OAHU, Hawaii - The UC San Diego men's tennis team failed to overcome a doubles sweep Thursday and ultimately fell to No. 5 Hawaii Pacific on the road, 7-2.
The Tritons, dropping to 9-8 overall this season, secured points at No. 3 and No. 6 singles against HPU. Up against the top-ranked team in the West Region, UCSD head coach Eric Steidlmayer went with a different lineup.
At No. 3, junior captain Vincent Nguyen topped the Warriors' Dominic Mclusky, 6-1, 7-5. Appearing in just his second singles match of the year, redshirt freshman Austin West posted a victory at the No. 6 position, topping HPU's Kaimalu Cope, 6-2, 6-2.
Other than the singles victories from Nguyen and West, UCSD proceeded to go winless. In doubles, the Tritons were defeated by a combined score of 24-8.
The Tritons, ranked at No. 28 in the latest Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) poll, will look to finish their island trip with a win Friday in a 9 a.m. match against No. 43 Hawaii Hilo.
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| Singles competition |
| 1. Nikola Petrov (HPU) def. Erik Elliott (UCSD) 6-3, 6-3 |
| 2. Aleksander Markov (HPU) def. Sam Ling (UCSD) 6-0, 6-3 |
| 3. Vincent Nguyen (UCSD) def. Dominic Mclusky (HPU) 6-1, 7-5 |
| 4. Daniel Luedi (HPU) def. Jake Fellow (UCSD) 6-0, 6-4 |
| 5. Sebastian Bader (HPU) def. Junya Yoshida (UCSD) 2-6, 6-1, 10-6 |
| 6. Austin West (UCSD) def. Kaimalu Cope (HPU) 6-2, 6-2 |
| Match Notes |
| UC San Diego 9-8; National ranking #28 |
| Hawaii Pacific University 15-3; National ranking #5; Regional ranking #1 |
