LA JOLLA, Calif. — UC San Diego men's tennis claimed three wins at the top of the singles lineup versus No. 62 Dartmouth on Tuesday, but the Tritons could not get over the hump anywhere else in the 4-3 home defeat.
 
Carson Lee (No. 1), Diogo Tinoco (No. 2) and Pelayo Rodriguez (No. 3) had the victories for the Tritons. Dartmouth won the dual match by taking the doubles point with wins on court two and three before picking up victories in No. 4-6 singles.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
Doubles
Dartmouth got out to a strong start with a 6-0 victory at No. 2 doubles. The visitors then clinched the doubles point with a 6-4 win on court three. David Adamson and Robert Freedman rallied for the Tritons in that match after falling behind 2-5 early, but the freshmen duo was unable to complete the comeback.
 
The No. 1 doubles match went unfinished. Rodriguez and Zach Pellouchoud were tied 5-5 with their opponents at the point of interruption.
 
Singles
The dual match was decided with relatively little drama as No. 4, 5 and 6 singles were the first matches to conclude. While the Tritons only lost by a one break-margin in all but one set, Dartmouth won all three matches in straight sets.
 
Lee got UC San Diego's first win of the day on court one with a straight-set victory of his own. The sophomore breezed through the first set 6-2 before needing a tiebreaker to decide the second. He left little doubt there, jumping out to a 5-0 lead before going on to win 7-2.
 
Rodriguez finished next for the Tritons, recovering after losing set one 1-6 to take the No. 3 singles match in three sets. The final set was a first-to-10 tiebreaker, which Rodriguez controlled from start to finish to earn a 10-4 win.
 
The No. 2 singles match also featured a tiebreaker that went the Tritons' way. Tinoco won his first set 6-3 and fought to the end of the second to force a tiebreaker at 6-all. The junior won 7-3 to bring the dual match to its 4-3 conclusion.
 
TRITON TIDBITS

• Carson Lee is now undefeated in his last nine matches at No. 1 singles, notching seven wins and having two matches go unfinished after he won the first set. All seven of the victories have been in straight sets.
• Dartmouth is the second team the Tritons have played this season that was ranked at the time of the match. Six of the Tritons' 2025 opponents are currently ranked.
• The Triton women also hosted Dartmouth yesterday, falling by the same 3-4 scoreline.

UP NEXT
The Tritons return to Big West action on Wednesday when they host UC Riverside. First serve is scheduled for 3:00 p.m.
 
About UC San Diego Athletics
After two decades as one of the most successful programs in NCAA Division II, the UC San Diego intercollegiate athletics program began a new era in 2020 as a member of The Big West in NCAA Division I. The 23-sport Tritons earned 30 team and nearly 150 individual national championships during its time in Divisions II and III and helped guide 1,400 scholar-athletes to All-America honors. A total of 84 Tritons have earned Academic All-America honors, while 38 have earned prestigious NCAA Post Graduate Scholarships. UC San Diego scholar-athletes exemplify the academic ideals of one of the world's preeminent institutions, graduating at an average rate of 90 percent, the highest rate among public institutions in Divisions I and II.