STOCKTON, Calif. - After five straight home matches, the Pacific Tigers will start a five-match road trip this week, playing three on the road in the next six days. The trip will start at Fresno State Monday at 1:00, followed by a Friday matchup with Utah State and a Saturday conference matchup with BYU. Those matches will be at 10:00 am and 11:00 am, respectively.
The Pacific Tigers last played this Saturday when they defeated San Francisco for the second time this year, this time winning 4-3. It was the second match of the year against San Francisco (but first officially in WCC play) as Pacific had also defeated the Dons in the first round of the Pacific Mountain Invitational 4-1.
In the 4-3 win over USF, Pacific won all three doubles matches to take that point with ease. Akram El Sallaly and Tadiwa Chinamo won 6-4 in the top pairing, followed by Alex Giannini and Bernardo Oliveira winning 6-3. Ross Watson and Miguel Diaz led 5-2 in their match but the Tigers took the point before that match could be completed.
Diaz, Giannini, and Watson all won their singles matches as well, with Diaz and Watson winning in two sets. Giannini took the first and third sets for the 7-5, 2-6, 7-2 win that gave Pacific their fourth point and the overall win.
Fresno State is 8-6 this year and own a 4-3 win over Pacific already, coming in the second round of the Pacific Mountain Invitational earlier this year. They have won four of their last six matches, losing only to UC Davis and Wichita State in that time.
Utah State is 10-7 this year, having won two matches last weekend, over Loyola Marymount and Georgetown, both by scores of 4-0. Last year, Utah State defeated Pacific 6-1 in Stockton.
BYU will enter their matchup with Pacific having lost two of their last three matches. The Cougars have alternated wins and losses over their last nine, having won multiple matches in a row just twice all season. They sit at 9-8 overall on the year. Last season, Pacific had a dominating 4-0 win over BYU in conference play.
Make sure to follow Pacific men's tennis on Twitter with the username @PacificMTennis and on Instagram at pacificmtennis.
