UC Davis took advantage of lackluster play in the #2 and #3 singles spots en route to a 7-0 thrashing of the USF men's tennis team last Tuesday. The Aggies top seated player. Jon Sueda had a reunion of sorts, having played two years as a Don before transferring to Davis. Sueda played impressively, beating USF #1 player Bobly Vossougar, 6-1, 6-2. He also combined with teammate Andre Csordas to defeat the USF doubles squad of Billy Thompson and Greg Tagunden, 3-2. Thompson and Teagarden both attracted some undesirable commentary about their individual singles play from UC Davis Coach Danyl Lee, who commented that, "even though we won, it wasn't a true test." Lee suggested that some USF netters tanked their matches. Teagarden dropped a 6-7, 0-6 decision to the Aggies Jonathan Chan, while Thompson fell 6-2, 0-6, 0-6 to Chris Wong (TheFoghorn).
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But the record does not really tell the entire story. The ream, after losing its number one player from a year ago, with a new coach at the helm and a very small squad, has to play through injuries, especially to senior captain Billy Thompson.
"Thompson looks good when he's our there. He has a lot of heart," said first-year Coach George Yuen. "I'm proud of him. It takes a lot of guts (to go out there and play." Before the season started. Thompson had knee surgery. Since the season has started, he has had to play through an abdominal pull and a nagging wrist injury. Even with the injuries he has pulled off four wins, three coming in doubles competition with Teagarden. He sat out yesterday's game versus Air Force in order to play next week at home versus San Jose State and arch-rival Santa Clara.
This would not be as big a deal, but because of such a small squad, every match a player does not play is defaulted. Also, without the usual nine players on a squad, players are going to have to play both singles and doubles, which increases the chances of injury. "The season's long. People are going to get injured," said Thompson.
Thompson, who is in his fourth year of playing for the Dons, is disappointed that this is a rebuilding year, but also admits that it is hard because "the team can't gel because so many things have gone wrong (USFFoghorn).
