with Apelt. That's the way it goes."

Ling, who tallied a 14-7 singles record this past spring, entered Saturday afternoon's match with Apelt riding a three-match winning streak. By defeating APU's Ilja Ikonnikov, UC Irvine's Zac Tsai and UC Riverside's Quoc Doan earlier in the tournament, Ling advanced to the championships of the qualifying back draw. On the opposite side, Apelt had topped Vincent Nguyen, the other member of the Tritons' squad still standing in the semifinal round, in a commanding 6-0, 6-0 decision earlier on Saturday to advance.

Apelt, a freshman on the Cougars' squad out of Frankfurt, Germany, is projected to move up to the top of APU's singles lineup quickly and the left-hander flashed his potential Saturday in the match with Ling. The final score ended up 6-2, 6-0 in Apelt's favor.

Saturday's matches for Ling and Nguyen wrap up the Tritons' fall schedule. The UCSD squad opens up its 2010 spring season at home on Feb. 1 against Concordia Irvine.