It all came to an end for the UC Davis men’s tennis team on Friday.
UC Santa Barbara upended the Aggies in the first round of the Big West Conference Tournament at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden, ending UC Davis‘ season with a 4-0 defeat.
“Santa Barbara was very tough and they played with a lot of discipline out there,” coach Daryl Lee said. “I give them all the credit. In fact, when I found out they upset [No. 1 seed] Pacific, I actually wasn’t surprised. They were very solid.“
The two teams took the court for doubles play to decide the pivotal first point.
The No. 1 doubles tandem of Hunter Lee and Nick Lopez for the Aggies was outlasted 8-6 by Josh Finkelstein and Alex Konigsfeldt for the Gauchos.
The same score was posted on the No. 2 team of Tyler Lee and Michael Reiser, giving UCSB the doubles point and a 1-0 lead.
The Gauchos then made quick work of the Aggies when singles play started up late in the afternoon. UCSB won the three necessary matches in straight sets.
Chris Aria was the first to finish, losing to Taylor Chavez Goggin 6-3, 6-0 at the No. 5 position. Next off the court was No. 4 Tyler Lee, who fell 6-4, 6-1 to Max Taylor.
The deciding point came by way of a 6-2, 6-3 decision in favor of Gaucho Scott Hohenstein over Hunter Lee at No. 3.
The No. 1, No. 2 and No. 6 matches did not finish because UCSB had already clinched the first-round victory.
The Aggies‘ sole senior, Reiser was playing at No. 2 when his match was called. He was 6-6 and No. 2 this season.
UC Davis ends its season with a 3-16 record.
“Overall, I felt that our record was deceiving,” Lee said. “We were respectable in the top four singles positions. We just have to continue to improve in the other areas. I think we’ll be a lot more competitive next year.“
MATT MILLER can be reached at sports@theaggie.org.
