RIVERSIDE, Caif. – The UC Riverside men's tennis program notched its first win of the spring season Tuesday with a 4-0 sweep of Concordia University at home on SRC Tennis Courts.
"Nice win for our program today," said Highlanders head coach
Mattias Johansson. "I feel that we are playing better tennis day by day."
Tuesday's sweep got started in doubles on Court 3, where sophomore twin brothers Jayson and
Michael Blando defeated Benjamin Buck and Gertjan De Wilder, 6-1. Redshirt senior
Gilbert Chung teamed with freshman
Joshua Roth for a 6-4 win over Yassine Smieg and Mike Jansen on Court One, and Junior
Nolan McCaig and
Antreas Djakouris won their set against Patrick Wong and Jan Simon, 6-3.
Carrying momentum into their singles matches, the Highlanders rattled off the next three matches in straight sets to seal their first team victory the year, as McCaig beat Simon, 6-1 6-2, Blando beat Jansen, 6-2 6-3, and Blando beat Sofian Tayebi Alaoui, 6-4 7-5.
The three remaining singles matches did not finish, leaving Djakouris and Roth knotted in their respective singles third sets, while
Gilbert Chung was also battling down 0-3 in his third set.
The Highlanders have 48 hours to savor their win before they host UC Irvine in a Big West meeting Thursday on SRC Tennis Courts.
"Every practice and match is very valuable for us in order to keep improving in this very short season," coach Johansson said. "It's just fun to be out on the courts every day and try to finish the season on a high note."
UCR 4, Concordia 0
April 6, 2021
Riverside, CA (SRC Tennis Courts)
Doubles
1.
Gilbert Chung /
Joshua Roth (UCR) def. Yassine Smieg / Mike Jansen (Con.) 6-4
2.
Nolan McCaig /
Antreas Djakouris UCR) def. Patrick Wong / Jan Simon (Con.), 6-3
3.
Jayson Blando /
Michael Blando (UCR) def. Benjamin Buck / Gertjan De Wilder (Con.) 6-1
Order of finish: 3, 1, 2
Singles
1.
Gilbert Chung (UCR) vs. Yassine Smieg (Con.) 5-7 6-1 0-3 DNF
2.
Antreas Djakouris (UCR) vs. (Con.) Patrick Wong 6-1 5-5 DNF
3.
Nolan McCaig (UCR) def. Jan Simon (Con.) 6-1 6-2
4.
Joshua Roth (UCR) vs. Benjamin Buck (Con.) 6-4 3-3 DNF
5.
Jayson Blando (UCR) def. Mike Jansen (Con.) 6-2 6-3
6.
Michael Blando (UCR) def. Sofian Tayebi Alaoui (Con.) 6-4 7-5
Order of finish: 3, 5, 6
