UC Davis men’s tennis team was unable to overcome an early deficit to the Cal Poly Mustangs as the Aggies suffered a 4-3 loss on April 12 at the Mustang Courts in San Luis Obispo, Calif.
UC Davis finished its last road trip for the season with two losses, taking its record to 13-11 overall, 2-3 in conference play. With the win, the Mustangs moved to third place in the Big West standings with a 3-1 record and are 8-12 overall.
Cal Poly started off strong by winning two doubles matches straight, giving it an early 1-0 lead in team points. Afterward, in singles, senior Kyle Miller won the first set, but the Mustangs’ Jurgen De Jager rallied back, winning the match 5-7, 6-1, 6-1, putting Cal Poly up to 2-0 in team points.
After losing three consecutive matches, the Aggies finally rallied to tie the Mustangs in team points with back-to-back wins by sophomore Brett Bacharach and freshman James Wade, both of them coming back from first-set losses to claim their matches.
UC Davis continued its momentum as freshman Bryce McKelvie followed with a victory over Cal Poly’s Naveen Beasley, 3-6, 6-4, 6-4. The win gave the Aggies their first lead of the day, 3-2. However, the Aggies were unable to keep up the lead. The Mustangs’ Ben Donovan rebounded from a first-set loss and saved two match points in the second set, winning over UC Davis freshman Alec Adamson with the score 4-6, 7-6 (4), 6-2. The schools were once again tied in team points at 3-3.
In the last match of the weekend, UC Davis senior Parker Kelley took the first set, but the Mustangs’ Matt Thomason stayed strong, taking the second set. Eventually, Thomason clinched the game for Cal Poly, 6-7 (4), 7-5, 6-4, and the Mustangs beat the Aggies with a final team score of 4-3.
The UC Davis women’s tennis team did not play this weekend due to weather problems. They visited Hawai’i on April 12; however, due to the rain, the match was suspended. The women’s team will host San Jose State in their last game for this season on April 19 in Davis, Calif. at the Marya Welch Tennis Center.
JANET ZENG can be reached at sports@theaggie.org.
