It took some creative scheduling and a mini-tour of the county, but the UC Santa Cruz men's tennis team finally had their 2024 home opener. 

The Banana Slugs were a perfect 3-0 against three community colleges after the recent rainy weather made the on-campus courts unplayable this weekend. In Friday's dual at the La Madrona Club in Scotts Valley, UC Santa Cruz defeated defending NorCal champions American River College 7-2. On Saturday, the action shifted to Harbor High and the Banana Slugs continued the win streak by beating Chabot 8-1 and finishing the "double-dual" by defeating a shorthanded Foothill College 7-2.
 
"This weekend was a great step forward for our team," said head coach Ross Pytko. "We dipped out of Division III to play against some very talented and well-coached teams. I'm really happy with how we looked in doubles."
 
The Banana Slugs were a perfect 9-0 in doubles matches on the weekend. The No. 1 duo of Andrew Tjoa and Adam Hidas only dropped a combined eight points in their three wins. The weekend also allowed the underclassmen to get valuable court time.
 
"I was also excited to see Benjamin Wang and Mayur Nookala get their first singles wins," Pytko added. "I'm sure they will have long and productive singles careers for us. Hari Raghavan and Radin Sadeghi also continued to shine as up-and-coming first-years.
 
The Banana Slugs return to Division III play next weekend when they travel to take on #35 Chapman in Orange County and C2C rivals Mary Washington and Christopher Newport on a neutral court in Claremont.
 
"This weekend has been great preparation for us heading into a huge weekend against ranked, conference opponents," Pytko continued. "Nothing will be easy, but we're all excited about where this season is headed."