SAN DIEGO - The Sea Lions hosted the Tritons of UC San Diego on Tuesday afternoon and came away with a huge 6-3 victory, giving the team their first win over UCSD since 2015. The team took a 2-1 lead after doubles play and were able to clinch four matches in singles play to secure their win. 

Yuki Okamoto and Thomas Dafcik continued their stellar doubles play on the season earning the dominant 8-1 win to earn PLNU the first point of the match. The Tritons would bounce back to take the No. 1 doubles match 8-6, but it would be Grant Alston and CJ Erion who earned the tough 8-7 win to give the Sea Lions the 2-1 lead heading into singles play. 

The Tritons evened the the match by taking the first singles match on court 6. Tied at two points a piece, the Sea Lions would win the next four matches to secure the win. Both Jack Alston and CJ Erion would earn quick wins for Point Loma, neither allowed their opponent to win more than three games in a set. Dafick, ranked 38 in Div. II, was able to take down a tough opponenet in Eric Tseng , ranked 46 in Div. II, in a tough three-set match to clinch the match for PLNU. Brendon Millington would also come away with a tough win at No. 2 singles to give Point Loma their sixth point of the day.  

Team Records
Point Loma 13-6, UC San Diego 9-6

Wheeler's Words
On making adjustments after losing to this team early in the season: "Overall, we just played better tennis, without a doubt. At this point in the year, compared to early in the season, every person on our team is playing at a higher level. Even when we played this team earlier this year we had a lot of close matches that we lost, this time we were able to win those close matches. Against a good team like UCSD it is going to come down to who wins those close matches. We got great momentum from our number three doubles, winning the tiebreak to give us the 2-1 advantage going into singles play."

On defending home court: "There is nothing better than defending your home court. It is always hard to play on the road and it is a big advantage for us when we get to play at home. That showed today, it showed when we were able to flip on Concordia, and we will have another opportunity to defend home court against APU on Saturday."

On Jack and CJ getting quick wins: "We talked about it after the match that their ability to not only win the first set, but dominant in the second set was huge to really give us that momentum. Their wins put us within one point of winning and it makes it easier for the others still playing knowing that we are only a point away from taking the match. It allowed our one through three guys to focus on what they needed to do to win rather than worrying about losing."

On the momentum the win gives the team heading into the weekend: "I don't think there is a way we could have any better momentum than what we have built heading into this weekend's match. The guys were already feeling confident, even before this match, and this is only going to increase that. We are ready for a tough match against APU, they are a very good team, but we believe in ourselves and our ability and we are excited to go out and compete."

Up Next
The Sea Lions will close out their regular season on Saturday when they host 23rd ranked Azusa Pacific at 11 a.m.

Point Loma 6, UC San Diego 3
Singles competition
1. #38 Thomas Dafcik (PLNU-MT) def. #46 Eric Tseng (UCSD) 6-1, 4-6, 6-0
2. Brendon Millington (PLNU-MT) def. Justin Zhang (UCSD) 6-3, 4-6, 10-5
3. Marc Isaia (UCSD) def. Yuki Okamoto (PLNU-MT) 6-1, 6-7, 10-8
4. CJ Erion (PLNU-MT) def. Eskil Jarlskog (UCSD) 6-3, 6-2
5. Jack Alston (PLNU-MT) def. Neil Tengbumroong (UCSD) 6-2, 6-1
6. Richard Han (UCSD) def. Tim Soderman (PLNU-MT) 6-4, 6-2

Doubles competition
1. Marc Isaia/Sreeganesh Manoharan (UCSD) def. Brendon Millington/Jack Alston (PLNU-MT) 8-6
2. Thomas Dafcik/Yuki Okamoto (PLNU-MT) def. Eric Tseng/Justin Zhang (UCSD) 8-1
3. CJ Erion/Grant Alston (PLNU-MT) def. Neil Tengbumroong/Eskil Jarlskog (UCSD) 8-7

Match Notes:
UC San Diego 9-6
Point Loma 13-6
Order of finish: Doubles (2,1,3); Singles (6,5,4,1,2,3)
T-3:19