THIS WEEK...
Northern Arizona (7-10, 5-2 Big Sky) at UC Davis (13-4, 1-0 Big West)
Sunday, April 5, 2015
10 a.m.
Davis, Calif. - Marya Welch Tennis Center

FIRST SERVE: Coming off a win in its Big West Conference opener, the UC Davis men's tennis team returns home for the first time since mid-March, welcoming Big Sky Conference foe Northern Arizona to the Marya Welch Tennis Center for its non-conference finale on Easter Sunday (April 5) at 10 a.m.

IN THE RANKINGS: Following a loss to the nation's top-ranked Division II team in Hawai'i Pacific last weekend, the Aggies fell out of the national poll for the the first time since the beginning of February. The Lumberjacks enter the week unranked.

UC DAVIS RANKINGS HISTORY: The Aggies debuted with their highest ITA ranking in the program's Division I history back on Feb. 3, entering the national spotlight at No. 72, before making the jump to No. 70 in the nation on Feb. 17 following a three-match sweep of Sacramento State, Saint Mary's and Holy Names. UC Davis continued to climb, posting its highest ranking ever at No. 64 according to the Feb. 25 poll, before dropping six spots to No. 70 on March 3 after a week of inactivity and No. 71 following a break for final exams.

ABOUT THE LUMBERJACKS: Northern Arizona enters the week with a 7-10 overall record and a 5-2 mark in Big Sky Conference play, but the Lumberjacks have lost their last two, falling to league rivals Montana (6-1) and Montana State (5-2)... The two defeats put an end to a five-match winning streak by NAU -- all over Big Sky foes... The Lumberjacks will face Sacramento State on Saturday (April 4) at 10 a.m., before facing the Aggies... Sophomore Alexandre Locci, who has split time between No. 3 and No. 4 singles, and freshman Felix Schumann, who has played mainly at No. 5, lead the team with nine dual match wins this season... The tandem of Locci and Jordan Gobatie are a combined 6-7 in doubles play at the top two spots in the lineup.

SERIES NOTES: According to yearly records that date back to the 1996-97 season, this will be the first-ever meeting between the Aggies and Lumberjacks. UC Davis is a combined 19-24 against Big Sky opponents in that span, having faced Weber State (1-0), Montana (1-5), Montana State (1-2), Idaho (2-0), Sacramento State (6-14), Northern Colorado (2-0), Portland State (6-0), and Eastern Washington (2-1). The Aggies are 2-0 against Big Sky schools this season, posting a 6-1 win over Causeway rival Hornets on Feb. 14 and a 7-0 shutout of Northern Colorado in their last home match on March 15.

JUST WIN, BABY: The 13 victories for the Aggies this season are just one shy of last season's overall record (14-11) -- one that stands as the program's best Division I performance to date. At 13-4, UC Davis has now posted back-to-back seasons with double-digit wins for the first time since the Aggies accomplished the feat in three straight seasons from 2000-02. Two more wins this season will give UC Davis its highest win total since the 1993 squad finished 15-3.

OPENING ACT: With their win over Hawai'i in their Big West opener in Honolulu, the Aggies moved to 3-5 in league openers, winning a Big West opener for the second straight season.

DYNAMIC DUO: The tandem of sophomore James Wade and freshman Tommy Lam have been on a tear as of late, winning three straight (and four of their last five) -- including one of the Aggies' two points against Hawai'i Pacific. The tandem leads UC Davis with a 9-3 mark in dual match play, going 7-3 at No. 3 and winning twice at No. 2 en route to an 11-5 mark overall this season.

WELCOME HOME!: With their win over Northern Colorado back on March 15, the Aggies moved to 6-0 on the courts at the Marya Welch Tennis Center this season, extending their winning streak to seven dating back to a 4-3 loss to Hawai'i on April 1, 2014. UC Davis has won 17 of its last 20 at home after posting an 11-3 record in home matches last spring.

SIX IS ENOUGH: After defeating Hawai'i in their Big West Conference opener, that's apparently the the case for the Aggies this season, who had their second six-match winning streak come to an end at the hands of the nation's top-ranked Division II team in Hawai'i Pacific on March 27. The two runs matched the program's longest Division I winning streak set last season and are tied for the third-longest streak since 2000 after UC Davis won eight straight in 2001 and seven straight in 2000.

CLOSING FAST: Junior Brett Bachrach is closing in on a pair of records for the Aggies, entering the week with an overall career mark of 52-30 and a 35-20 record in dual matches. The 52 wins overall are just three shy of Kyle Miller, who holds the UC Davis Division I record with 56 singles wins, while the 35 dual match wins for Bacharach are also three back of Miller's Division I record of 38 set from 2011-14. Right behind his teammate is sophomore James Wade, who has already racked up a 49-17 overall mark, and a 30-8 record in duals, in just under two seasons with the Aggies.

BIG WEST'S BEST: Sophomore James Wade and freshman Everett Maltby enter the weekend tied with UC Irvine freshman Sebastian Heim for the most overall wins in the league at 21. Sophomore Bryce McKelvie is sixth on that list with his 19-9 mark this season, while junior Brett Bacharach and sophomore Alec Adamson are in a four-way tie for seventh with a pair from Cal Poly at 16 wins apiece.

CLOSE SHAVES: Thanks to their 4-3 win at Hawai'i back on March 26, the Aggies improved to 4-1 this season in matches decided by a single point, including wins in their last two such contests against the Rainbow Warriors and No. 75 Rice (March 5). It's quite a reversal of fortune for UC Davis, which was 1-5 in matches decided by a single point a year ago.

HE... COULD... GO... ALL... THE... WAY: The Aggies have continued a rather successful trend that saw them post a 44-28 (.611) record in three-set singles contests last season, posting a 28-18 (.609) record in such matches to start the 2014-15 campaign. Sophomore James Wade has led the way, thus far, with a perfect 10-0 mark in three-set contests, while classmate Bryce McKelvie is right behind him with five wins in eight chances. Last season, junior Brett Bacharach led all UC Davis players with 14 trips to a decisive third set, finishing with a team-high nine victories.

2014-15 Aggies in Three Sets (sorted by wins):
James Wade: 10-1 (.909)
Bryce McKelvie: 6-3 (.667)
Eli Whittle: 4-0 (1.000)
Brett Bacharach: 5-1 (.833)
Jesse Ross: 3-2 (.600)
Everett Maltby: 2-2 (.500)
Alec Adamson: 2-5 (.286)
Tommy Lam: 1-3 (.250)
Adam Levie: 0-3 (.000)

ADAMSON NAMED BIG WEST SCHOLAR-ATHLETE: A member of the Dean's List and a recipient of the John Wooden Scholarship, UC Davis sophomore Alec Adamson was named the Big West Conference Male Scholar-Athlete of the Year from UC Davis. Celebrated at an awards breakfast on Thursday morning (March 12) in conjunction with the conference men's and women's basketball tournaments in Anaheim, Adamson and women's golfer Andrea Wong were honored for their contributions on the court/course as well as their success in the classroom. Read the entire release online at http://www.ucdavisaggies.com/sports/m-tennis/spec-rel/031215aaa.html.

BACHARACH NAMED BIG WEST ATHLETE OF THE WEEK: Junior Brett Bacharach was named the Big West men's tennis athlete of the week back on Feb. 25, earning the first award of his career and becoming the second Aggie honoree this season, joining teammate James Wade (Jan. 21). Bacharach won both his singles contests against San Francisco and Nevada to extend his winning streak to five straight and improve to 6-2 in duals this year.

WADE SHARES FIRST BIG WEST WEEKLY HONOR OF 2015: A stellar start to the spring season has earned UC Davis sophomore James Wade a share of Big West Conference Player of the Week honors, the league office announced on Jan. 21. It is the second career weekly honor for the San Marino, California, native after earning his first on Feb. 19 of last season. He shares this week's honor with UC Irvine's Sebastian Heim. For a complete recap of Wade's award-winning week, read the complete release at: http://www.ucdavisaggies.com/sports/m-tennis/spec-rel/012115aaa.html.