Teams: UC Davis at UC Santa Barbara; at Cal Poly
Records: Aggies, 4-5; Gauchos, 4-5; Mustangs, 0-6
Where: Recreation Center Courts – Santa Barbara, Calif.; Mustang Tennis Complex – San Luis Obispo, Calif.
When: Friday at 1 p.m.; Saturday at 10 a.m.
Who to watch: Sophomore Chris Aria is coming off a tough weekend as he suffered singles play losses to both Loyola Marymount and San Francisco.
However, the Alameda, Calif. native showed determination in both matches and still has a lot to show off before the season is over.
“Chris is very capable,” said coach Daryl Lee. “He just needs to feel more confident.”
Did you know? The Aggies have not had much success recently against the Gauchos. UC Davis has fallen to UC Santa Barbara in each of the last four years.
Preview: After falling in its first two home contests of the season, UC Davis is on the road again. They will compete in two more matches throughout the weekend making nine out of their first 11 contests on the road.
The Aggies’ weekend starts on Saturday in Santa Barbara against UCSB. Even though the Gauchos have gotten the best of the Aggies in each of the last four years, coach Lee feels the team is improving in both singles and doubles play.
“We have a good fighting spirit in singles,” Lee said. “We feel doubles is also making progress.”
The progress of Aggies doubles play has been shown recently. Nic Amaroli and Tyler Lee have won four out of their last five matches. The only loss was a close one last Saturday, 9-8 to San Francisco.
The Aggies will try to show their improvement against Cal Poly on Sunday as well. They are eager for revenge against the Mustangs based on these two teams’ recent history.
UC Davis finished last season by hosting Cal Poly, resulting in a 4-3 loss. With all the adjustments the Aggies have made this year, though, the match is likely to be a fight the entire way.
One of the Aggies who has been performing well in singles this season has been freshman Connor Coates. Coates went into last weekend undefeated before losing to both the Loyola Marymount and the San Francisco.
After experiencing his first losses, resurgence for Coates is likely in store this weekend.
– Zander Wold
