DAVIS, Calif. — UC Davis starts off Big West postseason action against the UC Riverside Highlanders on Friday at 9 a.m.

The Aggies enter the postseason Big West Conference tri-champions, after finishing with a 5-1 conference record (13-6 overall) and tying with UC Santa Barbara and UC Irvine. The Gauchos won the three-way tiebreaker, thanks to their #39 national ranking, while Irvine's head-to-head win over the Aggies broke the tie for second place. 

This is the second time UC Davis has earned a share of the conference regular season title, the last time coming in 2015 when the Aggies tied with UC Irvine. 

UC Davis is still searching for its first championship match appearance in program history. The Aggies last made it to the semifinal in 2019, when the fourth seeded UC Davis defeated fifth seed UC Riverside, 4-1, in the quarterfinal.

UC Riverside earned the sixth seed in the Big West this season with a 1-5 conference record (6-15 overall). Their lone conference win came against playoff ineligible UC San Diego. 

The Aggies visited UC Riverside earlier this month, and walked away with a 4-0 victory. 

Constantinos Djakouris has paced the Aggies this season with a 10-3 singles record that included a mid-season seven match winning streak, while Brett Brinkman and Lucas Bollinger each picked up 11 wins. Bollinger and Coleton Hootman have led the Aggies doubles efforts, recording eight wins against two losses and senior duo. Mitchell Davis and Andrei Volgin have kept things steady with an 8-8 record as partners.

Without any seniors and just one graduate student on the roster, UC Riverside has needed major underclassmen contributions this season. Sophomore Justin Lamy is the sole Highlander with a winning record in singles competition, at 7-5, while junior Antreas Djakouris has shown the potential to be a dangerous opponent. Djakouris added a Big West Player of the Week to his career accolades after a hot streak in early March. 

The Aggies enter Friday's match with a significant statistical doubles advantage. UC Davis finished the regular season with a .574 doubles winning percentage, while the Highlanders concluded at .313. Lucas Bollinger and Coleton Hootman are the winningest duo for Davis, with a 8-2 season record. Joshua Roth and Djakouris are a Riverside best 4-5 as a pair this season.

An Aggie win would have them face off against no. 2 seed UC Irvine on Saturday at 9 a.m.

TOURNAMENT SCHEDULE

Quarterfinal Round
No. 3 UC Davis Aggies
vs.
No. 6 UC Riverside Highlanders
 
Friday, April 28 – 9:00 a.m.
San Diego, Calif. / Barnes Tennis Center

Other Quarterfinal Matchups
No. 4 Hawai'i vs. No. 5 Cal Poly – 9:00 a.m.

Semifinal Round
UC Davis/UC Riverside winner
vs.
No. 2 UC Irvine

Saturday, April 29 – 9 a.m.
San Diego, Calif. / Barnes Tennis Center
 
Other Semifinal Matchup
Hawai'i/Cal Poly winner vs. No. 1 UC Santa Barbara – 9:00 a.m.

Championship Match
Semifinal winner
vs.
Semifinal winner

Sunday, April 30 – 9:00 a.m.
San Diego, Calif. / Barnes Tennis Center