SAN FRANCISCO - UC Santa Cruz fell 6-3 at Academy of Art University, Division II's tenth-ranked team.

The Banana Slugs went 1-2 in doubles, with a win at No. 3 by freshman duo Savannah Hammick and Savana McDowell. It was the first-time the Savannahs had teammed this year.

"I had alot of fun out there today. I was really excited to play doubles and put into practice the things we have been working on," said Hammick. "Also, singles was great enjoying the challenge of figuring out a strategy to put points together. I think today motivated us to gauge how our team and program is improving!

The Urban Knights won four singles with a strong showing by their contingent of European players. Lauren Sandifer won the No. 5 singles over Austrian Kristina Gross and UCSC won the No. 6 match by default. 

The Slugs -recently ranked 20th in the West Region- continue their prep for Ojai with a match at Sonoma State Sunday at noon.