090212_sp_mtennisprev.c
Who: UC Davis vs. No. 60 UC Santa Barbara
Records: Aggies, 1-3 (0-1); Gauchos, 1-4 (0-0)
Where: Marya Welch Tennis Stadium
When: Saturday at 1 p.m.
Who to watch: The only Aggie to score last weekend in the UC Davis‘ 6-1 loss to Pacific was junior Hunter Lee.
Lee came from a set down to push his match to three, ultimately defeating Vegerd Veskimagi 3-6, 6-4, 6-3.
Did you know? There are only 11 players on the UC Davis men’s tennis roster, two of which are twin brothers. Lee’s brother, Tyler, also starts for the Aggies.
Combined, the siblings from Bermuda Dunes have gone 6-10 in singles play and 1-9 in doubles. They have yet to team up with each other in doubles play.
Preview: The Aggies will have their hands full yet again with the big dog of the Big West Conference, UC Santa Barbara.
“For the last few years at least, they have won the conference championship,” coach Daryl Lee said. “They’re the team to beat and it will be another tough challenge for us.“
The Gauchos have won three conference championships in a row, five in thelast seven years and six all-time – good for second-most in Big West history.
Last week, the Gauchos were knocked down a few spots in the national rankings, as they were swept by No. 41 New Mexico. Hopefully, the Aggies can knock them down a few more.
“Our players have a fighting spirit,” Lee said. “In last weekend’s match, even though we lost 6-1 on paper, I felt like we won. They played hard and I was really impressed with their heart.
“I think this match will be similar. Anywhere we can find positives will be great.“
– Matt Miller
