The beating winds will blow, Picnic Day festivities will come but the tennis will not stop. The UC Davis tennis teams are entering their final weekends of competition before the Big West Conference Championships tournament.
The men’s team is coming off a tough weekend with tightly contested matches. They faced off with Cal Poly on April 12 and fell 5-2.
Three of the matches went to three sets, but only junior Kyle Miller was able to pull his out. Junior Parker Kelley contributed the other Aggie point at No. 3 singles.
The next day, UC Davis matched up with UC Santa Barbara and fell in a close battle by a score of 4-3. The Aggies lost the doubles point but bounced back to win half the singles matches.
Unfortunately this wasn’t enough, as the Gauchos’ three singles points were enough to edge the Aggies. Kelley took a three set victory at three while freshman Brett Bacharach won at four by a 6-4, 6-4 score. Senior George Horowitz took a 6-4, 4-6, 6-4 victory at six for UC Davis’ final point.
Looking forward, the 6-11 UC Davis team is 0-4 in the Big West Conference and will have three straight away matches this weekend. The Aggies will face off at Loyola Marymount on April 19 before traveling to UC Riverside and UC Irvine on April 20 and April 21, respectively.
UC Davis should get a win over the Highlanders, but traveling conditions will be difficult, with several different stops within 48 hours of each other.
The match against the Lions will be a good matchup for the Aggies, who could use all the matches they can get before the conference tournament that will take place April 25 to 28.
The Anteaters will provide a considerable challenge for UC Davis, since they have already beaten several ranked opponents this year.
Most recently, UC Irvine took down Cal Poly in a 4-3 upset that displayed the Anteaters’ strength in singles. The Aggies are in sixth place in the conference, ahead of UC Riverside, while UC Irvine is 2-1 and in third place in the Big West.
The matches this week will get progressively difficult for UC Davis, and the men will need all the focus they can muster to close out their season strong before the Big West Conference tournament.
As the UC Davis women’s tennis team steps onto the courts, they will be doing so for the last time in the 2012-13 regular season.
The Aggies will take on Sonoma State at 11 a.m. at Marya Welch Tennis Center for a Picnic Day feature.
UC Davis just recently closed out conference play with a 5-2 loss to UC Santa Barbara. The Aggies won the doubles point, but got blown off the court in singles play.
Several of the matches were tightly contested, but only junior Melissa Kobayakawa was able to grab a singles win in her 1-6, 6-0, 6-2 match in the fourth slot.
On April 12, UC Davis took down Pacific in a match at home by a score of 5-2. The Aggies swept the doubles competition to grab a 1-0 lead entering singles play, then took victories in the bottom four singles slots for the win.
Senior Lauren Curry came back from a 6-1 first set loss and took the next two 6-1, 7-6 (3). Senior Ellie Edles finished her match 6-4, 6-1 and Kobayakawa took a 6-2, 6-1 win at five.
As the Aggies play their final match at home, their seniors, Edles and Curry, will be honored for their services to UC Davis tennis. After, they will set their sights on the Big West Conference Championships.
UC Davis currently stands at 4-5 in the conference, good for sixth place as they enter competition for the Big West tournament.
MATTHEW YUEN can be reached at sports@theaggie.org.
