It’s been more than six months since the Aggies broke ground on their season at the Bulldog Classic in October.
On Sunday, their regular season came to an end with a disappointing finish.
UC Davis traveled to face Nevada in a contest that would come out in the Wolf Pack’s favor.
The Aggies’ doubles play once again showed their inconsistency as they were swept in the No. 1 through the No. 3 matches. With Toki Sherbakov out, freshman Connor Coates teamed up with sophomore Nick Hallchurch in the No. 3 match, but came up unsuccessful.
The Aggies moved into singles play looking for a more positive outcome, but could not match up to the Wolf Pack’s talent as they lost five of six singles matches.
Coates was the only victorious Aggie of the day in the No. 6 match, as he defeated Gabe Kanzelmeyer in straight sets.
“[Coates] has shown considerable ability,” said coach Daryl Lee. “It takes a lot to close out sets.”
Among the Aggies who didn’t claim victory in the last regular season contest were seniors Nic Amaroli, Tyler Lee and Hunter Lee.
The Lee twins both fell in straight sets while Amaroli came up empty in the third set.
“I thought they did a good job,” coach Lee said. “Hopefully it was something they can build on.”
At the end of the day, the Aggies fell 6-1, but coach Lee thought they had a good fighting spirit, something that may be necessary as they head into the Big West Conference Tournament this weekend.
The Aggies are scheduled to face UC Santa Barbara on Friday to start off the tournament. They will need to show improvement from their last matchup with the Gauchos, a 6-1 loss on March 1.
Coach Lee sees preparation off the court and working smartly on the court as keys to success for the Aggies at the Big West Tournament.
“A hard and smart work ethic will give us a better chance to win close sets and matches,” Lee said.
The Aggies will have the week to prepare and reflect on the long season before heading to Indian Wells, Calif. for the conference championships.
UC Davis enters this weekend’s play as the No. 5 seed and will face the No. 4 Gauchos for the right to move into the semifinals on Saturday. If the Aggies do advance, they will play either Cal Poly or Pacific, each of which received first-round byes.
ZANDER WOLD can be reached at sports@theaggie.org.
