CLAREMONT - UC Santa Cruz opened their spring break trip with a 7-2 loss to fourth-ranked Emory in a match played at Pomona-Pitzer.

The Banana Slugs only trailed 2-1 after the doubles matches. Senior duo  Chad Le Duff and Ryan Dugan held off the Eagles' Jonathan Jemison & Adrien Bouchet, the nation's top ranked pair. The Slugs, ranked twenty-third, won the tiebreaker 8-6 to give UC Santa Cruz momentum heading into the singles.

However the Eagles, with three players ranked in the top-30 nationally, took the singles portion 5-1 to claim the match. Dugan won the only singles match for the Banana Slugs, winning over Hayden Cassone 7-6, 6-4.

UC Santa Cruz continues the southern California swing with a game at Chapman Sunday afternoon.