LA JOLLA, Calif. - The 16th-ranked UC San Diego men's tennis team returned to action Monday after nearly two weeks without competition, losing to UC Santa Cruz, 6-3.

UCSD, which last played on Mar. 14, won three singles match-ups, but UCSC swept the Tritons on the doubles side at Northview Tennis Courts. The Tritons fell to 12-3 while the Banana Slugs, ranked No. 10 nationally in NCAA Division III, improved their record to 6-5 on the season with the win.

At No. 1 singles, Triton Chapman Chan, ranked seventh in the West Region, defeated Santa Cruz's Devin Nerenberg in straight sets, 6-3, 6-2. UCSD's Junya Yoshida topped Erich Koenig at No. 2 singles, 6-4, 0-6, 6-1, and Max Jiganti secured the third Triton victory with his decided win over Andre Halabi, 6-1, 6-1, at No. 4.

The Tritons battled hard in doubles, falling to the Banana Slugs by narrow margins in all three matches. At No. 1, Austin West and Jason Wall were edged by Ian Stanley and Eric Rosner after 17 hard-fought games, 9-8. Sam Ling and Yoshida also played 17 games at No. 3, losing by the same margin. Devon Sousa and Jiganti were defeated at the No. 2 spot, 8-5.

The Tritons, who play four matches this week, head to Azusa Pacific on Wednesday for their first away competition since mid-February. The contest is set to start at 11:30 a.m. at APU's Munson and Bavougian Tennis Complex.

No. 16 UCSD 3, UC Santa Cruz 6
March 26, 2012
Northview Tennis Courts
La Jolla, Calif.

Doubles
Ian Stanley/Erik Rosner (UCSC) def. Austin West/Jason Wall (UCSD) 9-8
Erich Koenig/Parker Larsen (UCSC) def. Devon Sousa/Max Jiganti (UCSD) 8-5
Devin Nerenberg/Max Littlejohn (UCSC) def. Sam Ling/Junya Yoshida (UCSD) 9-8

Singles
Chapman Chan (UCSD) def. Devin Nerenberg (UCSC) 6-3, 6-2
Junya Yoshida (UCSD) def. Erich Koenig (UCSC) 6-4, 0-6, 6-1
Parker Larsen (UCSC) def. Austin West (UCSD) 7-5, 6-4
Max Jiganti (UCSD) def. Andre Halabi (UCSC) 6-1, 6-1
Eric Rosner (UCSC) def. Sam Ling (UCSD) 7-6, 7-5
Bryce Bettwy (UCSC) def. Guy Giubilato (UCSD) 6-2, 6-0

- UCSDtritons.com -