FIRST SERVE: UC Davis men's tennis returns to the Marya Welch Tennis Center for a pair of home matches against regional-rival Santa Clara, and Pac-12 opponent Washington. This will be the first time a Pac-12 program will play in Davis, with both matches slated for noon.
NEXT UP…
UC Davis (5-3) vs. Santa Clara (4-5)
WHEN: Saturday, Feb. 22, 2020 at noon
WHERE: Marya Welch Tennis Center in Davis, Calif.
LIVE SCORING: http://stats.statbroadcast.com/broadcast/?id=310735
UC Davis (4-2) vs. Washington (6-4)
WHEN: Sunday, Feb. 23, 2020 at noon
WHERE: Marya Welch Tennis Center in Davis, Calif.
LIVE SCORING: http://stats.statbroadcast.com/broadcast/?id=310736
FOLLOW ALONG: Fans can travel behind the scenes of UC Davis men's tennis by following them on their social media accounts. Like or follow us on Twitter, Instagram, or Facebook at @ucdavismtennis. Live updates of road matches will be available on the team's Twitter feed.
ABOUT THE BRONCOS: Santa Clara enters the weekend with a 4-5 record, recently posting two shutout wins over Sacramento State and Holy Names last weekend. In their biggest win of the season, the Broncos beat UC Santa Barbara 4-3 in the first round of the NCAA Kick-Off Weekend National Indoor tournament to close January. Jesus Barajas has posted two wins at the top spot of the singles lineup, with Arthur Neuhaus going 0-5 in that position. Santiago Hinojosa leads the Broncos with a 5-3 dual record, playing primarily at the No. 5 position. In doubles, Santa Clara has featured Neuhas and Vasileios Iliopoulos at No. 1, with the duo going 4-4. They currently lead the team 11-5 overall.
SERIES NOTES: The Aggies have won just twice against the Broncos, with the most recent win in 2015 when Santa Clara was ranked No. 52. Interestingly, both program wins have been at Santa Clara.
ABOUT THE HUSKIES: Washington fell to Hawai'i in a 0-5 shutout loss in the Islands to open their three-match roadswing on Tuesday. Overall, the Huskies feature a 6-4 record, led by No. 43 Jack Davis at the top of the singles lineup, going 7-1 in that spot, and 13-3 overall. Seven Huskies have posted winning records in dual matches so far. There have been 16 different doubles pairings this dual season, with Alexis Alvarez and Jack Davis being the most consistent partnership with a 3-2 record at No. 1. Davis has also partnered with Ewen Lumsden (ranked No. 119 in singles) to compile a 5-3 record in dual doubles matches. Washington will play at Sacramento State on Saturday, Feb. 22 at noon.
SERIES NOTES: This will be the second meeting between the two programs in the last three years, with Washington leading the series 1-0.
WEEKDAY WARRIORS: Of the 21 dates on the men's tennis calendar this season, 10 will be played on a weekday, rather than the traditional weekend schedule. The most popular day? Friday's.
RECORD AGAINST RANKED TEAMS: Since UC Davis joined the Division I ranks in the 2007-08 season, the Aggies have regularly faced ranked opponents, compiling a 10-35 overall record against the nation's top-75. With head coach Eric Steidlmayer taking over the program in 2012-13, the Aggies have improved against ranked competition, putting together an 8-21 record during his tenure. The 2014-15 UC Davis team is the only class to finish with a winning record against ranked programs, going 4-3.
JUST…ONE…MORE… Senior David Goulak has left quite the legacy at UC Davis so far, and posted a pair of doubles wins in Nevada to move to 78 career doubles wins — tying the school record previously set by Adam Levie (2012-16). Goulak also holds the Division I program record for single-season doubles wins at 26 — twice — and is not far behind the program record for career dual match doubles wins, needing five wins this spring to tie 2018 graduate Tommy Lam for the top spot at 50. Also on the radar for Goulak is No. 1 doubles career wins (No. 4), No. 2 doubles career wins (No. T4), overall career singles wins (No. 6), and No. 2 singles career wins (No. 4).
TAILED BY THAMMA: While Goulak has been rewriting the record book at UC Davis, Ivan Thamma has been hot on his heels — and he's only a junior. Thamma sits tenth in overall career singles wins (four places behind Goulak), tied for tenth in career Big West singles wins (5), eighth in overall doubles wins (53), eighth for career dual match doubles wins (32), third in wins at the No. 1 doubles position (27), and holds the record for dual match doubles wins in a single season at 16 with partner 2018 alum Everett Maltby.
DOUBLE TROUBLE: The duo of Goulak and Thamma have helped elevate UC Davis men's tennis on the national scale. They were the first Aggie pair to earn a spot in the ITA All-American doubles draw, debuting in the qualifying rounds. They've earned the program's highest doubles ranking of No. 43 (Sep. 17, 2019). The two have spent the most time in the national rankings in UC Davis history, holding a ranking from Apr.-Nov. 2019.
ALL ACCORDING TO PLAN: With Thamma continuing to compete in the top of the singles lineup for the Aggies, the junior will have a chance to climb through the record book for career singles wins at No. 1. Current ATP player Alec Adamson sits atop the charts with 27, whereas Thamma is now tied with James Wade for No. 3 all time at No. 1.
HOLDING DOWN THE FORT: Hailing from nearby Folsom and El Dorado Hills, Chethan Swanson and Arjith Jayaraman have been a solid presence in the Aggie singles lineup. Swanson is fourth for career singles wins at the No. 4 spot (7 wins), while Jayaraman is now No. 2 all-time with 13 wins at No. 6— two behind the program record 13 (Tyler Lee, 2007-10). Jayaraman is also now tied for fifth with six wins at No. 5.
FRESHMAN PHENOM: Newcomer Andrei Volgin didn't waste any time in establishing himself in the UC Davis record books. The freshman out of Fremont, Calif. won his first five singles and nine doubles matches as an Aggie this fall, en route to setting the program record for single season fall singles wins at 14. His 14 fall doubles wins are second all-time in single season fall wins, behind doubles great Adam Levie.
FIRST TIME FOR EVERYTHING: The Aggies are set to host their first Pac-12 opponent at the Marya Welch Tennis Center, with Washington visiting campus on Sunday, Feb. 23, 2020. Also on the schedule is UNLV, who UC Davis was ready to play last season for the first-ever meeting between the two, but the match was canceled due to weather.
SCHOLAR BALLERS: UC Davis men's tennis has had at least one Big West All-Academic honoree each year since the Aggies joined the Big West Conference in 2007-08. In all seasons but one, there have been multiple recipients from UC Davis, with a program-tying four Aggies earning the honor in 2019. Three Aggies, Nick Lopez (2010), Alec Adamson (2014), and Tommy Lam (2018), have been named UC Davis' recipient for Big West Scholar-Athlete of the Year for their outstanding performance on the court and in the classroom.
CALIFORNIA KIDS: Of the ten players on the UC Davis men's tennis roster, nine of the ten make their hometown somewhere in the Golden State. Five hail from the southern half of California, with the other four from throughout the north, including two in neighboring towns Folsom and El Dorado Hills.
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.
