DAVIS, Calif. – A doubles win by Mahli Silpachai and Natalie Shamma sparked the Highlanders, but bids for a straight-set win on Court 1 and three-set thriller on Court 4 were halted Saturday when UC Riverside was defeated by UC Davis, 0-4, at Marya Welch Tennis Center.
 
Starting off the day in doubles, UC Riverside's No 1 team, Tia Elpusan and Hanh Pham, lost 3-6 to Sara Tsukamoto and Lauren Ko. By the time Silpachai and Shamma won their set over Shirley Hall and Michelle Zell, 6-3, the Highlanders were down a full point on the loss on Court 3 by Serina Saltzen and Sydney Tran, 2-6, to Yana Gurevich and Kristina Euloera.
 
Singles play saw Silpachi finish first on Court 2, where she lost to Gurevich, 1-6 0-6, followed by Saltzen losing to Carly Schwatrzberg, 3-6 3-6, and Shamma falling to Hall, 0-6-4-6.
 
The sweep ended play with Elpusan up a set and ahead 3-2 over Tsukamoto on Court 1 and Pham one game into her third set against Zell.
 
"We lost but we played some very good tennis," said coach Mark Henry.
 
The Highlanders will now prepare to to conclude the regular season with two home events: Saturday, April 25, vs. Cal Poly, and Sunday, April 26, vs. Hawaii. Following those matches, UC Riverside competes in the Big West Championships April 29-May in Irvine.