LA JOLLA, Calif. - The 10th-ranked UC San Diego men's tennis team started its season in commanding fashion Saturday, dominating Hope International in a perfect 9-0 performance and going on to defeat Redlands, 8-1, in the nightcap.

Senior Jason Wall was UCSD's top performer versus Hope, finishing with a clean slate against his opponents in both singles and doubles play. Wall teamed up with freshman Kona Luu to log an 8-0 win against HIU's Thiago Brito and Ivan Rashkov in the No. 2 doubles spot. He then went on to defeat Josh Feichter, 6-0, 6-0, in the No. 6 singles position.

Chapman Chan defeated Julio Amaral, 7-5, 6-2, at No. 1 singles. Austin West and Devon Sousa paired to win the No. 1 doubles match over Amaral and John Owens, 8-5.

In the day's second match, UCSD swept Redlands on the doubles ladder and won five of six singles match-ups. Chan sufferred the lone singles loss at the No. 1 spot. The remaining five were won in straight sets.

Luu handily defeated Jack Reynolds, 6-2, 6-0 at No. 6. The freshman also teamed up with Wall to win their second doubles match of the day, 9-8. West and Sousa also paired up to win at No. 1 doubles by the same narrow margin.

"For our team to really achieve, we will need to be sharper than we were today," head coach Eric Steidlmayer said. "To do so we will need to really push ourselves out of our comfort zone, and challenge ourselves to improve in ways that in the past have seemed too difficult."

UCSD will host Concordia Tuesday, Feb. 7 at Northview Tennis Courts at 2 p.m.

Singles
Chapman Chan (UCSD) def. Julio Amaral (HIU) 7-5, 6-2
Junya Yoshida (UCSD) def. Ivan Rashkov (HIU) 6-4, 6-3
Austin West (UCSD) def. John Owens (HIU) 6-1, 6-2
Max Jiganti (UCSD) def. Thiago Brito (HIU) 6-2, 6-1
Sam Ling (UCSD) def. Tyler McDonald (HIU) 6-3, 6-1
Jason Wall (UCSD) def. Josh Feichter (HIU) 6-0, 6-0

Doubles
Austin West/Devon Sousa (UCSD) def. Julio Amaral/John Owens (HIU) 8-5
Kona Luu/Jason Wall (UCSD) def. Thiago Brito/Ivan Rashkov (HIU) 8-0
Sam Ling/Junya Yoshida (UCSD) def. Tyler McDonald/ Josh Feichter (HIU) 8-1

No. 10 UCSD 8, Redlands 1
Feb. 4, 2012
Northview Tennis Courts
La Jolla, Calif.

Singles
1. Patrick Lipscomb (RED) def. Chapman Chan (UCSD) 7-6, 2-6, 10-7
2. Junya Yoshida (UCSD) def. Nick Cummins (RED) 4-6, 6-1, 15-13
3. Austin West (UCSD) def. Mark Bloom (RED) 6-4, 6-1
4. Max Jiganti (UCSD) def. Darren Dahl (RED) 6-3, 6-3
5. Sam Ling (UCSD) def. Anish Nanda (RED) 7-6, 7-5
6. Kona Luu (UCSD) def. Jack Reynolds (RED) 6-2, 6-0

Doubles
1. Devon Sousa/Austin West (UCSD) def. Mark Bloom/Patrick Lipscomb (RED) 9-8
2. Kona Luu/Jason Wall (UCSD) def. Nick Cummins/Taylor Hunt (RED) 9-8
3. Chapman Chan/Max Jiganti (UCSD) def. Gram Leahy/Anish Nanda (RED) 8-6

- UCSDtritons.com -