April 21, 2006

DAVIS, Calif. - UC Davis was defeated by UC San Diego, 4-3, in men's tennis action Friday afternoon at the Marya Welch Tennis Center. The Tritons overcame an early loss in doubles and won four of six singles to pull off the one-point victory. The match was the last of the season for the Aggies, who finish 7-13.

UCSD (12-9) won the first doubles match to finish as Kazumi Negishi and Eric Rubens defeated Daniel Elefant and Jeffrey List, 8-5, at No. 3. Michael Chin and Justin Garcia came back at No. 1 to defeat Blake Meister and Erik Oijala, 8-6 to tie the doubles at 1-1. The clinching match came at No. 2 as Jordan Combs and Jayce Fitch posted a 9-8 win over Brent Molden and Steven Oechel to give UC Davis an early 1-0 lead.

In singles, the Tritons tied it at 1-1 when Rubens defeated Chin, 6-3, 7-5, at No. 2. The Aggies regained the lead when Henri Landes defeated Meister, 6-4, 7-6, at No. 4. The Tritons made it 2-2 with a win at No. 6 and took their first lead of the day with another victory at No. 5.

Leading 3-2, UC San Diego clinched the win when Molden outlasted Fitch, 6-4, 4-6, 7-6, at No. 1. The Aggies' final point came at No. 3 where Garcia came back from a one-set deficit to defeat Oijala, 6-7, 6-2, 6-3.

Landes' win gave him a 17-9 record for the year while Garcia won his 11th match, overall. In doubles, Chin and Garcia finished at 13-9 while Combs and Fitch had an equally impressive 12-8 mark.

UC San Diego 4, UC Davis 3

Singles
1. Brent Molden (UCSD) d. Jayce Fitch (UCD), 6-4, 4-6, 7-6.
2. Eric Rubens (UCSD) d. Michael Chin (UCD), 6-3, 7-5.
3. Justin Garcia (UCD) d. Erik Oijala (UCSD), 6-7, 6-2, 6-3.
4. Henri Landes (UCD) d. Blake Meister (UCSD), 6-4, 7-6.
5. Kazumi Negishi (UCSD) d. Casey McMakin (UCD), 6-3, 7-6.
6. Ramesh Thondapu (UCSD) d. Jordan Combs (UCD), 7-6, 7-5.

Doubles
1. Chin/Garcia (UCD) d. Meister/Oijala (UCSD), 8-6.
2. Combs/Fitch (UCD) d. Molden/Steven Oechel (UCSD), 9-8.
3. Negishi/Rubens (UCSD) d. Daniel Elefant / Jeffrey List (UCD), 8-5.