Upcoming Event: Men's Tennis versus MW Fall Qualifier on October 3, 2025
M Tennis
vs MW Fall Qualifier
Grand Canyon University Athletics
Monday, February 17
Phoenix, Ariz.
10 a.m.
Grand Canyon
5
vs
2
UC San Diego
Photo by: Brayden Stenner
GCU takes 3rd match in 4 days
2/17/2025 6:30:00 PM | Men's Tennis
Lopes beat UCSD behind freshmen production
Grand Canyon battled its way through third sets to beat UC San Diego and win its third match in four days.
Many Lopes underclassmen had to step into roles throughout the weekend, and Monday morning was no different at GCU Tennis Facility, with a few GCU players out due to sickness and injury. Three freshmen earned singles points for the Lopes to help carry them to a 5-2 victory over the Tritons.
"I am proud of the guys," GCU head coach Derek Siddiqui said. "They just competed, and that was all I could really ask for. Our new mantra right now is to go out there and 'Play brave' and they did that."
The Lopes dropped the doubles point for the first time all weekend, creating an uphill battle. On Court 2, GCU freshmen Andreas Loizas and Diordan Macabbabad formed the sole pair to win a doubles set.
In singles, each court was competitive with half of the courts moving to a third set. The Lopes were resilient, however, winning all three. Court 2 finished first, with GCU sophomore Brice Patoux winning 7-6, 6-2. Loizas also won in straight sets, playing on Court 3 for the first time this season. Loizas also earned a team-high sixth win in singles.
After GCU sophomore Nikita Volonski dropped just his second match all season on Court 1 and freshman teammate Finbar McGarvey won in three sets on Court 6, the Lopes just needed to win one of the remaining matches on Courts 4 and 6. On Court 4, graduate Matteo Lugari traded 6-4 sets. Macababbad dominated his second set after losing a 5-1 lead in the first-set tiebreaker.
With the courts right next to each other, the intensity was evident for everyone at GCU Tennis Facility on Monday. Macababbad ended up being the clincher on Court 6, moving to 4-0 on the season and avenging his first-set loss. He took the final set 6-3 and then enjoyed joining his teammates to watch Lugari take a 7-5 third set on Court 4.
"Fin lost two in a row and came out and won one of the toughest spots," Siddiqui said. "Diordan coming back and winning after losing that first set was gritty as well. We are getting production from everyone, which is huge."
The Lopes will remain home and host two more matches against Pacific and UNLV on Friday and Sunday.
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Many Lopes underclassmen had to step into roles throughout the weekend, and Monday morning was no different at GCU Tennis Facility, with a few GCU players out due to sickness and injury. Three freshmen earned singles points for the Lopes to help carry them to a 5-2 victory over the Tritons.
"I am proud of the guys," GCU head coach Derek Siddiqui said. "They just competed, and that was all I could really ask for. Our new mantra right now is to go out there and 'Play brave' and they did that."
The Lopes dropped the doubles point for the first time all weekend, creating an uphill battle. On Court 2, GCU freshmen Andreas Loizas and Diordan Macabbabad formed the sole pair to win a doubles set.
In singles, each court was competitive with half of the courts moving to a third set. The Lopes were resilient, however, winning all three. Court 2 finished first, with GCU sophomore Brice Patoux winning 7-6, 6-2. Loizas also won in straight sets, playing on Court 3 for the first time this season. Loizas also earned a team-high sixth win in singles.
After GCU sophomore Nikita Volonski dropped just his second match all season on Court 1 and freshman teammate Finbar McGarvey won in three sets on Court 6, the Lopes just needed to win one of the remaining matches on Courts 4 and 6. On Court 4, graduate Matteo Lugari traded 6-4 sets. Macababbad dominated his second set after losing a 5-1 lead in the first-set tiebreaker.
With the courts right next to each other, the intensity was evident for everyone at GCU Tennis Facility on Monday. Macababbad ended up being the clincher on Court 6, moving to 4-0 on the season and avenging his first-set loss. He took the final set 6-3 and then enjoyed joining his teammates to watch Lugari take a 7-5 third set on Court 4.
"Fin lost two in a row and came out and won one of the toughest spots," Siddiqui said. "Diordan coming back and winning after losing that first set was gritty as well. We are getting production from everyone, which is huge."
The Lopes will remain home and host two more matches against Pacific and UNLV on Friday and Sunday.
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Team Stats
#1 Doubles Match
#2 Doubles Match
#3 Doubles Match
Order of Finish:
2,3,1
#1 Singles Match
12
Carson Lee / 0 [UCSD]
67
46
#2 Singles Match
12
Diogo Tinoco / 0 [UCSD]
62
76
#3 Singles Match
12
Pelayo Rodriguez / 0 [UCSD]
42
66
#4 Singles Match
123
Zach Pellouchoud / 0 [UCSD]
645
467
#5 Singles Match
123
David Adamson / 0 [UCSD]
062
646
#6 Singles Match
123
Robert Freedman / 0 [UCSD]
713
666
Order of Finish:
2,5,3,1,6,4
Players Mentioned
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
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