The U men’s tennis team, coming off three straight wins at home took, off to California to do battle with the University of San Diego and the No. 4-ranked USC Trojans. It didn’t go as well as the Utes had hoped, as they came home with two losses.
Against San Diego on Monday afternoon, the team lost a close match, 4-3.
The Utes lost the doubles point and weren’t able to win enough singles matches to escape with a victory.
Dave Mercier once again won in the one-spot, defeating Juan Cerda, 6-4, 7-6. Tyler Poulson and Tobias Tangberg also won for the Utes.
The U’s No. 2 singles player lost for the second straight time, as Corrie Scheepers lost in two sets, 1-6, 2-6. Nik Yip (2-6, 5-7) and Daniel Carlsson (7-6, 1-6, 6-7) were defeated as well.
The Utes then headed up the road to do battle with the fourth-ranked Trojans. That match wasn’t nearly as competitive.
The Utes were defeated easily by the Pac-10 powerhouse, falling 7-0.
The No. 19-ranked team of Nick Rainey and Ryan Moore defeated Mercier and Yip in doubles competition, 8-5. Carlsson and Poulson lost 8-6, and Scheepers and Daniel Lohff lost 8-2.
In singles competition, the Utes never really had a chance. No. 96 Ryan Moore beat Scheepers, 6-1, 6-4. No. 98 Prakash Amritraj downed Yip, 6-1, 6-5. No. 52 Andrew Park defeated Carlsson, 6-1, 6-5. No. 36-ranked Rainey beat Poulson, 6-2, 6-2. Ruben Torres defeated Tangberg, 6 1, 6-2. Damien Spizzo beat Lohff, 6-4, 6-1.
The Utes’ No. 1 player, Mercier, did not play in the singles matchups.
Torres and Spizzo were the only singles players for the Trojans not ranked nationally.
The Utes, now 8-7, get ready for back-to-back home matches against Cal-State Sacramento and Idaho State, with a 12-day break in between.