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#4 UC Davis vs. #1 UC Santa Barbara
Big West Semifinal
Friday, April 26, 2019
3 PM
Indian Wells Tennis Garden // Indian Wells, Calif.
Live Scoring // Big West Championship Homepage
INDIAN WELLS, Calif. — For the sixth consecutive season, fourth-seeded Aggies have reached the Big West Championship semifinal, defeating UC Riverside on Thursday afternoon.
Playing in temperatures that nearly hit 100 degrees, the Highlanders struck first, taking the first doubles match on court three. However, the Aggies were able to secure the doubles point with identical 7-5 scores on courts one and two.
Moving into singles play, UC Riverside switched their No. 2 and No. 3 singles players since the last meeting between the two programs, leading to different results. Previously, Ivan Thamma defeated Nabil Abdallah in straight sets on court two, while Nil Giraldez fell to Gilbert Chung at three, but this time both Giraldez and Thamma squeaked out the first set in their matches.
UC Riverside recorded the first singles victory on court five, where Vignesh Subramanyan defeated Daniel Landa, but that would prove to be the only Highlander point of the day. Arjith Jayaraman returned to his winning ways at No. 6, posting a dominant first set en route to a 6-1, 6-4 victory to bump the Aggies to 2-1 overall.
Sophomore Chethan Swanson was next off for the Aggies, defeating UC Riverside's standout freshman Andreas Whelan-Merediz 6-2, 6-3. However, the three remaining matches on court were all tightly contested ones, although the Aggies only needed one.
After dropping the first set, David Goulak stormed back to take the second, while the Highlanders did the same on courts two and three. With Goulak and Giraldez about to begin a third set, Thamma was locked into battle for the second, but fell 7-4 in the tiebreaker to head into a deciding set.
With the match looking like it could go either way, it was Giraldez who stepped up for UC Davis, jumping out to a 4-1 lead in the third, while Goulak was fighting at 2-3, and Thamma just beginning his third set. Despite his first Big West Championship appearance, Giraldez stayed focus, and delivered the Aggies their fourth and final point, clinching the match 6-4, 2-6, 6-3, sending UC Davis to the semifinals.
"I think the whole team in general entered the court really powerful and really pumped up," said the Barcelona native.
"I think it was the difference of 5 or 10 percent mentally than the other team, and [it was] the difference to win the match. I'm actually really pumped up because this is my first year here; I just started in January, and for me all of this is new. We have a tough match in the semifinals. And I think the whole team in general is really excited since we're freshmen and sophomores; we're a young team, and we're excited and doing good."
The Aggies advance to play the top-seed and defending tourament champions UC Santa Barbara Friday at 3 PM. There will be live scoring available through the Big West Conference.
Watch Giraldez's full interview here:
UC Davis 4, UC Riverside 1
Thursday, April 25, 2019
Indian Wells, Calif.
Doubles
1. #70 David Goulak/Ivan Thamma (UCD) def. Kyle McCann/Max Cohen (UCR) 7-5
2. Alex Scemanenco/Daniel Landa (UCD) def. Anderson Ju/A. Whelan-Merediz (UCR) 7-5
3. Gilbert Chung/Nabil Abdallah (UCR) def. Dariush Jalali/Chethan Swanson (UCD) 6-2
Order of Finish: 3, 1, 2*
Singles
1. David Goulak (UCD) vs. Kyle McCann (UCR) 6-4, 3-6, 5-5, unfinished
2. Gilbert Chung (UCR) led Ivan Thamma (UCD) 5-7, 7-6(4), 3-0
3. Nil Giraldez (UCD) def. Nabil Abdallah (UCR) 6-4, 2-6, 6-3
4. Chethan Swanson (UCD) def. A. Whelan-Merediz (UCR) 6-2, 6-3
5. Vignesh Subramanyan (UCR) def. Daniel Landa (UCD) 6-0, 6-3
6. Arjith Jayaraman (UCD) def. Anderson Ju (UCR) 6-1, 6-4
Order of Finish: 5, 6, 4, 3*
ABOUT UC DAVIS
Providing a small-town community feel while providing a world-class academic experience, UC Davis is home to more than 37,000 students and centrally located between San Francisco, Lake Tahoe, and the Napa Valley. The No. 5-ranked public university in the nation, according to the Wall Street Journal and Times Higher Education, offers nearly 100 graduate programs and more than 100 academic majors across four colleges and six professional schools, ranking among the world and nation's best in numerous disciplines, including veterinary science, agriculture, and plant and animal programs.
AGGIE EVO
Established during the 2017-18 academic year, the Aggie EVO System is UC Davis Athletics' investment in the primary mission of preparing student-athletes for a successful "launch" after graduation. Thanks to a collaboration of alumni, university resources, corporate partners, coaches and Student-Athlete Outcomes staff, all Aggies are guided over four years to acquire the skills, knowledge, opportunities and tools to better know and navigate the "World of Work" after graduating from UC Davis. Follow the Aggie EVO system on Twitter and Instagram at @AggieEVO.
