The Aggies fall against Santa Clara University but defeat Fresno Pacific University
By DANIELLE WIRNOWSKI— sports@theaggie.org
On Jan. 17, the Aggies hosted both Santa Clara University (SCU) and Fresno Pacific University (FPU) for the first double header in the 2025-26 men’s tennis season. The Aggies went up against SCU at 10:30 a.m., followed by FPU at 2:30 p.m.
“At the beginning of the season, it’s actually pretty common to have double headers,” Lucas Bollinger, a fourth-year political science major and a member of the UC Davis men’s tennis team, said. “It’s kind of to get your guys conditioned.”
There were a total of nine sets for each match, with three doubles teams and six singles sets. Four players for the Aggies played both doubles and singles matches, demonstrating two different strategies.
“Singles are more about settling into the match and are a little more passive in the beginning,” Bollinger said. “Since the points are faster [in doubles], I’m thinking about being very aggressive.”
In the first match against the SCU Broncos, three of the nine sets were unfinished; one of these sets was a doubles team featuring Bollinger and Kurt Miller, a third-year human development major. Despite the unfinished double by Bollinger and Miller, the other two doubles teams finished their sets, but could not equalize against the Broncos. The Aggies lost their first match 4-1 to the Broncos, with Bollinger winning his singles set 6-0 for both games.
The other three singles matches, two of which went unfinished, were lost against the Broncos. Dylan Paterson, a first-year economics major, went into a tie-breaker for his last game against the Broncos, 6-1 in the first set, 7-6 in the second and 8-6 in the tiebreaker.
“That was kind of a bummer, but we’re getting better throughout the season,” Bollinger said. “And I’m excited for our next match.”
The team showed their dedication and winning energy in the second match of the day against FPU. The Aggies went into the match with the same setup of doubles and singles as the matches against SCU, and left with more victories. Despite four matches ending prematurely and being deemed unfinished, the Aggies were competitive and kept the scores close.
“If we go out there, we play our tennis,” Bollinger said. “If we’re aggressive, coming in with a good mindset, we should win the match.”
The Aggies finished 4-0 against Fresno Pacific. Bollinger and Miller won their doubles match with a tiebreaker of 7-6 and 7-2, while Paterson and Perry Di Giulio, a second-year communication major, won 6-2.
Bollinger, Di Giulio and Kaveh Taheri, a second-year undeclared major, won their singles sets scoring 6-4 and 6-1, 6-1 and 6-0, 6-1 and 6-1, respectively. The other three matches went unfinished after the Aggies secured the fourth overall point, recapping a formidable and aggressive rebound performance.
“I feel like if I play the way that I’ve been playing recently, I’ve got a shot to win,” Bollinger said, reflecting on future matches. “And I feel like the rest of our team [does] as well.”
UC Davis Aggies host Sacramento State University on Jan. 31 at noon at the Marya Welch Tennis Center. The team will then travel to UC Berkeley on Feb. 1 for a match at 4 p.m.
Written by: Danielle Wirnowski — sports@theaggie.org
