SAN DIEGO — UC San Diego men's tennis opened the 2025 season across town with a doubleheader at San Diego State that saw the home side claim both matches. The Tritons (0-2) were defeated 1-4 and 2-4 on Saturday at the Aztec Tennis Center.
Sophomore
Carson Lee and junior
Zach Pellouchoud both picked up singles victories for UC San Diego. The two also won their doubles matches in the second contest of the day to help the Tritons take the doubles point in that match.
HOW IT HAPPENED
Match 1
San Diego State won the doubles point with victories on courts one and three. Lee and
Diogo Tinoco's match at No. 2 doubles went unfinished with the duo locked in a 5-5 battle.
Lee led the Tritons into singles play at the No. 1 spot, where he fought for a three-set victory. After dropping set one by a one-break deficit, Lee stormed back in the second to win 6-1 before staying on the front foot in the decisive final set, winning 6-3.
Robert Freedman, Pellouchoud and
Pelayo Rodriguez all battled into a third set as well in their matches. Freedman ultimately lost at No. 6 singles, with Pellouchoud and Rodriguez's matches going unfinished. Rodriguez had a 2-0 set three lead at No. 3 singles at the time of interruption, while Pellouchoud and his opponent were just one game into their final set at No. 4 singles.
Match 2
The Tritons kicked off the day's second contest with a strong showing in doubles that secured the squad a point in the match. Lee and Tinoco picked up the first victory at No. 2 doubles, a decisive 6-2 performance.
Pellouchoud and Rodriguez had to fight a bit longer for their win at No. 1 doubles, but the duo ultimately prevailed 7-5. The win meant No. 3 doubles went unfinished with freshmen
David Adamson and Freedman tied 6-6 with the Aztecs.
Singles play saw Pellouchoud needing some extra time in his match again as he picked up 7-5 victories in both sets at No. 3 singles. Freedman had the next-best performance for the Tritons on court five. After winning set one his match was forced to a third set after he fell in a tiebreaker in the second. The final frame was locked at 1-1 when the dual match concluded.
QUOTABLE
"It was a long day with two matches back-to-back, but we played better as the day went on," head coach
Timmer Willing said. "We definitely had some young nerves with today being the season opener. We made some adjustments to win the doubles point in the second match and overall, the guys competed well. Just need everyone on the same page to be able to get a win."
TRITON TIDBITS
- Freshmen David Adamson and Robert Freedman made their dual match debuts on Saturday. Both are from San Diego and played doubles together.
- Carson Lee continued at the No. 1 singles spot after making 12 appearances there last season. He is now 5-7 at the position.
- Zach Pellouchoud and Pelayo Rodriguez were All-Big West Second Team honorees last season for their success in doubles. The duo made 18 appearances at the No. 1 spot in 2024 and returned there again against the Aztecs.
UP NEXT
UC San Diego faces off with another local opponent on Friday, Jan. 17, as Point Loma visits
Northview Tennis Courts. The contest is the Tritons' home opener for 2025. First serve is scheduled for 3:30 p.m.
About UC San Diego Athletics
After two decades as one of the most successful programs in NCAA Division II, the UC San Diego intercollegiate athletics program began a new era in 2020 as a member of The Big West in NCAA Division I. The 23-sport Tritons earned 30 team and nearly 150 individual national championships during its time in Divisions II and III and helped guide 1,400 scholar-athletes to All-America honors. A total of 84 Tritons have earned Academic All-America honors, while 38 have earned prestigious NCAA Post Graduate Scholarships. UC San Diego scholar-athletes exemplify the academic ideals of one of the world's preeminent institutions, graduating at an average rate of 90 percent, the highest rate among public institutions in Divisions I and II.
