The UC Davis men’s tennis team gave new meaning to the phrase break point as they returned to play this past weekend.
The Aggies not only returned after a three-week break, but their hopes of victory were broken as they first fell to DePaul 5-2 on Friday and were later swept 7-0 by No. 52 Fresno State.
Friday – DePaul 5, UC Davis 2
The Aggies saw their hot play turn ice cold against the Blue Demons, falling 5-2 to end a two-match winning streak.
Against DePaul I felt like I was a little bit slow, I wasn’t really playing at the top of my game, said senior No. 3 Justin Garcia. We were just a bit sluggish.
The afternoon began with DePaul laying claim to the doubles point, capturing wins at the No. 1 and No. 3 doubles positions.
Entering singles play with a 1-0 lead, DePaul continued its winning ways as No. 1 singles player senior Henri Landes fell to Jose Moncada 6-1, 6-2.
To add to Landes’ loss, the Aggies also dropped the 2, 4 and 5 spots, losing all in straight sets.
Still, the Aggie lowerclassmen did their part.
First, freshman No. 3 Nick Lopez held off Vanja Grgec in a tough three-set match to win 6-4,4-6,1-0 (10-7).
Not to be outdone, sophomore No. 6 Hunter Lee also posted an come-from-behind victory, defeating Bartosz Jozwiak 1-6,7-6, 1-0 (10-7).
I felt like Nick and Hunter fought really well and had impressive victories, Garcia said.
Saturday – Fresno State 7, UC Davis 0
It shouldn’t be surprising that the Bulldogs pack a vicious bite.
Just ask the Aggies, who were swept 7-0 Friday at the Wathen Tennis Center in Fresno.
We knew we had to play our hearts out against them and everyone played really well, Garcia said. But they were just too much for us to handle.
No. 52 Fresno State started things out by capturing the doubles point, but not before the Aggies earned their sole victory of the afternoon.
At the No. 2 doubles spot, senior Daniel Elefant and junior Michael Reiser ousted the duo of AJ Kerin and Taylor Leiby, 9-8 (1).
Despite the close victory of Elefant and Reiser, the Aggies dropped doubles matches at the No. 1 and 3 spots to give the Bulldogs a 1-0 lead going into singles play.
UC Davis failed to capture a set in all six singles matches, but came close as both Landes and Lee dropped first set tiebreakers.
Saturday’s win moved the Bulldogs to 13-7 while the Aggies dropped to 8-8 on the season.
UC Davis will return to Big West Conference play Saturday when it hits the road to face UC Santa Barbara.
NIRVAIR KELLEY can be reached at sports@californiaaggie.com.
