DAVIS, Calif. — Competing at the Marya Welch Tennis Center for the first time in the 2020 season, UC Davis men's tennis overcame a 1-2 deficit with five total singles match wins over UTSA, and continued to roll with a 7-0 sweep over Sonoma State.
Dropping the doubles point for the third time this season, the Aggies found themselves in familiar territory entering singles with a 0-1 score after losses at No. 1 and 3 doubles to the UT-San Antonio Roadrunners. Daniel Landa and Andrei Volgin were leading 5-3 at No. 2 when their match was declared abandoned.
David Goulak rebounded from doubles to make quick work of Sebastian Rodriguez at No. 2 singles, winning 6-3, 6-3 to tie the overall score at 1-1.
Competing for the first time in an Aggie uniform was newcomer Andras Necz, who was added to the roster this quarter. Necz is one of the top players out of Hungary, and came to UC Davis this spring after picking up his first ATP points in tournament wins. Necz dropped his opening match at No. 3 singles, bringing the team score to 1-2, but that would turn out to be the last match lost by a UC Davis player for the remainder of the day.
With Necz in the lineup, Arjith Jayaraman was able to continue his dominance at the No. 6 position with a straight-set victory over Alan Sanson. Jayaraman moves to a career record of 11-4 at No. 6, and now stands alone at third in the Division I era for wins at that position.
Kicking off a string of Aggie wins, the last three matches were all in a third set with the team score at 2-2. Junior Ivan Thamma notched his first win of the season at No. 1, defeating Kai Breitbach 6-2, 5-7, 6-3, putting the Aggies within one. With today's victory, Thamma officially moves into the Division I all-time list for career wins at No. 1, tying Nick Lopez with 14.
Chethan Swanson returned to his three-set trends after dropping the first set, winning 5-7, 6-3, 6-4, just beating out teammate Volgin for the clinch. Volgin moves to 3-1 on the season, winning a three-setter over UTSA's Javier Gonzalez 6-4, 6-7(6), 6-2 to bring the final team score to 5-2 for the Aggies.
Changing the lineup heading into the second match against Sonoma State, newcomer Necz was able to make his doubles debut, teaming with Jayaraman to blank the Seawolves at No. 3 doubles. Also getting their first doubles wins of the dual season, Landa and Volgin won the race against Thamma and Goulak, clinching the doubles point at No. 2 doubles with a 6-1 victory over Sonoma State.
Thamma and Goulak were leading 4-2 at the top court when the match was left unfinished.
With Thamma and Volgin sitting out the afternoon match, Dariush Jalali entered the lineup at No. 5, with Brett Brinkman at No. 6. Brinkman was the first off in singles, nearly double-bageling his opponent in a 6-0, 6-1 win.
Goulak was next at No. 1, dropping just two games against Santiago Sarunidansky. Jalali clinched the match for the Aggies with a dominant 6-1, 6-2 result against Alec Wong.
Electing to play out the matches, Jayaraman, Swanson, and Necz finished after the clinch, with each winning in straight sets to complete the 7-0 sweep, and Necz winning his first singles match as an Aggie.
The Aggies will head into an off weekend with a 3-2 overall record, before hosting Saint Mary's on Saturday, Feb. 8 at 10:30 AM in Davis, Calif.
UC Davis 5, UTSA 2
Jan. 25, 2020
Davis, Calif.
Doubles
1. Juri Reckow/Sebastian Rodriguez (UTSA) def. Ivan Thamma/David Goulak (UCD) 6-2
2. Daniel Landa/Andrei Volgin (UCD) vs. Alan Sanson/Janvier Gonzalez (UTSA) 5-3, unfinished
3. Kai Breitbach/Javier Gonzalez (UTSA) def. Chethan Swanson/Dariush Jalali (UCD) 6-3
Order of Finish: 1, 3*
Singles
1. Ivan Thamma (UCD) def. Kai Breitbach (UTSA) 6-2, 5-7, 6-3
2. David Goulak (UCD) def. Sebastian Rodriguez (UTSA) 6-3, 6-3
3. Juri Reckow (UTSA) def. Andras Necz (UCD) 6-2, 6-4
4. Chethan Swanson (UCD) def. Javier Rodriguez (UTSA) 5-7, 6-3, 6-4
5. Andrei Volgin (UCD) def. Javier Gonzalez (UTSA) 6-4, 6-7(6), 6-2
6. Arjith Jayaraman (UCD) def. Alan Sanson (UTSA) 6-4, 7-6(5)
Order of Finish: 2, 3, 6, 1, 4*, 5
UC Davis 7, Sonoma State 0
Jan. 25, 2020
Davis, Calif.
Doubles
1. Ivan Thamma/David Goulak (UCD) vs. Santiago Sarundiansky/Max Nudell (SSU) 4-2, unfinished
2. Andrei Volgin/Daniel Landa (UCD) def. Paul Trabitzsch/Harry Cohen (SSU) 6-1
3. Andras Necz/Arjith Jayaraman (UCD) def. Alex Long/Alec Wong (SSU) 6-0
Order of Finish: 3, 2*
Singles
1. David Goulak (UCD) def. Santiago Sarundiansky (SSU) 6-1. 6-1
2. Andras Necz (UCD) def. Max Nudell (SSU) 6-4, 6-3
3. Chethan Swanson (UCD) def. Paul Trabitzsch (SSU) 7-6, 6-2
4. Arjith Jayaraman (UCD) def. Harry Cohen (SSU) 6-4, 6-2
5. Dariush Jalali (UCD) def. Alec Wong (SSU) 6-1, 6-2
6. Brett Brinkman (UCD) def. Alex Long (SSU) 6-0, 6-1
Order of Finish: 6, 1, 5*, 4, 3, 2
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