CLAREMONT-- Super senior Andrew Tjoa had a superb start in singles as UC Santa Cruz opened the season at the 2023 Intercollegiate Tennis Association West Regional.
In the tournament's top flight, Tjoa outlasted Pomona-Pitzer All-American Matthew Feng 4-6, 6-3, 10-6 in their first round matchup. It was Tjoa's first win against Feng, on the same court where Feng prevailed in a close two-set dual match in February.

Praneet Varade, the top seed in flight two, went 2-0 to make the quarterfinals. He defeated a Chapman opponent 6-3, 7-5 in the first round and then beat an opponent from Colorado College 6-3, 6-4 in round two. Jason You also picked up a straight-set win in the flight's first round. In the third flight, Hari Raghavan won his first two college matches. He beat Whittier's Luke Downs in straight sets before beating Redlands's Michael Dudley 6-3, 6-2.

In doubles, Tjoa also won a wild first round clash, teaming with Adam Hidas to win 8-7 (7-3) over a team from Cal Lutheran. Their run ended in the second round against the top seeded duo of Caltech's Wen and McCandless. Varade and Ryan Lam also went 1-1. They won against a team from Whittier 8-0 before falling 8-4 to Chapman's Wilkins and Jordan.

The tournament continues Saturday with consolation matches scheduled at both Pomona-Pitzer and Claremont-Mudd-Scripps.