SAN DIEGO – The Point Loma men's tennis gave Redlands all they could handle but unfortunately came up short and fell 5-4.   

Yuki Okamoto and Tyler Davis got the first win of the season for the Sea Lions defeating the opposing Redlands doubles team 6-4. The Sea Lions would drop their next two doubles matches by scores of 6-4.

Going into single play the Sea Lions knew they had to give it all theycould to hopefully come away with a victory. Yuki Okamoto dominated in his singles match winning it by scores of 6-1 and 6-0. PLNU would fall behind 2-1 in points after three matches were completed. Tyler Davis fell behind early losing the first set 6-4 but would come back strong and win the next two sets by scores of 6-1 in both sets. Tying it back up for Point Loma.

After four singles matches the Sea Lions and Bulldogs were all knotted up. Tim Soderman would win his first set 6-3, drop the second set but come back and win set three 6-2 putting PLNU up 3-2. With teammates huddled around, Jasdeep Paintal would leave it all out on the court on opening day but came up short falling 7-6 twice in two sets.

Team Records
Point Loma 0-1, Redlands 1-0

Words from Wheeler
On positive takeaway from today: "The guys competed well, and all the things we talk about in terms of controlling what you can control, they did well. They brought positive energy and a positive attitude, focused well. We just flat out didn't play well enough in the close sets. That's something they did just a little bit better than us and that was the difference today."

On the competitiveness of the student-athletes: "That is something that is expected, though it can be difficult to do. In tennis, there are so many ups and downs, things that don't go your way, and bad breaks. We talk about staying very even keel, not letting the bad things affect you, don't get too high when you are playing great and hitting good shots. I think overall we did that well and it gave us a good chance to win today."

Up Next
The Sea Lions will travel to crosstown rival UC San Diego on Wednesday, Feb. 5. The match is scheduled to begin at 3 p.m.