As parts of the Marya Welch Tennis Center undergo some remodeling, the UC Davis tennis teams haven’t slowed practices one bit.
The men’s tennis team will match up against Hawai’i on Friday, one of the better teams UC Davis will have faced so far this season. The Aggies are entering a tough couple of weeks here in the Big West competition.
After playing the Rainbow Wahine, UC Davis will match up against 73rd-ranked Cal Poly and Big West powerhouse UC Santa Barbara.
Looking at the contest with Hawai’i, though, UC Davis faces quite a challenge. The Aggies haven’t played a match in almost a month, as their last outing was March 10 against UT Arlington.
UC Davis dropped that decision by a 5-2 score with wins from junior Parker Kelley and freshman Brett Bacharach. Both have eight wins on the season in dual matches, tied for second on the team behind junior Kyle Miller’s 10 singles victories.
The Aggies’ matchup against Hawai’i will be their second Big West matchup of the season. Their first was a 5-2 loss to Pacific.
UC Davis has been relatively successful this year, having won seven doubles points on the season out of the 14 matches they have played. The doubles point will be a big contributor to the Aggies’ success, as each of their six wins have been in matches where they’ve entered singles play up 1-0 after the doubles.
Still, the doubles point is not guaranteed, as three of the matches in which they took two of the three contests have resulted in losses.
The Aggies stand at 6-8 overall and 0-1 in conference play.
The match against the Rainbow Wahine will be on Friday at 2 p.m.
On the women’s side, UC Davis has enjoyed a bit more success, with a 7-9 overall record consisting of a 2-2 league record.
The Aggies will have three consecutive matches this week, none of which will be easy. Along with adjusting to the warmer weather that Davis is enjoying, UC Davis will face off with three tough Big West teams.
The Aggies will take on Hawai’i today at 2 p.m. The Rainbow Wahine edged the Aggies in Hawaii last year by a tight 4-3 score. Hawai’i lost a couple of key players from their lineup, and the Aggies hope to take full advantage of this.
UC Davis will then host Long Beach State on Friday at 2 p.m. The 49ers usually give UC Davis fits, but the Aggies have had a significant amount of experience in the past couple of years.
The 49ers are currently ranked 43rd in the nation, but UC Davis has already squeaked out a couple of close victories this year over ranked opponents. The Aggies took down San Jose State, currently ranked 66th in the country, by a 4-3 score in the beginning of March.
After the 49ers, UC Davis will move on to host UC Riverside on Saturday at 11 a.m. Last year, the Aggies downed the Highlanders by a 6-1 score, and could use a win as they approach the Big West tournament, which will take place in two weeks.
The Aggies have struggled in doubles, grabbing only three of 16 doubles points, but have been held up by their strong singles lineups. They will need all the wins they can get since they currently stand in fifth place in the Big West.
MATTHEW YUEN can be reached at sports@theaggie.org.
